(This is the talk I gave in Sacrament Meeting on Easter Sunday. Caveat: I didn't take time to put in all the scripture references. Most of it comes from the books of Moses and Abraham, as well as the gospels in the New Testament, with a little bit of Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants thrown in too.)
Before
we came to earth we lived with our Father in Heaven. We were taught and
nurtured there by Heavenly parents who prepared us to come to this earth to
live. Before this earth was created we met in a grand council. Heavenly Father
presented his plan which involved creating an earth for us so we could be
tested and prove our faithfulness to Him. He knew we would not be perfect and
by sinning we would be cut off from His presence and unable to return. We would
need a Savior to pay the debt of our sins so we could be clean and worthy to
return to our Father. At the council He asked “Whom shall I send [to be the
Savior]?” (Abraham 3:27) Lucifer spoke up “Behold, here am I, send me, I will
be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and
surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.” (Moses 4:1) Jesus, whom
the Father calls My Beloved Son, answered “Here am I, send me Father; thy will
be done, and the glory be thine forever.” (Abraham 3:27 and Moses 4:2) Heavenly
Father chose His Beloved Son, Jesus, known as Christ, the Anointed One, to send
to earth at the appointed time to be our Savior. Lucifer became known as Satan
and was cast out of Father’s presence for rebellion.
The
earth was created and Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden. They were
married by God, and given commandments, first, to be fruitful and multiply, and
second, to not partake of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
While in the garden they walked and talked with God, innocent as children. We
do not know how long they were in this state. But we do know that they couldn’t
progress any further. Satan came along with the idea that he could really mess
things up. He didn’t realize that he was part of the plan. Our Father in Heaven
cannot force anyone. He gives us the most precious gift of agency, the power to
choose for ourselves. Heavenly Father knew we needed to come to earth and
experience mortal life to be tested away from His presence. He allowed Satan to
tempt our first parents, giving Adam and Eve the chance to choose for
themselves whether or not they would be obedient. Eve, in a great act of
courage and faith, partook of the forbidden fruit, so that Father’s plan could
come to pass and we all would have the chance to be born into mortality.
Adam
and Eve were cast out of the garden for transgressing the commandment and now
were mortal, subject to death. Spiritual separation from God and physical death
were the results of the fall.
Now,
we are in a predicament from which we cannot remove ourselves. We are no longer
with God in heaven, we are here on earth; subject to all sorts of horrible
things like pain, hunger, disease, death, sorrow, evil, war. And what happens
after death? Is that the end of our existence? If so, what is the meaning and
point of all our suffering on earth? It is a bleak outlook.
After
being cast out of the garden, Adam and Eve became farmers, the scriptures say
“they began to till the earth, and to have dominion over all the beasts of the
field, and to eat [their] bread by the sweat of [their] brow.” They began to
have children, and their children grew up and paired off and began to multiply.
Adam
and Eve continued faithful and prayed together, and in time heard the voice of
the Lord from over by the garden, giving them commandments to worship the Lord
their God, and offer the firstlings of their flocks for an offering unto the
Lord. The scriptures record that Adam was obedient to the commandments of the
Lord.
After
some time, the scriptures say “many days”, an angel of the Lord appeared to
Adam and asked “Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord?” Adam said “I
know not, save the Lord commanded me.” Adam obeyed the commandments without
fully understanding what they meant. The angel then explained, “This thing
[meaning the sacrifice of the firstling of the flock] is a similitude of the
sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.
Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son and thou
shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the son forevermore.”
The
scriptures record that “. . . in that day the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam, which
beareth record of the Father and the Son saying: I am the Only Begotten of the
Father from the beginning; henceforth and forever, that as thou hast fallen
thou mayest be redeemed, and all mankind, even as many as will.” Adam responded to this, “Blessed be the name
of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened and in this life I
shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God.” Eve said, “Were it not
for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have
known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which
God giveth unto all the obedient.” (Moses 5:10-11)
What
is this joy of our redemption? It is what the Holy Ghost witnessed to them; the
knowledge of our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
Those
two titles, Savior and Redeemer, indicate what he has done for us. He saves us
from our fallen state, separated from God and subject to physical death. He
redeems us by paying the price for our sins that we can be in a state worthy to
return to the presence of God, Our Heavenly Father.
