My Easter Message – He Is Risen
This was an Easter message I gave to my church congregation.
On the Sunday following Christ’s crucifixion, when Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Peter, went to the borrowed tomb of the Savior, they discovered the stone rolled back and an angel of the lord there declaring, “Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.” All that remained in the tomb were the linen clothes. The Savior of the World had indeed risen as the perfect resurrected Lord.
The disciples would once again see the Savior individually and collectively, as He appeared to them twelve times over the next 40 days. Including when He “shewed unto them his hands and his side.”
Christ appeared to the people of Nephi declaring to them:
“Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the word.
And behold, I am the light and life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world.”
The Nephites went forth one by one and “thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet.. and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety.. that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come.”
In our day, the Father and the Son appeared to the boy Joseph Smith to restore the Gospel. Later, the Savior would appear, this time in the Kirtland Temple, to Joseph Smith accompanied by Oliver Cowdery. In His glorified, resurrected form, Joseph Smith described Christ saying
“We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit, before us; and under his feet was a paved work of pure gold, in color like amber.
His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah,”
The resurrected Lord has continued to visit His prophets to this day. LeRoi Snow, son of President Lorenzo Snow, shared an experience his daughter Allie had with her grandfather Lorenzo Snow in the Salt Lake Temple, where he recounted a sacred visitation from the Savior. Allie said:
“Then Grandpa came a step nearer and held out his left hand and said: ‘He stood right here, about three feet above the floor. It looked as though He stood on a plate of solid gold.”
“Grandpa told what a glorious personage the Savior is and described His hands, feet, countenance, and beautiful white robes, all of which were of such a glory of whiteness and brightness that he could hardly gaze upon Him.”
One of my favorite scriptures found in the Doctrine and Covenants is the powerful testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith:
“And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!
For we saw him, even on the right hand of God;”
Witnesses of the resurrected Savior echo the same refrain: He is risen.
The angel at the tomb instructed the two Marys to go and tell the others of the Savior’s victory over death.
Our charge today is unchanged: to declare to the world the Savior’s triumph over sin and death, to testify of His continued returns, and to prepare for His imminent and glorious return.
President Nelson has repeatedly admonished us to prepare ourselves to see the Savior, to move forward in faith, to trust in His grace, and to share His life and light with others.
Happy Easter!
Delivered Easter Sunday, April 20, 2025
Watch this Easter video I created 5 years ago.
Image Credit: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
