Easter Sunday is probably on of the most significant and important holidays there are. In my opinion, it is more important than Christmas. Why do I say that? After all, Christmas is celebrated to remember and think about the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Christ was born to give hope and salvation to all that will believe in Him. Christmas is a time of hope. Easter, I think gives even more hope, as it is when we celebrate the fulfillment of Christ's work. After all, if Christ hadn't been resurrected on that first Easter--than we probably wouldn't even celebrate Christmas. Easter is when we celebrate and remember and give thanks to Christ. His overcoming of both sin and death, through the marvelous atonement and the resurrection is the reason that I say that Easter is so important.
This Easter Sunday as we remember and celebrate Christ's resurrection, we remember and are thankful for all that Christ has done for us. All we have comes from Him. He is the creator. He has given us life. He has given us our free will. With that will, we all make mistakes. We all sin, as we are not perfect like Christ is. Sin is one of the things that prevents us from returning to live in God's presence once more--however, if we follow Christ, and do our best to keep His commandments. If we repent when we sin (in my case, I need to repent frequently!), we can all be forgiven our our sins--That is a gift freely given to all who will accept Christ, and keep His commandments. The other thing that prevents us from living with our Father in Heaven once more is that we don't have a perfect body as he does. . .yet. Through the miracle of the resurrection, we will all receive a perfect, eternal body. The gift of the resurrection is one that Christ has given to ALL people without price. Because Christ was resurrected, we too shall live again!
President Thomas S. Monson, the current prophet on the earth today gives a powerful testimony of the truth of Christ's atonement and resurrection. I would like to copy here some of the things he has said about Christ (these quotes are found in this month's church magazine, called the Ensign):
“He Is Risen”
“The clarion call of Christendom,” President Thomas S. Monson has declared, is that Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead. “The reality of the Resurrection provides to one and all the peace that surpasses understanding” (see Philippians 4:7).1In the following excerpts, President Monson shares his testimony of and gratitude for the Savior’s Resurrection and declares that because the Son conquered death, all of the Father’s children who come to earth will live again.Life beyond Mortality
“I believe that none of us can conceive the full import of what Christ did for us in Gethsemane, but I am grateful every day of my life for His atoning sacrifice in our behalf.“At the last moment, He could have turned back. But He did not. He passed beneath all things that He might save all things. In doing so, He gave us life beyond this mortal existence. He reclaimed us from the Fall of Adam.“To the depths of my very soul, I am grateful to Him. He taught us how to live. He taught us how to die. He secured our salvation.”2Dispelling the Darkness of Death
“In certain situations, as in great suffering and illness, death comes as an angel of mercy. But for the most part, we think of it as the enemy of human happiness.“The darkness of death can ever be dispelled by the light of revealed truth. ‘I am the resurrection, and the life,’ spoke the Master. ‘He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.’“This reassurance—yes, even holy confirmation—of life beyond the grave could well provide the peace promised by the Savior when He assured His disciples: ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’”3He Is Not Here
“Our Savior lived again. The most glorious, comforting, and reassuring of all events of human history had taken place—the victory over death. The pain and agony of Gethsemane and Calvary had been wiped away. The salvation of mankind had been secured. The Fall of Adam had been reclaimed.“The empty tomb that first Easter morning was the answer to Job’s question, ‘If a man die, shall he live again?’ To all within the sound of my voice, I declare, If a man die, he shall live again. We know, for we have the light of revealed truth. …“My beloved brothers and sisters, in our hour of deepest sorrow, we can receive profound peace from the words of the angel that first Easter morning: ‘He is not here: for he is risen.’”4All Will Live Again
“We laugh, we cry, we work, we play, we love, we live. And then we die. …“And dead we would remain but for one Man and His mission, even Jesus of Nazareth. …“With all my heart and the fervency of my soul, I lift up my voice in testimony as a special witness and declare that God does live. Jesus is His Son, the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh. He is our Redeemer; He is our Mediator with the Father. He it was who died on the cross to atone for our sins. He became the firstfruits of the Resurrection. Because He died, all shall live again.”5
A Personal Witness
“I declare my personal witness that death has been conquered, victory over the tomb has been won. May the words made sacred by Him who fulfilled them become actual knowledge to all. Remember them. Cherish them. Honor them. He is risen.”6
Thank you, Collin! I enjoyed listening to the special Spoken Word Broadcast for Easter yesterday. I also really liked a taped broadcast of a fireside a few years back, also on the BYU channel. A couple of my notes: "True discipleship is shown in us as we love one another just as Jesus magnifies who he is through his love for us." (To think He has empathy for anything we deal with in life; empathy born from experiencing it all first hand Himself.)
ReplyDelete"Sons of Mosiah chose to teach their enemy rather than destroy them. When we dehumanize those we don't like we refuse to accept them as God's children." (My neighbor, Karen, who drove down to "Zorro" with me was in China when 9/11 occurred. She said she was so touched by how all the Chinese people were weeping and telling her they were so sorry. There were those of other nationalities who did the same as they watched on the T.V. screens and read in the papers. Wherever she went people approached her with sincere feeling for the tragedy.