He is Risen

         As we bask in the reverent afterglow of our most recent Easter Sunday it would no doubt do us all well to remember the sacred purposes behind our festivities.
        We should never get too swept up in the distracting frivolities of colored eggs and chocolate bunnies and forget that one thousand nine hundred and seventy eight years ago, Jesus Christ, the Lord, Savior, and Redeemer of the world, conquered death. And, in doing so, He ensured that we could follow in his stead, and have hope for salvation for our souls after our own inevitable descent into the grave.

       The most miraculous story in the history of the world is as follows:

       Three days after Jesus Christ's cruel and savage crucifixion (a humiliating and excruciatingly painful method of Roman execution)  at Golgotha, a small group of women, all earnestly loyal disciples of Jesus Christ, journeyed to a tomb owned by Joseph of Arimathea, which was the location where the body of Christ was laid to rest. When they arrived at the site, and were just beginning to contemplate how they would manage to move an immense boulder that was blocking the entrance to the sepulcher, they were met with a shocking scene. For they observed from afar that the boulder had already been rolled away, and the threshold to Christ's tomb was exposed.

        Their attention, however, was understandably diverted away from this display of initially perceived irreverent vandalism to a refulgent angelic being, who stood near the boulder and patiently awaited their approach to assure them that they would not find the body they were seeking.
     These women, uncertain of the exact meaning of the angel's announcement, ran to inform other disciples of their discovery. After receiving word of this news, Peter and John, two of Christ's twelve apostles, raced to the entryway, and became instantly astonished by the scene they beheld, for it was just as the women had said:

        Christ's tomb, the supposed final resting place of their Lord and Master, was empty.

        They bore witness themselves that His corpse, that only days before had been lain, dignified and prostrate upon a stone slab, was now nowhere to be found. They testified that the linens that had once enwrapped His body had been unravelled, and lay abandoned at the foot of the bier. (Much, we might imagine, in a fashion that a considerate house guest would arrange his bedsheets after a night's stay in a bed that was not his own) (John 20:7).
         In the throes of their consternation, an angel appeared to evince the reason for the tomb's vacancy with this triumphant message - "Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen..." (Luke 24:5)
     
       The angel's proclamation proved true, for Jesus Christ, glorified and resurrected, appeared several times to His apostles and disciples after His execution at Golgotha. Several historical eyewitness accounts from this time period verify that He was indeed alive and in the flesh during these visitations, and that His glory and power were beyond compare of any mortal man. He had become the consummated Messiah,  and received in full the birthrights bestowed to Him by God, His Father, to be known and recognized forever thereafter as the Savior and Redeemer of the world.

        The reason why this resurrection gives us all cause to celebrate is because along with Christ's resurrection comes the opportunity for us to obtain  forgiveness for the sins that we have committed, and (due to our human weaknesses), will surely, (although not always necessarily intentionally), continue to commit over the duration our mortal lives and become worthy to live with our Father in Heaven after we die.

     To ensure that every man and woman and babe and child who ever walked the earth could be forgiven for their sins was by no means an easy feat. We must remember that before Christ could be resurrected, He first had to die.
      We know from the Bible that Jesus Christ's death was a long and drawn out affair. It involved work and effort on His part to suffer and die in such a way that would guarantee  and thereby accomplish His purpose. The Bible shows us that in the grim and lonely hours before His death, Jesus Christ allowed Himself to be humiliated by His enemies, scourged by His captors, tempted by His adversary, abandoned by His disciples, and betrayed by His friend. The Bible also shows us that the reason He did so was because He loved us. He wanted us to have salvation from our sins, and return to dwell in Heaven once more, and He was willing to pay any price for us to obtain it. That price, as revealed to Him by God, His Father, would prove to be agony and torment never before born by human flesh or spirit. Agony that, as we see from Christ's unceasing prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, would require celestial reinforcement to endure through (Luke 24:33).

        Love is a simple enough motive to comprehend for a Savior desiring to free the human race from spiritually degenerative sin, but why, we might ask ourselves, did that mean He would be required to suffer so much pain and humiliation?

         The answer lies withing the incomprehensible intricacies of Christ's Atonement. A process that began with His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane only hours before his arrest and was fulfilled after He victoriously summoned the strength to declare,"It is finished!" and consign His spirit God (as described in John 19:30),  and then furthermore summoned the strength to return it to His mortal body and rise from death after three days of interment.
         The Atonement is a subject to be discussed in detail this blog forthcoming. For now it is only important to understand that The Atonement, as it is termed, is the reason why we can be forgiven for sins. However the resurrection, which is the what we celebrate annually every Easter, is the evidence of the securement of that salvation, and the main topic of this post. The resurrection is proof that Christ's sacrifice was accepted by God, and it is how we know with certainty that His propitiation for our sake was not in vain. He was, as the Bible describes, "the firstfruits of them that slept," (1Cor 15:20).  This means that because He was first, we can follow in his stead and conquer death and sin as He did.


     Again, this is a stupefying concept. Resurrections are not a daily occurrence, and evidence is not particularly abundant in regards to this story's veracity.  Remember that you cannot know any truth without asking God yourself and receiving a spiritual witness from the Holy Ghost. We should always, after all, seek our own witness when it comes to spiritual matters, even as Jesus Christ instructs in John 3:11-12. God, if asked with a sincere heart and with real intent, will always guide you to the answers you seek. He will never lead you astray. Do not just take my word for it though! Ask and find out for yourself.
      Building a testimony is a valuable experience. It will require time and patience and effort, but there is nothing in this world more comforting and inspiring than your own personal testimony of Jesus Christ.

       In closing I testify that we have great cause to rejoice.  I testify that the tomb was indeed empty! furthermore testify that this means that our salvation was secured!It means that in a pivotal stroke of messianic intervention the adversary, Lucifer, suffered the greatest blow to his nefarious designs imaginable, for Hell's claim to innumerable captive souls was rendered null and void, because a worthy restitution was made in their names!
      I testify that the stone was indeed rolled away! For if the prison of death could not contain him, what mortal prison could stand a chance? Stone and mortar are a trifling nuisance in comparison to the weight of the death.
       I testify that Jesus Christ had done all that His father, God, had required of him. And because He was worthy, I testify that we can have the opportunity to be as well. Yet we must agree to follow Christ's terms and comply with His covenants as proof of our devotion, which are to have faith in Him, repent, become baptized into His church by the proper authority, receive the Holy Ghost, and faithfully endure throughout their lives until death.


This Easter Season, do not forget that exactly One thousand nine hundred and seventy eight years have since passed away.

And Christ's tomb is still empty.