The Resurrected Lord

                Last post focused on the death of the Savior Jesus Christ.  This death was vitally important to our future.  We were bound by death.  We couldn’t escape the grasp of it unless somebody died and then lived again.  As mentioned, only Jesus Christ had the needed characteristics to perform this act.
                So it was that the Savior laid down His life of His own will.  But death alone couldn’t complete the task of freeing us from the bands of death.  The Savior had to take up His physical body again.  His physical body had to live again so we could all regain our physical bodies.  Only then could we become like our Heavenly Father.
                Upon the Savior’s death, His body was laid in a tomb for the Sabbath days.  On the third day, the stone over the tomb’s entrance was removed by an angel.  Jehovah took up His physical body again and became the Resurrected Lord.  The bands of death had been broken for us all, and we would live again as resurrected beings.
                There are many witnesses in the scriptures of those who have seen the Resurrected Lord.  Most of the Christian world will recognize those found in the New Testament.  Jesus appeared as the Resurrected Lord unto Mary Magdalene first.  Later He appeared unto two disciples as they walked to Emmaus.  Again He appeared unto eleven of His disciples as they sat to eat.  Jesus again appeared in order to show Himself unto Thomas and those with him.  His disciples saw Him yet again at the sea of Tiberias, where He directed His disciples in their fishing and commanded them to take care of His people.  Finally, we learn in Acts that Jesus instructed His disciples for forty days before leaving them to take care of the Kingdom of God on earth.
                During most of these visits, the people were allowed to thrust their hands into the wounds Jesus sustained at death so they might testify it was indeed Jesus Christ.  So we have many witnesses in the New Testament that Jesus Christ did rise from the dead and break the bands of death. 
                These witnesses aren’t the only witnesses we have.  The Book of Mormon:  Another Testament of Jesus Christ provides us with another testament that Jesus has risen.  This precious record teaches of multiple times Jesus appeared unto the people in the Americas shortly after He had risen.  During these visits, He gave instruction very similar to the Sermon on the Mount to the people.  He also taught them how to perform the sacrament, how to pray, and many of the lessons He gave to the people of Jerusalem.  In addition He healed their sick, gave blessings to their children, and allowed angels to appear unto them.   These people were also allowed to feel the wounds in the hands, feet, and side of the Resurrected Lord, testifying He had risen.
                The final witness I wish to speak of was to Joseph Smith as a young boy.  Joseph wanted to know which of the many churches He should join.  His mother had taught him the value of prayer.  So when he read in the scriptures the injunction of John: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”  Joseph trusted this would apply to him, and he retired to a grove to ask God.  In response, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith.  They told Him he was to join none of the churches.  These churches were good churches that held many truths, but they lacked the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Joseph would be called to restore the church that held the fullness of the gospel.
                As a result of this vision, Joseph saw the Resurrected Lord.  He would be able to add his witness to those in the New Testament.  He would also follow the direction of God to bring forth the records of The Book of Mormon so we could have that record of the Risen Lord as well.
                I have the privilege of knowing for myself that these records are true, each and every one of them.  They testify Jesus Christ rose from the dead and broke the bands of death.  I know this is true.  I know Jesus Christ lives as the Resurrected Lord and has freed us all from the permanence of death.  We will all live again.  Let us live a good life so we can have a great everlasting life.      

Scriptures used for this post:

