The Resurrection and the Life

Jesus made a declaration about His identity and His purpose on this earth when he said: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6).

As I have thought about it, I believe that Christ is "the life" through virtue of His resurrection. While He was on the earth, Jesus taught His followers about His mission.

"Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live" (John 11:25).

I have heard it said that the most glorious words in all the scriptures are these: "Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen" (Luke 24:5-6).

Jesus Christ was truly resurrected! He rose from the dead and thus, completed His work. I believe in the very literal resurrection. A word that is often used in conjuction with resurrection is victory. That's such a powerful word.

Isaiah prophesied, "He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces" (Isaiah 25:8).

Another prophet, Abinadi, similarly taught, "But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ.

"He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death" (Mosiah 16:8-9).

Because of Christ's victory, we have hope, light, and comfort. Knowledge of the Resurrection eases our pain and stills our troubled souls. When we really think about, this is one of the greatest reasons to rejoice!

From Peter, we read, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1:3).

Don't you love the combination of words: lively hope? Hope--not dreamlike wishing--but real, lively (living) hope. A beautiful explanation of hope is given by the prophet Mormon: "And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise" (Moroni 7:41).

Faith, hope, and charity. The three virtues that go together. And hope comes by our belief that we will be resurrected. Through Jesus Christ's resurrection, the way was provided for each person who has ever lived on this earth to also be resurrected.

"And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be awakened by the power of God when the trump shall sound" (Mormon 9:13).

Or said more simply by Paul: "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Corinthians 15:22).

When we understand that Christ's resurrection was real and literal, we begin to have hope for ourselves and our loved ones. And that particular hope leads us to a better way of life.

"Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God" (Ether 12:4).

Several years ago, a friend asked me a question about a particular scripture. The question did not have an easy answer. It had to do with the Resurrection. So, I spent about three months studying every scripture I could find and as many of the writings from Latter-day prophets as I could get my hands on. (This was before the internet and other fancy computer programs made this sort of thing easy.) Everything I read was on the subject of the Resurrection. I learned so much. It was one of those times when I didn't even know how much I didn't know. But now I know more than I knew then. I can say with full confidence that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ really happened. I am confident that we will all be resurrected. We owe a great debt of gratitude to our Redeemer for this beautiful gift of mercy and grace. Hope for our eternal future is a beautiful gift.