Who Is Jesus Christ?

With Easter being on Sunday, it is only natural that my VIP for the week should be Jesus Christ. Nearly two thousand years ago, He was resurrected. His spirit and His body came together never to be separated again. By overcoming death by resurrection, He made it possible for all mankind to also be resurrected and live forever. By His atoning sacrifice, He also made it possible for us to be forgiven of our sins and live with Heavenly Father for all eternity.

Tyler O’Neil, a senior editor at The Daily Signal, shared his thoughts about Jesus Christ and the Easter message. 

History is chock-full of pivotal moments, from Julius Caesar crossing the Rubicon to Napoleon Bonaparte and Adolf Hitler deciding to invade Russia, to George Washington turning down power. One moment eclipses them all—and most people at the time had no idea this moment would change the world forever.

Mankind has a virtually guaranteed 100% death rate, but one obscure carpenter-turned-rabbi defied the odds. He set off a chain reaction that didn’t just offer eternal salvation, but also inspired movements of compassion and invention that made life better for billions in the here and now.

I know I’m biased—I worship Jesus Christ as the Son of God and believe he will come again. But I also honestly think his Resurrection is the pivotal moment in human history, and not just because it offers eternal salvation to those of us who believe.

It’s hard for us to grasp just how painful most of human existence in the past truly was. Not only did people live for thousands of years without modern conveniences like refrigerators, microwaves, and washing machines, but high infant and child mortality was a fact of life—for the poorest of the poor as well as for the wealthiest and most powerful.

In Ancient Rome, when a plague began spreading, the wealthy quickly departed and the poor secluded themselves. Christianity spread, by contrast, in part because Christians started risking their lives to care for the sick; with a little help, many of the sick recovered.

Rodney Stark, a now-deceased social sciences professor at Baylor University and author of the book “The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success,” told PJ Media that without the Resurrection, “we would still be in a world of mystery and probably in a world of repressive empires.”

He argued that Christianity has been the driving force behind limited government, science, capitalism, the abolition of slavery, medicine, organized charities, and more—and Christianity would have been impossible without the Resurrection. In fact, the Gospels record that Jesus’ disciples scattered—and Peter even denied Jesus three times—but the Resurrection brought them together. According to church tradition, all but one of the apostles died painful deaths under torture, refusing to reject the faith.

There is more information in O’Neil’s article, which you can access here. Jesus Christ had greater influence on mankind than anyone else. His gospel teaches a better way to live. His atoning sacrifice makes it possible to live forever. 

Did Jesus Really Live Again?

My Come Follow Me studies for this week took me to an Easter lesson titled “He Shall Rise … with Healing in His Wings.” The lesson was introduced with the following information. 

The ancient Apostles were bold in their testimonies of Jesus Christ and His Resurrection (see Acts 4:33). Millions of people believe in Jesus Christ and try to follow Him because of their words recorded in the Bible. Yet some people might wonder: If Jesus Christ is the Savior of the whole world, then why were His eyewitnesses limited to a handful of people in one small region?

The Book of Mormon stands as an additional, convincing witness that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, “manifesting himself unto all nations” (title page of the Book of Mormon) and offering salvation to all who come unto Him. In addition, this second witness also makes it clear what salvation means. This is why Nephi, Jacob, Mormon, and all the prophets labored so “diligently to engraven these words upon plates”—to declare to future generations that they too “knew of Christ, and … had a hope of his glory” (Jacob 4:3-4). This Easter season, reflect on the testimonies in the Book of Mormon that the Savior’s power is both universal and personal — redeeming the whole world and redeeming you.

This lesson used many scriptures from the Old Testament, New Testament, and Book of Mormon – Another Testament of Jesus Christ to tell the Easter story. This week was Holy Week for millions of Christians across the world. Most Christians spend Holy Week pondering the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, but they may question what resurrection actually means. The Book of Mormon offers additional insights about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. A prophet named Nephi taught the following sermon to his people (2 Nephi 9:6-15, 22):                               

6 For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must needs be a power of resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression; and because man became fallen they were cut off from the presence of the Lord.

7 Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement—save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.

8 O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more.

9 And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself; yea, to that being who beguiled our first parents, who transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light, and stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness.

10 O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the spirit.

11 And because of the way of deliverance of our God, the Holy One of Israel, this death, of which I have spoken, which is the temporal, shall deliver up its dead; which death is the grave.