Matthew 28
Mark 16
Luke 24
John 20-21
Acts 1

3 Nephi 11-26

Joseph Smith History 1:15-20

The Death of Jesus Christ

              One of the constants of our world is death.  All mortal beings find their mortal lives come to an end.  We die.  This is a result of Adam and Eve partaking of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden.  Remember that Heavenly Father had warned them that partaking of the fruit would cause them to die.  Adam and Eve did partake of the fruit, bringing about mortality and death.             
           There is a problem created by mortal death.  This death demands a separation of our spiritual bodies from our physical bodies.  However, Heavenly Father has a completed soul, which includes the union of an immortal physical body and the spiritual body.  This means the separation of our physical body from our spiritual body prevents us from becoming like Heavenly Father.  Yet that is the purpose of the plan He presented in the Premortal Existence.
           There was a solution to this problem.  Somebody had to die, suffering the separation of the physical and spiritual bodies, then live again by reuniting the two.  Only a mortal person with divine power could do such a thing.  There has been only one mortal person holding divine power:  Jesus Christ.
           Jesus chose to fulfill this requirement in order to break the bands of death and allow us to live like Heavenly Father.  He suffered persecution at the hands of the government and allowed Himself to be tried by mortal laws.  Knowing these laws could not condemn Him if He spoke out in His own defense, He held silent.  Yet Pilate still found Jesus guiltless, stating, “I find in him no fault at all.”
           Still the people refused to release the Guiltless One, choosing to free Barabbus the murderer instead.  Jesus was condemned to be crucified.  Having divine power Jesus could have freed Himself at any time.  Nevertheless, He submitted to the will of His Heavenly Father.  He carried His cross as far as He could.  He allowed nails to be driven into His hands, wrists, ankles, and feet.  He suffered hanging on a cross between two thieves on Golgotha.  And through this entire process He suffered ridicule and scorn at the hands of His executors, and then pleaded with Heavenly Father for them, crying, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
          Then the hour came when Jesus had fulfilled the demands for suffering and atonement.  It was time for Him to die.  Yet He could only die by choosing to give up life, for His divine power would allow none to take it from Him.  So it was that Jesus cried out, “It is finished”, and, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.”  Then He willingly gave up His life and died.
          This is a very touching series of events.  If you study the four separate accounts of these events, you will notice that Jesus focused on the needs of those around Him throughout the entire process.  He suffered the humiliation, the pain, and the death required for others.  He could have chosen to free Himself from the heavy demands at anytime.  He had the power.  But He chose to endure it all in order to fulfill the demands of justice so He could grant us mercy.
          Is it really any wonder that we can place our faith in Him?  Is it any wonder that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other Christian churches love and revere the Guiltless One?  Is it any wonder that truly pondering upon the sacrifices willingly made by Jesus Christ on behalf of all of us is enough to bring tears to the eyes of the strongest of men?
          The next blog entry will focus on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  In the meantime let me testify that I know Jesus Christ does live again as a resurrected and perfect being.  I know He sacrificed Himself for us in order to be resurrected and free us from the bands of death and the chains of sin.  I know He loves us and that we should love Him.  And I know that the biggest tragedy to ever occur in this world happens anytime somebody willingly rejects the heavy sacrifices Jesus made for them.
          Don’t forsake the sacrifices Jesus made for you.  They were a heavy burden, but He carried them so you wouldn’t have to do so yourself.  Make that sacrifice worth something. 

Scriptures used in this entry:

Genesis 2-3

Matthew 26-28

Mark 14-16

Luke 22-24

John 18-21

Moses 4

Abraham 5

The Suffering Sacrifice

               For today’s blog, I want to focus on the suffering of the Savior Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ had to suffer the pains and afflictions brought about through the sins and transgressions of mankind in order to redeem us from our fallen state.  This had to be done while He lived in the mortal flesh and was capable of suffering and pain.

              The amount of suffering Jesus had to endure was tremendous.  Consider the number of people that living on the earth.  As of 2009, there were approximately 6.8 billion people on the earth.  Some estimates indicate the world population will reach 7 billion by the end of this year. 

Now consider the number of people that have lived on the earth and died.  Some estimates I’ve seen include 70 billion, 61 billion, and 110 billion.  From this we can conclude several tens of billions have lived before this time.  In addition we need to consider the number of people who are still waiting to come.  These figures leave us with a vast multitude of people requiring the suffering of Jesus Christ for their sins.  Assume your sins are average and you find thousands of sins per person.

When we take all of this into account, Jesus would have been required to suffer the consequences of hundreds of trillions of sins in order to redeem us all.  What a marvelous task!  No mere mortal could have done it.  Fortunately, Jesus Christ carried divine birthright, giving Him the ability to endure the heavy burden.

The terrible task Jesus was to perform took place in the Garden of Gethsemane.  This event can be found in the accounts of Matthew (Matthew 26:36-45), Mark (Mark 14:32-41), and Luke (Luke 22:39-46) found in the New Testament.  In Gethsemane He suffered the pain and agony of the sins of the world.  The weight of this pain and agony caused Him to bleed from every pour (Luke 22:44, Mosiah 3:7, Doctrine and Covenants 19:18) it was so great. 

Yet Jesus knew this had to be done in order to bring us the hope of returning home to our Heavenly Father clean and free of sin.  He endured the pain and agony for each of us individually.  I know this wasn’t a mass suffering for the world.  It was individual suffering.  In the moment of suffering, He saw each of us individually and knew what He was suffering for.  I don’t know how that worked.  I just know it did.

Let me close this blog with personal thoughts on this suffering.  I greatly appreciate the Savior Jesus Christ for His suffering sacrifice.  I know many of my sins.  I know there are many more I don’t know about.  The idea that, without the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, I would have to bear the weight of these sins is a very sobering and scary thought.  I couldn’t do it.  I’m so grateful that Jesus did it for me.

