Happy Easter, everyone!!

 

As usual, the Easter Bunny is an alternate figure the world places at the forefront of our holiday celebrating, but how perfect to be able to discuss the Atonement and Resurrection as we celebrate probably the most glorious and special holidays honored in the year.

The Pinnacle of the Plan

 

Our Heavenly Father created a Plan to save all of His sons and daughters. It included sending all of us down to make certain choices, so that we can learn and become more like Him. But even if we made every effort to be perfect in everything, face it, it would be impossible. Mistakes happen, we forget, other people interfere with our desires; just by being mortal we can never truly be completely clean.

 

Heavenly Father had to have a perfect child come to save the rest, and He only had one. Clearly, there were other near-perfect children, but Jesus Christ was THE Chosen One, who would come down, at the Meridian of Time, to sacrifice His will completely, be the perfect example, and give up His life—willingly—for us ungrateful wretches.

 

Jesus Christ’s sacrifice was two-parts: Salvation for all mankind, no matter how dirty, rotten, and creepy any of us are and Exaltation for those who repent and give their sins to the Savior, who paid with great drops of innocent blood.

 

Easter is something the world can, and should, celebrate with great joy, and hearts filled with gratitude, because they are all going to receive their perfected bodies back, even though they really don’t deserve this amazing blessing. Even if they misused it, misused others with it, and took for granted all of it.

 

What does the Atonement cover?

 

This lesson points out some of the scriptures that describe what the Atonement covers.

 

“And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue” (Mosiah 3:7).

 

“And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ” (Mosiah 3:17).

 

“And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; … And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities … The Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people” (Alma 7:11-13).

 

Many of us suffer silently with our pain and anguish. We all have trials, some which are truly grievous to be borne. But that is the reason we came down to this earth, to go through these hard things, so we could turn to our Savior, ask for His help, and repent, relying completely on Him and His love.

 

But there are some women who suffer vocally and seem to amplify their pain in order to be heard. When a group gets together to use this idea of “pain” to draw attention to themselves, or demand attention from the Church leadership, I worry that they are somehow avoiding the Redeemer’s outstretched hand, and instead demanding something from the arm of flesh.

 

The “pain” these women suffer, is due to a lack of understanding of the Atonement. Yes, their “pain” may be real, but I believe they will find no true relief until they give their pain to the Lord, humbling themselves before Him, and allowing Him to carry them. The Lord wants us to “come unto Him,” giving up our own will and agenda, and accepting His mercy and grace.

 

 

Who are His witnesses?

 

The prophet and apostles are the living witnesses of Jesus Christ. Pres. Hunter explains, “Indeed, the call to the holy apostleship is one of bearing witness to the world of the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ” (pg. 106). He bears his own witness with these words:

 

“As one called and ordained to bear witness of the name of Jesus Christ to all the world, I testify at this Easter season that he lives. He has a glorified, immortal body of flesh and bones. He is the Only Begotten Son of the Father in the flesh. He is the Savior, the Light and Life of the world. Following his crucifixion and death, he appeared as a resurrected being to Mary, to Peter, to Paul, and to many others. He showed himself to the Nephites. He has shown himself to Joseph Smith, the boy prophet, and to many others in our dispensation” (pg. 108).

 

For me, it is incredibly reassuring that we have prophets to bear witness of Jesus Christ, and to remind us—every time they speak—that Jesus Christ is our Savior, that He came and completed the unthinkable horror of what had to be done to save us ungrateful children of His Father.

 

It is upon us to learn and study the Atoning sacrifice of our Redeemer, Savior, and King, so we too can be witnesses. He suffered more than a human can withstand, because He loves each one of us. He gave us a free gift, as well as a gift that costs our will. We must all come to the realization that giving up our will to the Lord, thus to our Heavenly Father, will allow Jesus Christ’s pain to turn our tears of sorrow into tears of joy.

 

“It is the responsibility and joy of all men and women everywhere to ‘seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have [testified]’ (Ether 12:41) and to have the spiritual witness of his divinity. It is the right and blessing of all who humbly seek, to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, bearing witness of the Father and his resurrected Son” (pg. 107).

 

May we honor this Easter Sunday by declaring to our children and our loved ones that “He is not here, but is risen” (Luke 24:6). I add my testimony to Pres. Hunter’s that “these words contain all the hope, assurance, and belief necessary to sustain us in our challenging and sometimes grief-filled lives” (pg. 109).