12 And this death of which I have spoken, which is the spiritual death, shall deliver up its dead; which spiritual death is hell; wherefore, death and hell must deliver up their dead, and hell must deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men will be restored one to the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel.

13 O how great the plan of our God! For on the other hand, the paradise of God must deliver up the spirits of the righteous, and the grave deliver up the body of the righteous; and the spirit and the body is restored to itself again, and all men become incorruptible, and immortal, and they are living souls, having a perfect knowledge like unto us in the flesh, save it be that our knowledge shall be perfect.

14 Wherefore, we shall have a perfect knowledge of all our guilt, and our uncleanness, and our nakedness; and the righteous shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and their righteousness, being clothed with purity, yea, even with the robe of righteousness.

15 And it shall come to pass that when all men shall have passed from this first death unto life, insomuch as they have become immortal, they must appear before the judgment-seat of the Holy One of Israel; and then cometh the judgment, and then must they be judged according to the holy judgment of God.

22 And he suffereth this that the resurrection might pass upon all men, that all might stand before him at the great and judgment day.

A later prophet named Alma gave further details about every mortal being resurrected (Alma 11:41-45).

41 Therefore the wicked remain as though there had been no redemption made, except it be the loosing of the bands of death; for behold, the day cometh that all shall rise from the dead and stand before God, and be judged according to their works.

42 Now, there is a death which is called a temporal death; and the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised from this temporal death.

43 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; and we shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as we know now, and have a bright recollection of all our guilt.

44 Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but every thing shall be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body, and shall be brought and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal God, to be judged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil.

and also concerning the resurrection of the mortal body. I say unto you that this mortal body is raised to an immortal body, that is from death, even from the first death unto life, that they can die no more; their spirits uniting with their bodies, never to be divided; thus the whole becoming spiritual and immortal, that they can no more see corruption.

From the above scriptures, we learn that the resurrection came because of the fall of Adam, which came because of transgression. We know that all mortals will be resurrected. We know that through the ordinance of resurrection, our bodies and spirits will be united permanently. (From Alma’s teachings, we know that there will be no reincarnation.)

All mortals will be resurrected and will become immortal and receive eternal life – never to die again. All individuals who accept Jesus Christ as their Savior will receive further blessings.

 

Resurrection

            My older brother passed away on Monday of this week after several months of illness. He has been close to death on several occasions in recent weeks, so his death was not a surprise. Nevertheless, it is difficult to say goodbye to a loved one. Because of his death, my thoughts have been on life after death. As part of my scripture study assignments this week, I studied some verses on the resurrection and am comforted.

            The Apostle Paul writes about the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15. He first writes about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the many witnesses of the resurrected Christ. We read in verses 5-8:

5 And that he was seen of Cephas [Peter], then of the twelve:

6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; …

7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.

8 And last of all he was seen of me also…

            The resurrected Lord appeared to many other people besides those mentioned above. The Book of Mormon – Another Testament of Jesus Christ tells of His appearance to a group of people living in ancient America. They were gathered around their temple when they heard a voice from heaven speaking to them. They could not understand the voice until the third time when it said: Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name – hear ye him (3 Nephi 11:7).

            After hearing these words from Heavenly Father, the people watched as a Man dressed in a white robe descended out of heaven. He stood in the midst of them, and they thought that He was an angel until He said, “I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world” (3 Nephi 11:10).

            The multitude fell to their knees when they remembered the prophecies that Christ would appear to them. The Lord bid them to rise and come to Him “that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world” (3 Nephi 11:14).

            The people went forth, one by one, until they had all thrust their hands into his side and felt the nail holes in his hands and feet. Then they bore record that they “did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of the surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come” (3 Nephi 11:15).

            Thus, we have records of two groups of people who saw the resurrected Jesus Christ. He was the first to be resurrected, and He made it possible for all of us to be resurrected. However, we will not all be resurrected at the same time. Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 15:23 that there is an established order for the resurrection. He says that the righteous people will be resurrected first and will inherit the celestial kingdom or the glory of the sun. They will be followed by those who will inherit the terrestrial kingdom or the glory of the moon. The third group will be those who will inherit the telestial kingdom or the glory of the stars. The last group will be so wicked that they will inherit a kingdom with no glory.

