From the Cross to an Empty Tomb

Today is Easter, a day when we celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. From the words of the hymn “I Believe in Christ”, “I believe in Christ oh blessed name. I will worship him with all my might, and I shall live with joy and love in his eternal courts above”.

Often when I am running in the early morning hours I see this cross that stands as a witness of the sacrifice that our Savior Jesus Christ made for each of us. The cross is not in front of a church, but the local John Deer Dealership. It shines brightly as a witness of the owner’s faith in Christ. They are not afraid to testify to the world of their faith. Seeing it every morning warms my heart and reminds me that I too am one of His witnesses and that I am here as a missionary for His Church today.

Seeing this cross reminds me that Jesus Christ suffered and was crucified so we could have our sins forgiven and cleansed. In an interview with President Gordan B. Hinckley, the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the interviewer asked why our church does not have the cross on our buildings. President Hinckley responded that we worship the living Jesus Christ. In January 1 2000, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints published a document called “The Living Christ”. Part of that document says:

"He gave His life to atone for the sins of all mankind

He rose from the grave to “become the first fruits of them that slept” (1 Corinthians 15:20). As Risen Lord, He visited among those He had loved in life. He also ministered among His “other sheep” (John 10:16) in ancient America. In the modern world, He and His Father appeared to the boy Joseph Smith, ushering in the long-promised “dispensation of the fulness of times” (Ephesians 1:10).

Of Him the Prophet also declared: “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; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—

“That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God” (D&C 76:22–24).”

Sometimes when I am running the sun is beginning to rise and instead of seeing the cross shining in the dark, I see a fading cross as the skies brighten. Just as sure as the sun will rise each morning bringing an end to the darkness; Easter morning is a witness to the world that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. The tomb was empty, and the risen Lord appeared unto his apostles and others that morning. He appeared to thousands of his people here in ancient America and they each had the opportunity to feel the wounds in his hands, just as the Apostle Thomas did.

I add my testimony that I know that Jesus Christ lives again. Just as the dark of night fads away as the sun rises, when we die, the darkness of the grave will give way on the morning of the resurrection. Because of the living Jesus Christ, the darkness of the cross will fad away and all who lived and died will live again and be brought before Christ where we shall all bow the knee and wash his feet with our tears. Happy Easter.

Your questions and comments are welcome.

Christ in America after His Resurrection

Life Without the Book of Mormon

President Russell M. Nelson in an October 2017 general conference address asked us to answer three questions related to the Book of Mormon, he said: “First, what would your life be like without the Book of Mormon? Second, what would you not know? And third, what would you not have?” I have thought about those questions and would like to give you my answers.

1.     What would my life be like without the Book of Mormon? This is not a difficult question for me because without the Book of Mormon I would not be the person I am today. I would not be married to my wife and I would not have my children and grandchildren. Without the Book of Mormon, we would not have the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. True, Joseph Smith’s first vision could have still happened and a church organized without the Book of Mormon, but I don’t think that the first vision would have happened without the next step in the restoration – the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. The entire process is linked together and without the Book of Mormon there would have not been a restitution of all things through the Prophet Joseph Smith.

My parents converted to the Church while they were living in Northern California. Not long after they joined the church, they moved to Provo, Utah when my dad decided to go to Brigham Young University. I was born there while they were students. I was the fourth child born in the family (one sister died when just a few days old).

Without the Book of Mormon and the church, Brigham Young University would not have existed and they would not have moved there. It is possible that my dad would have decided to go to school and become a teacher by attending a different university and they may have still moved to Indiana after graduating where the rest of our family was born. When I graduated from High School I would have attended Indiana State University instead of Brigham Young University. I would have not served a mission to Alaska and British Columbia where I met my future wife. We would not have married and would not have had the four children that were destined to be ours. We would not have moved to Utah were we have lived the last 28 years. My life would have been totally different without the Book of Mormon.

2.     What would I not know without the Book of Mormon? This question is a little more difficult to answer. How much would I know about our Savior Jesus Christ? Our family has always attended church. We probably would have been members of one of the different protestant churches were we would have been taught about the importance of living our lives as Christians and having Jesus Christ as our Savior, but there are many things about the gospel of Jesus Christ that is missing and incomplete without the Book of Mormon. Here is a small list of some of those principles that the Book of Mormon teaches:

A.   The purpose of this life – 2 Nephi chapter 2

B.    The resurrection reunites our physical bodies with our spirits – Alma 11:42-45

C.    That God speaks to all his children and their writings are scripture – 2 Nephi 29

D.   That Jesus Christ came and ministered to the Ancient Americans – 3 Nephi 11

E.    That America (North & South) is a promised land – 1 Nephi 13

F.    Little Children need no baptism – Moroni 8

G.   How to properly baptize and administer the sacrament – 3 Nephi 11:23-27. Moroni 4 & 5

H.   How to distinguish between good & evil – Moroni 7

I.      Gifts of the Holy Ghost – Moroni 10

J.     How to know if the Book of Mormon is true – Moroni 10-:3-5

There are many other principles that the Book of Mormon proves and other teachings and philosophies that it testifies is false such as God will save us all in the end (2 Nephi 28:7-11), that all churches are of God (1 Nephi 14:10). The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ. It is a companion to the Old and New Testaments. The Book of Mormon proves the prophecies of the Old Testament were true and the teachings of the Savior and Apostles in the New Testament are true. And the Old & New Testaments prove the Book of Mormon to be true. My understanding and testimony of Jesus Christ and his Gospel would be incomplete without the Book of Mormon.

