My Snowday Sacrament Meeting Talk
The weather has been so cold, so wet, so yucky! We have had record snowfall this winter, and so much rain! Sometimes it seems like the winter will never end. But yesterday, March 2oth, was the first day of spring, a season of promise, a season of renewal. Happy spring! Everything old is new again. Did you see the beautiful spring green haze on the branches of the trees this morning, as the buds swell and prepare to burst open in their new spring leaves? Or the lovely wildflowers peeking out along the roadsides? Maybe the clear blue sky caught your eye? It's gorgeous!
God delights in blessing us through his handiwork. I feel happily renewed in the spring, and I know that it pleases Heavenly Father when we're happy.
After all, look at 2 Ne 2:25.
Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.
Man is that he might have JOY! Heavenly Father, through our Savior Jesus Christ, has created all of the earth to bless our lives and help us to come back to Him. Did you know that the earth, and all things in it are here to remind us of Jesus?
Nephi teaches us about this:
"Behold, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ; for, for this end hath the law of Moses been given; and all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him."
2 Nephi 11:4
Webster’s defines a type as “to represent by a model or symbol”. In the scriptures “Types”, are examples or symbols of things. You know, kind of like an object lesson.
So, if indeed all things typify Christ, then likewise the changing of seasons, the coming of spring and the renewal and promise it brings, typify the Savior and the eternal gifts he has given us. We receive from Him the gift and the promise of new life- a personal resurrection, (immortality- like going from winter to spring). He also gives us personal renewal -the atonement. And through the atonement, the gift of eternal life.
Hmmmm, that sounds familiar. What is God's work? …to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of Man. Remember Moses 1:39? For behold, this is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. How is that done? Through the great plan of salvation, and its key components- The creation, The Fall, the atonement (eternal life) and the resurrection (immortality)of Jesus Christ.
Okay, so let’s talk about the Resurrection of Christ
Because of the fall of Adam and Eve, we are subject to physical death- the separation of the Spirit from the body. Through the atonement of Jesus Christ, we will be resurrected, reuniting our bodies with our spirit in a perfect immortal state- no longer subject to disease or death. Paul taught the Corinthian Saints:
20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept.
21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
Christ was the first person on the earth to be resurrected- "the first fruits of them that slept.
There were many appearances of the Resurrected Christ. We remember He first appeared to Mary, in the garden- after the winter of the crucifixion, she had this wonderful spring experience..
President Monson says,
This transcendent promise (of the resurrection) became a reality when Mary and the other Mary approached the garden tomb—that cemetery which had but one occupant. Let Luke, the physician, describe their experience:
“Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre. …
“And they found the stone rolled away. …
“… They entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.
“… As they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:
“And … said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?”
“He is not here: for he is risen.”
He appeared to Peter, the future president of the Church, and then resurrected Lord appeared to His Apostles. He helped them to understand that He had a body of flesh and bones. Thomas especially had a hard time believing. Did you have moments in the cold this winter where you doubted it would ever be warm again? Luke continues to record:
(This actually happened about a week after resurrection morning)
36 ¶ And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
37 But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
38 And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
No one had ever been resurrected before. This was a really new thing for them- but it was definitely cause to celebrate. The resurrected Christ was seen of hundreds of others as well- including the Nephites at the temple in Bountiful , the apostle Paul and the Prophet Joseph Smith. He lives! He lives who once was dead!
Brigham Young taught on the Resurrection: "Even though a person's body may be buried by the ocean, eaten by wild beasts, burned by ashes, the particles will be watched over and be preserved until the resurrection. At the sound of the trumpet of God, every particle will be reassembled to every man. Not one particle will be lost." And President Hinckley added:
"… In the resurrection all of the elements will be brought together, and we'll be individuals, recognizing one another and working with one another. There's no question in my mind we won't be just amorphous creatures. We'll be people, after the resurrection, with bodies, who will work together to accomplish the work of the Lord.""
Alma teaches that at the time of our resurrection, we will be judged according to our works…We shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as we know now, and have a bright recollection of our guilt.
That's part of why the Sacrament is so important to us. It allows us to renew our baptismal covenant and become clean every whit, ready to grow and become ever more like our Savior. Sacrament meeting is vital to our spiritual progression.
So how do we remember the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ, during this Easter Season? President Gordon B. Hinckley, in an interview for a PBS documentary stated,
"There would be no Christmas if there was no Easter."
Have you ever thought of that before? We spend weeks and weeks preparing for Christmas, celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We hold the crèche for our community, we sing songs, we perform in plays. We give gifts, decorate our homes in colors and symbols to help us remember His life, attend parties and do extra service for our neighbors- all in remembrance of this sacred birth.
But there would be no reason to celebrate without Easter. Why would there be? Without the triumphant resurrection, the celebration of Christ’s mission completed; without the transcendent gift of the atonement (personal renewal/immortality) and the resurrection (eternal life), our Savior’s life would not be celebrated. We celebrate His birth because he was triumphant in his mission to save us from death. Here's the whole quote from President Hinckley:
“The whole essence of the Christian religion is based on the atonement of Christ, his death and his resurrection. There would be no Christmas if there was no Easter. The fact that he was resurrected gave credibility to his whole life's mission, and that's the essence of it. We go on living. This is a stage in our eternal journey. We lived before we were here. This is our mortal existence, and we shall go on living after this”.
So how do we "always remember Him" during the Easter Season? May I offer a couple of ideas?
· For the two weeks before Easter, before you have evening family prayer, sing an Easter hymn. Invite the Spirit with songs of the resurrected Lord.
· Re read the four gospels- and plan to finish on Easter Sunday. It's conference that day, so perhaps you'll have a bit of extra time to reflect. Take the time to commune with our Father in Heaven and thank Him for the gift of His son.
· Explain to your children the symbols of Easter- the colored eggs, the basket, the colors and the food. Recognizing each of these symbols will help us to remember the Resurrection of our Savior. There are great lessons in the Family Home Evening manual.
· Another FHE idea- Elder Neal A. Maxwell suggests that at once or twice during the growing up period of our children and family, we hold a Special Family Home Evening in a manner as if you will never have another family night together on this side of the veil. If this were the last family meeting you would have together for some time, what would you say? What would you do? Share testimony, share your feelings, say the things that matter most- what would they be?
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, in teaching our children, said,
"In the peaceful setting of a spring garden, Jesus arose from His burial tomb to live again with our Heavenly Father. And in some wonderful, miraculous way, He gave us the same power and privilege. I do not know exactly how this will happen, but I know that we have, through Jesus, been given the opportunity to conquer all doubt and despair and death. That is what Easter means to me.
…...I would especially like you to remember our Brother Jesus Christ to whom we owe everything, for He came to heal our wounds, calm our fears, and bring us safely home when we really, really needed Him."
May you and I, through the renewal and promise of spring, always remember our Savior and the marvelous gifts he has given us through His Atonement and Resurrection.
D&C 76:22-24
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