            Elder Bruce R. McConkie (1915-85) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles summarized the sequence in which the Resurrection occurs: “Order in the resurrection is determined by obedience to gospel law. The most righteous man was first, the most wicked shall be last; Christ was first, the sons of perdition shall be last” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3 vols. [1965-73], 2:394, as quoted in the New Testament Student Manual, Religion 211-212, 385).

            In addition to the order of the resurrection, Paul teaches that the nature of resurrected bodies will be different. He says that the bodies will differ in glory and splendor just as there are differences in the sun, moon, and stars (see 1 Corinthians 15:39-44). President Joseph Fielding Smith teaches that the differences in glory of resurrected bodies will be great.

In the resurrection there will be different kinds of bodies; they will not all be alike. The body a man receives will determine his place hereafter. There will be celestial bodies, terrestrial bodies, and telestial bodies, and these bodies will differ as distinctly as do bodies here….

… Some will gain celestial bodies with all the powers of exaltation and eternal increase. These bodies will shine like the sun as our Savior’s does, as described by John [see Revelation 1:12-18]. Those who enter the terrestrial kingdom will have terrestrial bodies, and they will not shine like the sun, but they will be more glorious than the bodies of those who receive the telestial glory” (Doctrines of Salvation, 2:286-87, as quoted in New Testament Student Manual, 387).

            In addition to being resurrected to different glories, Paul teaches that the resurrected body will be a “spiritual body” as compared to the “natural body” that is laid in the grave (see

1 Corinthians 15:44). President Howard W. Hunter explains that this “spiritual body” is a resurrected body and not a spirit.

There is a separation of the spirit and the body at the time of death. The resurrection will again unite the spirit with the body, and the body becomes a spiritual body, one of flesh and bones but quickened by the spirit instead of blood. Thus, our bodies after the resurrection, quickened by the spirit, shall become immortal and never die. This is the meaning of the statements of Paul that “there is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body” and “that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.” The natural body is flesh and blood, but quickened by the spirit instead of blood, it can and will enter the kingdom” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1969, 137-38, as quoted in New Testament Student Manual, 388).

            I did not particularly learn anything new in my studies about the resurrection this week, but I did appreciate the explanation of the spiritual body. I also received great comfort in reviewing these teachings of the various Apostles of the Lord. I know that my brother received all the necessary ordinances of the temple and that he kept the commandments of the Lord. He was also diligent in doing family history work and helping others to complete their genealogy. I feel certain that he was met by our parents, our two brothers, his daughter, and his great-grandson, plus a whole lot of people who were probably standing in line to say thanks to him. I believe that he will be resurrected as a celestial body, and I receive great comfort in this belief.

Life of Christ

The birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ were foretold by many prophets. Adam knew that the Savior would be known as Jesus Christ (Moses 6:51-52). Enoch, Noah, Moses, Isaiah, Nephi and King Benjamin all foresaw the Savior's life, ministry, and sufferings (see Moses 1:11; 7:55-56; 8:23-24; Isaiah 53:3-7; 1 Nephi 11:21; Mosiah 3:5-8).

When we were in the premortal world, Jesus Christ promised that He would come to earth and be the Savior of all mankind. Every person who has come or will come to earth is dependent on Jesus Christ fulfilling His promise. His mission as the Savior was one of the crucial pillars of the plan of salvation. Without Him, the plan would fail. His mission was so important that all of the prophets from Adam to Christ testified that He would come (see Acts 10:43). Every prophet since Christ has testified that He did come. In order to faithfully follow Christ throughout our lives, we need to study and learn about His life.

Information about the birth and life of the Savior can be found in the scriptures, particularly Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the New Testament. From the scriptures we learn that Jesus was born of Mary, a beautiful virgin who was engaged to marry Joseph when an angel appeared to her. The angel told Mary that she had been selected to be the mother of the Son of God. Mary asked how that would be possible (see Luke 1:34). The angel explained to her, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35). God the Father became the literal Father of Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the only person on earth to be born of an immortal Father and a mortal mother. That is the reason that He is known as the Only Begotten Son. From his Father, Jesus inherited divine powers. From his mother, He inherited mortality and was subject to pain, fatigue, hunger, thirst, and death. No one had the power to kill Jesus Christ unless He was willing to be killed. He had the power to give up His life, and He had the power to take up His body again after dying. (See John 10:17-18.)