I know that I will still have to carry that weight if I choose to reject the Atonement if Jesus Christ.  I must repent of my sins, devoting my life to improving myself and forsaking wickedness, or I will be accountable for my sins as if Jesus had not suffered for them.  He did, but I only get the benefits of that freedom from the consequences if I do my part.  It is the same for all of us.

Let me exhort you with all the energy of my soul to do your part.  Jesus suffered for your sins.  He saw you and knew you and suffered for you.  I guarantee you that your sins—and yours alone—brought upon Him great pain and anguish.  Don’t forsake that sacrifice and bring upon yourself that suffering.  Show your gratitude to your Redeemer and work on forsaking your sins and becoming a better person.

I love my Savior Jesus Christ.  To Him I am eternally grateful.

Websites used:

Google Public Data Explorers, “World Bank, World Development Indicators”,

http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=sp_pop_totl&tdim=true&dl=en&hl=en&q=world+population#ctype=l&strail=false&nselm=h&met_y=sp_pop_totl&scale_y=lin&ind_y=false&rdim=country&ifdim=country&tdim=true&hl=en&dl=en

LatterDayLogic.com, “Population 2: How many people have ever lived?”,

http://www.latterdaylogic.com/population-is-not-negative/population-series-part-2-how-many-people-have-ever-lived/

 The Straight Dope, “How many people have lived on earth since the dawn of time?”,

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/413/how-many-people-have-lived-on-earth-since-the-dawn-of-time

The Atonement of Jesus Christ

                We’ve now discussed the first of the three tasks Jesus Christ needed to perform in order to redeem us and make it possible for us to live with our Heavenly Father as He is.  This was part of the process required for Jesus Christ to complete the Atonement.  The Atonement is a complicated subject which I don’t fully understand.  I doubt any living person does, or even could, fully understand everything about the Atonement.  Yet this event was the most important event in the history of our world, for without it there was no chance for us to live with Heavenly Father.

                Because of the significance of the Atonement, we benefit greatly from understanding what it is and what it does.  This knowledge helps us know what we can gain from the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  The King James Version of The Holy Bible used by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints carries a Bible Dictionary.  This dictionary explains a variety of terms used in The Holy Bible, helping the reader better understand what each term means.  “Atonement” is one of these terms, and the Bible Dictionary helps us better understand its meaning and purpose. 

We’ll start with what the Atonement is.  The Bible Dictionary helps us understand that the term “atonement” denotes the “reconciliation of man to God”, setting us at one with His laws.  We become estranged from God because of our sins.  Atonement refers to correcting or overcoming the consequences of these sins.

In times before the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, animal sacrifices were used to provide atonements.  However, these animals lacked the ability to choose to sacrifice themselves for the sins of those for whom these atonements were performed.  In addition these beings were mortal, having finite lives.  As such these atonements were finite in nature, having no lasting effect.  A lasting and infinite atonement could only be performed when an infinite and perfect person with the ability to choose to become the sacrifice did so.  As we previously discussed, only Jesus Christ could provide this atonement because only He lived perfectly and only He had divine birthright giving Him an infinite nature.

                The Bible Dictionary also helps us understand that the entire process of the Atonement included the selection of Jehovah in the Premortal Existence, His divine Sonship, His sinless and perfect life, the pain and anguish He suffered for our sins, His death at Calvary, and His resurrection.  We’ve already discussed the first three portions.  We will focus on the latter three in later discussions.

                In summary the Atonement of Jesus Christ is the process He went through to provide us a means for reconciliation with the laws of God and to give us the ability to return home to live with Heavenly Father.  As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.”  (The Articles of Faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, paragraph 4)  In other words, we believe Jesus Christ performed the necessary steps of the Atonement, but that doesn’t guarantee us all the blessings that are a consequence of His actions.  We still have to do our part.

                As we’ve discussed in previous posts, our part of the process includes our faith and our repentance for our errors.  It also includes living our lives patterned after the example provided by the life of Jesus Christ.  We need to be going about doing good.  We should seek opportunities to share in the burden of those around us.  We should do this with money when we have it.  But it is more important that we do as Jesus did and give of our love and time.  Visit the sick, the weary, and the elderly.  Take time out of your busy life to care for your family, friends, and neighbors.  Pray to Heavenly Father for guidance on what He needs you to do to help your fellow men.

Article used for this post:

Elder M. Russell Ballard, “The Atonement”, The Ensign, Nov. 1996,

http://lds.org/ensign/1996/11/the-atonement?lang=eng&query=atonement