3.     What would I not have without the Book of Mormon? The answer to this question is similar to the first question. Without the Book of Mormon I would not have the family that I have, I would not have the direction that the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ gives me. I would not have the blessings of being sealed as an eternal family because of promises my wife and I made in the Lord’s house (the Washington D.C. Temple) where we were sealed together for all eternity, not just this life. I would not have the purpose and direction that the Gospel of Jesus Christ provides in my life.

To summarize what would my life be like without the Book of Mormon? It would be nothing like I am today. I would not know that I am a literal child of Heavenly Father, he is the father of my spirit. I would not know what Jesus Christ is not only by Savior but he is my brother, the first born of Heavenly Father’s children. I would not know that I could return to live with them after I die with my family and that when the scriptures say that we will inherit all that he has it means that I can become as he is.

I love the Book of Mormon and know it is true. I have read it and tested the promise in Moroni 10:3-5. The Holy Ghost has born witness to me that it is true. It is sacred scripture along with the Bible. I know Joseph Smith translated it by the power and gift of God, and that through him the gospel in its fullness was restored and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is God’s Church here on the earth. I also know that the Lord Jesus Christ directs his church through his living prophet Russell M. Nelson.

Your thoughts and comments are welcome.

I Am the Light

One morning this week I was in the Logan Temple before going to work and the thunder outside was so strong that we could hear and feel the thunder inside the temple. When I left the temple and headed to work, the rains we coming down hard and the thunder continued to rumble. That evening the rains had stopped but the clouds were all around the mountains and the lightning was continuously striking all around it was a beautiful sight.

This past Friday (September 17^th) was homecoming for Logan High and every time Logan scored they shot off fireworks. They must have doing well because the skies were full of fireworks and could be heard for miles. I was coming home from a program where the speaker spoke of The Lord Jesus Christ coming to accept the Kirtland Temple as his house in a glorious vision on Sunday April 3, 1836.

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, saying:

I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father. (Doctrine and Covenants 110:2-4)

The Lord has said many times that he is the light of the world:

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (John 8:12)

Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I am the same that came unto mine own, and mine own received me not. I am the light which shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not. (Doctrine and Covenants 6:21)

The experiences from this week with the lightning and thunder and the fireworks reminded me of the scriptures that my wife and I read the night before. It was the account of the destruction in the Americas at the time of the death of the Jesus Christ in Jerusalem. The account reads:

And it came to pass in the thirty and fourth year (after the birth of Jesus Christ), in the first month, on the fourth day of the month, there arose a great storm, such an one as never had been known in all the land.

And there was also a great and terrible tempest; and there was terrible thunder, insomuch that it did shake the whole earth as if it was about to divide asunder.

And there were exceedingly sharp lightnings, such as never had been known in all the land.

And thus the face of the whole earth became deformed, because of the tempests, and the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the quaking of the earth.

And it came to pass that when the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the storm, and the tempest, and the quakings of the earth did cease—for behold, they did last for about the space of three; and it was said by some that the time was greater; nevertheless, all these great and terrible things were done in about the space of three hours—and then behold, there was darkness upon the face of the land.

And it came to pass that there was thick darkness upon all the face of the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof who had not fallen could feel the vapor of darkness;

And there could be no light, because of the darkness, neither candles, neither torches; neither could there be fire kindled with their fine and exceedingly dry wood, so that there could not be any light at all;

And there was not any light seen, neither fire, nor glimmer, neither the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars, for so great were the mists of darkness which were upon the face of the land. (3 Nephi 8:5-7, 17-22)

The account says that many cities were burned or sunk into the waters or were covered by mountains and that it was the more righteous that did not perish in the storms that night. It must have been a terrifying experience for the survivors to go through. During the three days of darkness they heard the Lord’s voice speaking to them commanding them to repent and turn to him. He said: “I am the light and the life of the world. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.” (3 Nephi 9:18)

But what they experienced soon after was a life changing event. The resurrected Lord Jesus Christ appeared to the people gathered at the temple. They saw someone descending out of heaven and they thought it was an angel, but he stretched forth his hands and said:

Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world.

And behold, I am the light and the 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, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning. (3 Nephi 11:10-11)

Everyone there was able to personally go and touch the nail prints in the Lord’s hands and feet and they were taught by him for many days. The change in the hearts of the people was so great that they had peace for nearly 300 years.

The Lord promised that he will return again in glory. We believe that time is not far off, that the Lord’s Church was restored to prepare the earth for that second coming. The Lord told his ancient apostles that the condition of the people before his second coming would be similar to the time when Noah lived and the people were destroyed in the floods. Speaking to the Prophet Joseph Smith the Lord described what would happen just prior to his return:

Verily, verily, I say unto you, darkness covereth the earth, and gross darkness the minds of the people, and all flesh has become corrupt before my face.

Behold, vengeance cometh speedily upon the inhabitants of the earth, a day of wrath, a day of burning, a day of desolation, of weeping, of mourning, and of lamentation; and as a whirlwind it shall come upon all the face of the earth, saith the Lord. (Doctrine and Covenants 112:23-24)

Sounds a lot like it was in the Americas at the time of his death. There will be lightning and thunder and earthquakes, maybe even fireworks all around us. Then probably because of the destruction there will be darkness, the scriptures say the stars will fall from the sky, the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon shall not giver her light (Matthew 24:29). In the end the Lord will come in glory and his light will shine forth in the darkness and everyone will see him and know that he is the Savior of the world and those who are righteous will have the opportunity to live with him for a thousand years and enjoy peace. I hope that my family and I will qualify to be a part of that glorious experience.

Your comments and questions are welcome.