Mary and Joseph guided Jesus, and He grew as other children grow. He loved and obeyed the truth. From the time of his youth, Jesus made good choices and obeyed all that Heavenly Father required Him to do. (See Luke 2:40; Doctrine and Covenants 93:12-14.)

An incident in Jerusalem demonstrates that Jesus by age twelve had some understanding that He was on earth to do the will of His Father. He went with His family to Jerusalem to participate in the Passover. When they started on their trip home, His parents discovered that He was not in the group and returned to Jerusalem to find Him. They searched for Him for three days before they found Him in the temple "sitting in the midst of the doctors, and they were hearing him, and asking him questions" (Joseph Smith Translation, Luke 2:46). "And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers" (Luke 2:47).

Joseph and Mary were of course relieved to find Him. When Mary asked Him why He had treated "thy father and I" as He did, He answered, "Wist ye not that I must be about my [Heavenly] Father's business?" (Luke 2:48-49). Jesus understood that His mission was to do the will of His Heavenly Father. He declared, "… I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things… I do always those things that please Him" (John 8:28-29).

When Jesus was thirty years old, He went to the Jordan River to find John the Baptist and asked John to baptize Him in order "to fulfil all righteousness." John recognized that Jesus was greater than he, but he baptized the Savior, immersing Him completely in the water. Then he heard the Father speaking from heaven saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." The Holy Ghost descended, as shown by the sign of the dove. (See Matthew 3:13-17.)

Soon after His baptism, Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights to be with God. After this period of fasting was over, Satan tried to tempt Jesus, and Jesus resisted all of Satan's temptations and commanded Satan to leave. (See Matthew 4:1-11.) Jesus Christ was sinless, the only perfect person to ever live on earth. (See Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:21-22.)

Jesus' mission on earth consisted of several different responsibilities. Among those duties were the responsibilities to teach us how to love and serve each other, to organize the only true church on earth, to save us from death, and to redeem our souls from our sins. Jesus taught us how to live by both His words and His example. He taught that there were two great commandments: The first is to love God with all our heart, mind and strength; and the second is to love others as we love ourselves. (See Matthew 22:36-39.) He showed us by His life how we should obey these two commandments. He demonstrated His love for God by trusting Him and by being obedient to Him. He showed His love for others by helping them to meet their physical and spiritual needs.

Jesus spent His life serving others: curing people of diseases, causing the deaf to hear, the blind to see and the lame to walk. When He miraculously fed 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fishes (see Matthew 14:14-21), He demonstrated that we are to help the hungry, needy, cold or lonely all that we can. He taught by His words and actions that we serve God by helping God's children. (See Matthew 25:35-46.)

Jesus loved people with all His heart. He wept with compassion for others. He loved little children, the elderly, the simple people who had faith in Him. He loved the sinners and taught them to repent. He loved those who sinned against Him and didn't repent. Even as He hung on the cross, He pleaded, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." Jesus taught us to "love one another, as I have loved you" (John 15:12).

Another part of Christ's mission on earth was to organize His Church. He taught the people. He chose and ordained His Twelve Apostles. He gave them the authority to act in His name and to do the works they had seen Him do. They were to testify of Christ and to teach, baptize and perform other ordinances in His name and with His authority. After the death of Christ, the Apostles carried on His work until the people grew so wicked that they killed the Apostles.

Jesus Christ redeemed us from our sins and saved us from death. Jesus was condemned to death because He had testified that He was the Son of God. In preparation for the final events of His life, Jesus met with His Apostles in an upper room and introduced the sacrament to them. They sang a hymn and then went to a garden called Gethsemane. He was weighed down with much sorrow and wept as He prayed. He prayed, "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: never the less not as I will, but as thou wilt" (Matthew 26:39). Jesus described His suffering in a revelation to Joseph Smith, saying that it caused Him "to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit" (Doctrine and Covenants 19:18).

The next day Christ was beaten, humiliated, and spit upon. He was forced to carry His own cross and then was lifted up and nailed to it. While Jesus was suffering on the cross, the Father withdrew from Him, allowing Christ to finish suffering the penalty for the sins of all mankind and have complete victory over the forces of sin and death. (See James E. Talmage, Jesus the Christ, 3rd Ed [1916], 660-61.)

When He knew that the Father had accepted His sacrifice, the Savior exclaimed in a loud voice, "It is finished" (John 19:30). Luke 23:46 records that He said, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." He then bowed His noble head and voluntarily gave up His spirit and died.

