Come, Follow Me: He Lives!

The greatest hope in the Christian world is provided by our Savior, Jesus Christ, in his conquering physical and spiritual death. As Latter-day Saints, we enjoy further light and knowledge concerning the resurrection and what it means for us and for every mortal child of God. We understand Christ literally rose from the tomb on the third day, his physical body restored and glorified as it remains to this day and forever forth.

Through the Plan of Salvation, each and every soul who kept their first estate will be resurrected by the mercy of Him who saves and redeems. As we read in the book of Abraham, those who kept their first estate are all who followed Christ in the pre-mortal war in Heaven and accepted the challenge of this life. (See Abraham 3:26) Resurrection is truly a gift of mercy for each and every soul who has ever lived without denying the Holy Ghost. Paul simply stated, “for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Cor 15:22)

Testimony of the resurrection was given prior to Christ’s birth and was foretold and hoped for from the time of Adam. The Book of Mormon teaches great detail about the resurrection.

• Amulek preached, “the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised from this temporal death. The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time.” (Alma 11:42-44)
• Alma taught regarding the resurrection, “all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame.” (Alma 40:23)

Contemporaries of Christ testified of His resurrection:

• Mary Magdelene, upon realizing that it was Jesus standing before her, simply said, “Rabboni.” (John 20:16)
• The Lord showed himself unto ten of His disciples, then to the all eleven remaining eight days later including Thomas. (John 20:19-29)
• Paul witnessed the resurrected Christ and wrote one of the most beautiful chapters in the New Testament about resurrection in a letter to the saints in Corinth. (1 Corinthians 15)
• Christ later appeared to the Nephites after He left Jerusalem and they testified and bore witness that they did indeed see and touch Him. (3 Nephi 11-28) The Living Christ then ministered to the other lost Tribes. (3 Nephi 15:15-24)

In modern times, Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon testified, “He lives! For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the father.” (D&C 76:22-23) The Lord has revealed Himself in these last days to His special witnesses to testify that He indeed lives, the resurrection is literal, and we are all invited to come to Him to partake of the fruit of the Tree of Life and Life Eternal with a fullness of joy and glory. We are led by a prophet and apostles who are called and witness of our Savior’s victory over death and hell. I encourage you this Easter remember the reason for the season and bask in the hope that our Savior openly offers us.

Supplemental Reading:

• Come Follow Me – For Individuals and Families, April 15-21
• “Resurrection” – Elder Dallin H. Oaks, April 2000
• “The Resurrection of Jesus Christ” – Elder D. Todd Christofferson, April 2014
• The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

You can follow Dustin on Twitter at @eltornillo1232.