Born
of Mary in Bethlehem, Jesus lived a sinless life. He obeyed with exactness all
that the father asked of him. He marked the path and showed the way for us to
follow him to return to live with our Father in Heaven.
When
he taught his disciples to pray he included the phrase “Thy will be done.” In
every recorded prayer he repeats that phrase. He taught “I can of mine own self
do nothing . . . because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father
which hath sent me.” (John 5:30) “For I
came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent
me. . . . And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth
the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him
up at the last day.” (John 6:38-29) “My
doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he
shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of
myself.” (John 7:17)
The
Lord told Moses, “This is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the
immortality and eternal life of man.” (Moses 1:39) Through Joseph Smith the
Lord instructed, “This is your work, to keep my commandments, yea, with all
your might, mind and strength. (D&C 11:20)
Remember
the pre-mortal council? The Lord said, “We will go down, for there is space
there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon
these may dwell. And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all
things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;” (Abraham 3:24-25)
Unfortunately,
we are not always perfectly obedient. We are mortal, sinful creatures. We know
what is right, but are weak and don’t always choose to do what is right. We
need to be saved. We need a Savior. And in His infinite love and mercy, God,
Our Heavenly Father, provided one for us.
I
do not understand exactly how it works, but I know that the Atonement of Jesus
Christ is real and has the power to cleanse and heal and succor us. Alma
taught, “And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations
of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will
take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon
him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he
will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy,
according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor
his people according to their infirmities.” (Alma 7:11-12)
I
testify that this is real. At a time in my life when I felt betrayed and abandoned
by those I loved, in pain with heartache and anger, He wrapped His arms around
me and took away that anger and pain replacing it with comfort and peace. When
I have felt far away from God because of sin, I have felt the cleansing power
of the Atonement take away my sins and make me whole and clean.
The
account in the Gospel of Luke tells of Jesus going to the Mount of Olives with
his disciples. He withdrew from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down,
and prayed, saying “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me;” (I
can imagine that he was nervous and afraid of what was to come),
“nevertheless,” he continued, “not my will, but thine, be done.” And there
appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an
agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of
blood falling down to the ground. (Luke 22:39-44)
Always
obedient, always faithful to the Father’s will, to the very end of his life. I
don’t think I can be grateful enough for what he has done for me.
But
it was not over yet. The cruelty had just begun. He endured arrest, an illegal
trial, mocking, scourging, a grueling march to the hill called Golgotha and
then the horror of crucifixtion. At the very end, just before he gave his life
for us, he said “Father, it is finished, thy will is done.” (Matthew 27:50, a)
He was victorious. He had done the Father’s will, completely, to the end. How
grateful we should be for our Savior.
Can
you imagine the sorrow of those he left behind? We know what happened, but they
were still in the present and didn’t know. Jesus had tried to prepare them,
teaching them, but they didn’t quite understand.
Now
it is the morning of the first day of the week and the women have brought
spices which they had prepared. When they reached the tomb, they found the
large stone rolled away from the opening. They went in but the body of Jesus
wasn’t there. There were perplexed, and as they turned around, they found two
men standing there in shining garments who said “Why seek ye the living among
the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he
was yet in Galilee, saying “The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of
sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.” The women ran back to tell the Apostles the
news. Simon Peter, the chief Apostle, along with John came to see, but all they
found were the burial clothes. They left to tell the others. Mary Magdalene
stood outside the sepulcher weeping.
When she turned around she saw Jesus standing there but didn’t recognize
him. He said “Woman, why weepest thou?” She thought he was the gardener and
asked him where the body had been taken. Jesus, in what I imagine to be the
tenderest of voice, called her by name, “Mary.” She recognized that tone and
responded Rabboni; which is to say Master, and reached out to embrace him. But
he said “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my
brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to
my God and your God.” Can there be any doubt of the value of women in the eyes
of God? A woman was the first to see the resurrected Savior and Redeemer. She
was the one to tell the apostles the good news! That HE LIVES! That death is
not the end.
I
add my witness that Jesus Christ lives. He is our Savior and Redeemer. He
willingly lived and died for us. He makes it possible for us to return to our
Father in Heaven, clean and worthy. He paid our debt so we can be free. This
truly is good news! May we remember our Savior and live worthy to be called his
sons and daughters.
In
his sacred and holy name, Jesus Christ, Amen.