A terrible earthquake shook the earth. Some of the Savior's friends took His body to a tomb where it lay until the third day. During the time His body was in the tomb, His spirit went to the spirit world where He organized the missionary work needed to teach His gospel to other spirits. (See 1 Peter 3:18-20; Doctrine and Covenants 138.) On the third day, Sunday, he returned to the tomb and took up His body again, becoming the first to overcome death and be resurrected. Soon after His resurrection Jesus appeared to the Nephites on the American continent and established His Church there. He taught the people and blessed them (3 Nephi 11 through 28).

Jesus' willingness and humility to suffer in Gethsemane and on the cross showed His great love for the Father and for us. He fulfilled His part of the great plan of salvation that we might all receive the promised blessings. Now the responsibility is ours. In order to receive these blessings, we must put the Atonement of Jesus Christ into effect in our lives. We must repent of our sins, love Christ with all our hearts and follow Him.

Christ's Gifts

Merry Christmas to each and every one of you! Christmas is when we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. He is the reason why we celebrate this season. He came to earth in the same way that all babies come, but He is the Son of God. We don’t celebrate His birth simply because He was born. We celebrate His birth because of the life He lived. Because He lived a perfect life, and then was willing to give up His life, all of us may live again after we leave this mortal life.

Jesus Christ gave us many gifts. He gave us freedom from death through the power of His Resurrection. By His power over death, He made it possible for all of us to have our bodies and spirits united in such a way that they will never be separated again.

Jesus Christ also gave us freedom from sin through the power of His Atonement. Anyone who believes in Jesus Christ and exercises that faith in the process of repenting for his/her sins will have the sins forgiven and will become clean. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the principle of repentance, we can all enjoy freedom from sin.

Freedom from death and freedom from sin are not the only gifts that God has given to His children. We received our very first gift - agency, the freedom to choose – before we left our Father’s presence. Other gifts or freedoms come from living in obedience to the commandments and teachings of Jesus Christ. By living as God wants us to live, we can be free from causing abuse or divorce or contention or war. Jesus Christ is the great Peace Maker. Those who follow His teachings receive the great gift of peace in their lives no matter what happens around them. They will also receive the greatest gift of all - the gift of eternal life. I hope that you enjoy your celebration even more today because you know that Jesus Christ has given us the greatest gifts of all.

Atonement of Jesus Christ

Happy Easter to all of you! The Easter season is the most sacred part of the year for Christians because it commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are all part of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, which is the most important event that has ever occurred in all the history of mankind. It has been said that no one really understands their need for the Atonement of Jesus Christ until they understand the Fall of Adam and its effect on all mankind. As part of Heavenly Father's plan of salvation for His children, the Atonement of Jesus Christ was necessary to counteract the effects of the Fall of Adam. The Fall of Adam brought two kinds of death into the world: physical death and spiritual death. Physical death is the separation of the body and the spirit. Spiritual death is separation from God. The Atonement of Jesus Christ overcame both kinds of death. Without the Atonement, our bodies and spirits would separate at death and never be reunited. Without the Atonement, we would never live with Heavenly Father again. As a visual for the Fall of Adam, imagine a man falling into a very deep pit. The man tried to climb up the very steep side of the pit but kept slipping back to the bottom. He searched around in the pit and discovered some sticks and poles. He took the scarce materials and made the longest ladder possible with what he had available. He stood the ladder on end and leaned it against the side of the pit. With great excitement, he climbed the ladder to the very top - only to discover that he was still far below the rim of the pit. He knew that he had done all that he could do, and now he understood that he could not save himself. He became very discouraged and resigned himself to being in the pit for the rest of his life. This man represents all mankind after the Fall of Adam. The man stayed in the pit for a long time. Then one day another man came along the same path and saw the huge pit. He carefully crept to the edge of the pit and looked down into the pit. There he saw the first man sitting in the bottom of the pit. He also saw the ladder leaning against the side of the pit. He recognized that he could save the man by using the rope that he carried and the ladder that the other man had built. He called down to the man and explained his plan. He secured one end of the rope and then threw the other end down to the man. The man in the pit climbed to the top of his ladder and then grabbed the rope. Working together, the man in the pit was able to climb out of the pit. He was very grateful for the man who saved him and remembered him for the rest of his life. This second man represents our Savior and his rope represents the grace of God. As I mentioned earlier, no man, woman or child realizes his or her need for the Savior until he or she recognizes that the Fall of Adam plunged all of us into a very deep pit! Our loving and wise Heavenly Father prepared a wonderful plan to save us from the effects of the Fall of Adam, which are physical and spiritual death. He planned for a Savior to come to earth to pull mankind out of the "pit" of mortality. This Savior came to redeem us from our sins and from death. We could not redeem ourselves because of our sins and the weaknesses of our mortal bodies. (See Alma 34:10-12.) Jesus Christ was sinless, and He had power over death because He is the Son of God. He is the only one who did not fall into the "pit." Jesus Christ was the only person who could be our Savior for numerous reasons. The first reason is that Heavenly Father chose Jesus to be the Savior. A second reason is that Jesus was the Only Begotten Son of God; therefore, He was the only one who had power over death. No one could take His life from Him unless He allowed it. A third reason is that He is the only person to live on earth who did not commit any sin. He alone was worthy to make a sacrifice to pay for the sins of others. I personally do not fully understand how Jesus Christ suffered for all our sins, but I know that He did. I know that He atoned for my sins and for your sins as He suffered in Gethsemane and gave His life on the cross. The weight of our sins caused Him to feel such pain in Gethsemane that He bled from every pore. He suffered through painful death on the cross and died from one of the cruelest methods of death that are known to man. The suffering of Christ through both physical and spiritual agony shows the great love that both Heavenly Father and Christ have for all mankind. John 3:16 tells us, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Heavenly Father sent His Beloved Son to earth to suffer and then stood back and let His Son suffer. As a parent, having some experience with watching my children suffer great pain, I have some understanding of the great sacrifice Heavenly Father made as He allowed Jesus Christ to atone for the sins of mankind. I believe that it is essential that we understand this truth as well as the fact of Christ's suffering for us. None of us have a right to complain about the suffering we have to endure. Jesus Christ became the first person to be resurrected when He took up His body again on that third day after His crucifixion. The wonderful news was proclaimed by an angel to Christ's friends, "He is not here: for he is risen, as he said" (Matthew 28:6). His spirit re-entered His body and would never separated from it again. By His resurrection, Christ overcame death and made it possible for all mankind to be resurrected also. (See 1 Corinthians 15:21-22.) Just as Jesus was resurrected, our spirits will be reunited with our bodies and will never experience death again. (See Alma 11:45.) All people who have ever lived on earth will be resurrected. (See Alma 11:44.) This condition is called immortality and is a free gift to all mankind from Jesus Christ. Just as the resurrection of Christ made it possible for all mankind to overcome physical death, the Atonement of Christ made it possible for us to overcome spiritual death. This gift is conditional on our acceptance of Christ's Atonement on our behalf. We accept Christ's Atonement when we put our faith in Him. We show our faith in Him when we repent of our sins, are baptized, receive the Holy Ghost, and obey His commandments. When we do those things, we become His disciples, and we receive forgiveness and cleansing from sin in preparation to return to Heavenly Father's presence to live forever. President Boyd K. Packer of the Council of the Twelve Apostles told a story - a parable - that illustrates how Christ's Atonement made it possible to be saved from sin IF we do all we can do. The parable can be found in Ensign, May 1977, 54-55, but a summary of the parable follows. There was a man who wanted something, badly enough to go into debt for it. He always knew that he had the debt, but he didn't get around to paying it. Then the bill came due, and the man had nothing to pay it. There was a discussion about justice and mercy. The creditor could not extend mercy to the man and still receive justice. The man was headed to prison for not being able to pay his debt until his friend came to help. The friend paid the creditor and gave him justice. The friend then extended mercy to the debtor. He set the terms for repayment of the debt, terms that were possible but not easy. Justice had been satisfied, and mercy was extended. When we sin, we go into spiritual debt. Jesus Christ is our Friend who paid our debts and offered us possible terms for repayment. He is our Savior and our Mediator. His terms are repentance and obedience to the commandments. If we keep His terms, we will qualify to return to live with our Heavenly Father again. Jesus Christ gave mankind two gifts. The first gift is that we will be resurrected and become immortal. It is given freely to all mankind. The second gift is the Atonement. It gives us eternal life IF we accept the terms offered by Jesus Christ: Faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism by immersion, receive the Holy Ghost, and keep the commandments for the rest of our lives. "Behold, I have come unto the world … to save the world from sin. "Therefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of God. Behold, for such I have laid down my life, and have taken it up again; therefore repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth, and be saved" (3 Nephi 9:21-22). Jesus Christ lives! [www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ddXNF29goo]

Life of Jesus Christ

When we were in the premortal world, Jesus Christ promised that He would come to earth and be the Savior of all mankind. Every person who has come or will come to earth is dependent on Jesus Christ fulfilling His promise. His mission as the Savior was one of the crucial pillars of the plan of salvation. Without Him, the plan would fail. His mission was so important that all of the prophets from Adam to Christ testified that He would come (see Acts 10:43). Every prophet since Christ has testified that He did come. In order to faithfully follow Christ throughout our lives, we need to study and learn about His life. Many of the prophets prophesied of Christ. Adam knew that the Savior would be known as Jesus Christ (Moses 6:51-52). Enoch, Noah, Moses, Isaiah, Nephi and King Benjamin all foresaw the Savior's life, ministry, and sufferings (see Moses 1:11; 7:55-56; 8:23-24; Isaiah 53:3-7; 1 Nephi 11:21; Mosiah 3:5-8). Information about the birth and life of the Savior can be found in the scriptures, particularly Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the New Testament. From the scriptures we learn that Jesus was born of Mary, a beautiful virgin who was engaged to marry Joseph when an angel appeared to her. The angel told Mary that she had been selected to be the mother of the Son of God. Mary asked how that would be possible (see Luke 1:34). The angel explained to her, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35). God the Father became the literal Father of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only person on earth to be born of an immortal Father and a mortal mother. That is the reason that He is known as the Only Begotten Son. From his Father, Jesus inherited divine powers. From his mother, He inherited mortality and was subject to pain, fatigue, hunger, thirst, and death. No one had the power to kill Jesus Christ unless He was willing to be killed. He had the power to give up His life, and He had the power to take up His body again after dying. (See John 10:17-18.) Mary and Joseph guided Jesus, and He grew as other children grow. He loved and obeyed the truth. From the time of his youth, Jesus made good choices and obeyed all that Heavenly Father required Him to do. (See Luke 2:40; Doctrine and Covenants 93:12-14.) An incident in Jerusalem demonstrates that Jesus by age twelve had some understanding that He was on earth to do the will of His Father. He went with His family to Jerusalem to participate in the Passover. When they started on their trip home, His parents discovered that He was not in the group and returned to Jerusalem to find Him. They searched for Him for three days before they found Him in the temple "sitting in the midst of the doctors, and they were hearing him, and asking him questions" (Joseph Smith Translation, Luke 2:46). "And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers" (Luke 2:47). Joseph and Mary were of course relieved to find Him. When Mary asked Him why He had treated "thy father and I" as He did, He answered, "Wist ye not that I must be about my [Heavenly] Father's business?" (Luke 2:48-49). Jesus understood that His mission was to do the will of His Heavenly Father. He declared, "… I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things… I do always those things that please Him" (John 8:28-29). When Jesus was thirty years old, He went to the Jordan River to find John the Baptist and asked John to baptize Him in order "to fulfil all righteousness." John recognized that Jesus was greater than he, but he baptized the Savior, immersing Him completely in the water. Then he heard the Father speaking from heaven saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." The Holy Ghost descended, as shown by the sign of the dove. (See Matthew 3:13-17.) Soon after His baptism, Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights to be with God. After this period of fasting was over, Satan tried to tempt Jesus, and Jesus resisted all of Satan's temptations and commanded Satan to leave. (See Matthew 4:1-11.) Jesus Christ was sinless, the only perfect person to ever live on earth. (See Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:21-22.) Jesus' mission on earth consisted of several different responsibilities. Among those duties were the responsibilities to teach us how to love and serve each other, to organize the only true church on earth, to save us from death, and to redeem our souls from our sins. Jesus taught us how to live by both His words and His example. He taught that there were two great commandments: The first is to love God with all our heart, mind and strength; and the second is to love others as we love ourselves. (See Matthew 22:36-39.) He showed us by His life how we should obey these two commandments. He demonstrated His love for God by trusting Him and by being obedient to Him. He showed His love for others by helping them to meet their physical and spiritual needs. Jesus spent His life serving others: curing people of diseases, causing the deaf to hear, the blind to see and the lame to walk. When He miraculously fed 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fishes (see Matthew 14:14-21), He demonstrated that we are to help the hungry, needy, cold or lonely all that we can. He taught by His words and actions that we serve God by helping God's children. (See Matthew 25:35-46.) Jesus loved people with all His heart. He wept with compassion for others. He loved little children, the elderly, the simple people who had faith in Him. He loved the sinners and taught them to repent. He loved those who sinned against Him and didn't repent. Even as He hung on the cross, He pleaded, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." Jesus taught us to "love one another, as I have loved you" (John 15:12). Another part of Christ's mission on earth was to organize His Church. He taught the people. He chose and ordained His Twelve Apostles. He gave them the authority to act in His name and to do the works they had seen Him do. They were to testify of Christ and to teach, baptize and perform other ordinances in His name and with His authority. After the death of Christ, the Apostles carried on His work until the people grew so wicked that they killed the Apostles. Jesus Christ redeemed us from our sins and saved us from death. Jesus was condemned to death because He had testified that He was the Son of God. In preparation for the final events of His life, Jesus met with His Apostles in an upper room and introduced the sacrament to them. They sang a hymn and then went to a garden called Gethsemane. He was weighed down with much sorrow and wept as He prayed. He prayed, "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: never the less not as I will, but as thou wilt" (Matthew 26:39). Jesus described His suffering in a revelation to Joseph Smith, saying that it caused Him "to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit" (Doctrine and Covenants 19:18). The next day Christ was beaten, humiliated, and spit upon. He was forced to carry His own cross and then was lifted up and nailed to it. While Jesus was suffering on the cross, the Father withdrew from Him, allowing Christ to finish suffering the penalty for the sins of all mankind and have complete victory over the forces of sin and death. (See James E. Talmage, Jesus the Christ, 3rd Ed [1916], 660-61.) When He knew that the Father had accepted His sacrifice, the Savior exclaimed in a loud voice, "It is finished" (John 19:30). Luke 23:46 records that He said, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." He then bowed His noble head and voluntarily gave up His spirit and died. A terrible earthquake shook the earth. Some of the Savior's friends took His body to a tomb where it lay until the third day. During the time His body was in the tomb, His spirit went to the spirit world where He organized the missionary work needed to teach His gospel to other spirits. (See 1 Peter 3:18-20; Doctrine and Covenants 138.) On the third day, Sunday, he returned to the tomb and took up His body again, becoming the first to overcome death and be resurrected. Soon after His resurrection Jesus appeared to the Nephites on the American continent and established His Church there. He taught the people and blessed them (3 Nephi 11 through 28). Jesus' willingness and humility to suffer in Gethsemane and on the cross showed His great love for the Father and for us. He fulfilled His part of the great plan of salvation that we might all receive the promised blessings. Now the responsibility is ours. In order to receive these blessings, we must put the Atonement of Jesus Christ into effect in our lives. We must repent of our sins, love Christ with all our hearts and follow Him.

True Freedom

I wish everyone a very MERRY CHRISTMAS today. I hope that you are wearing blue in support of our troops even as we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Many of our troops are in danger and difficulty to insure that we have the safety and security of being with our families and friends as we celebrate. As you celebrate today, please consider the appropriateness of celebrating Freedom Friday on Christmas Day. It was Jesus Christ who gave every mortal being who ever lived freedom from death. Because of Jesus Christ and the power of His Resurrection, we will all one day have our bodies and spirits united in such a way that they will never be separated again. Jesus Christ also gave us freedom from sin through the power of His Atonement. Anyone who believes in Jesus Christ and goes through the process of repenting for his/her sins will have the sins forgiven. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the principle of repentance, we can all enjoy freedom from sin. Freedom from death and freedom from sin are not the only freedoms that we all have received or can receive from God. The very first freedom we received is agency, the freedom to choose how we will live our lives and the freedom of choice in what we do. Other freedoms come from living in obedience to the commandments and teachings of Jesus Christ. By living as God wants us to live, we can be free from causing abuse or divorce or contention or war. Jesus Christ is the great Peace Maker. Those who follow His teachings receive peace in their lives no matter what happens around them. Please enjoy your celebration today even more because you know that Jesus Christ has given us the greatest freedoms of all the many freedoms we enjoy.