Day 255

  • Principle: Prophets teach and testify today of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
  • Book of Mormon Reading: Helaman 4:1-4:17
    • What are the consequences of pride listed in verses 12 and 13.  How do the testimonies of the prophets help you overcome pride?
  • There are many Modern Testimonies of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  As you study the following testimonies think about what the resurrection of Jesus Christ means for those you love.
  • Ezra Taft Benson testified:
    • “I bear witness to you that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of the world—the very Son of God.
      “He was born the babe of Bethlehem.
      “He lived and ministered among men.
      “He was crucified on Calvary.
      “His friends deserted him.
      “His closest associates did not fully understand his mission, and they doubted. One of the most trusted denied knowing him.
      “A pagan governor, struggling with his conscience after consenting to Jesus’ death, caused a sign to be erected over the cross proclaiming him ‘JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.’ (John 19:19.)
      “He asked forgiveness for his tormentors and then willingly gave up his life.
      “His body was laid in a borrowed tomb.
      “An immense stone was placed over the opening.
      “In the minds of his stunned followers over and over echoed some of his last words, ‘. . . be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (Ibid., 16:33.)
      “On the third day there was a great earthquake. The stone was rolled back from the door of the tomb. Some of the women, among the most devoted of his followers, came to the place with spices ‘and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.’ (Luke 24:3.)
      “Angels appeared and said simply, ‘Why seek ye the living among the dead?
      “‘He is not here, but is risen.’ (Ibid., 24:5–6.)
      ‘There is nothing in history to equal that dramatic announcement: ‘He is not here, but is risen.’” (Ezra Taft Benson in CR, Apr. 1964, p. 119.)
  • Joseph B. Wirthlin testified:

    • The Resurrection transformed the lives of those who witnessed it. Should it not transform ours?

      We will all rise from the grave. And on that day my father will embrace my mother. On that day I will once again hold in my arms my beloved Elisa.

      Because of the life and eternal sacrifice of the Savior of the world, we will be reunited with those we have cherished.

      On that day we will know the love of our Heavenly Father. On that day we will rejoice that the Messiah overcame all that we could live forever.

      Because of the sacred ordinances we receive in holy temples, our departure from this brief mortality cannot long separate relationships that have been fastened together with cords made of eternal ties.

      It is my solemn testimony that death is not the end of existence. “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.”7 Because of the risen Christ, “death is swallowed up in victory.”8

      Because of our beloved Redeemer, we can lift up our voices, even in the midst of our darkest Fridays, and proclaim, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”9

      When President Hinckley spoke of the terrible loneliness that comes to those who lose the ones they love, he also promised that in the quiet of the night a still, unheard voice whispers peace to our soul: “All is well.”

      I am grateful beyond measure for the sublime true doctrines of the gospel and for the gift of the Holy Ghost, which has whispered to my soul the comforting and peaceful words promised by our beloved prophet.

      From the depths of my sorrow, I have rejoiced in the glory of the gospel. I rejoice that the Prophet Joseph Smith was chosen to restore the gospel to the earth in this last dispensation. I rejoice that we have a prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley, who directs the Lord’s Church in our day.

      May we understand and live in thanksgiving for the priceless gifts that come to us as sons and daughters of a loving Heavenly Father and for the promise of that bright day when we shall all rise triumphant from the grave.
       

      That we may always know that no matter how dark our Friday, Sunday will come is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
      (Joseph B. Wirthlin, “Sunday Will Come”, October 2006)
       

  • Joseph Smith testified in D&C 76: 22-24
    • 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.  
  • Brigham Young testified:
    • “My testimony is positive. I know that there are such cities as London, Paris, and New York—from my own experience or from that of others; I know that the sun shines, I know that I exist and have a being, and I testify that there is a God, and that Jesus Christ lives, and that he is the Savior of the world. Have you been to heaven and learned to the contrary? I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, and that he had many revelations. Who can disprove this testimony? Any one may dispute it, but there is no one in the world who can disprove it. I have had many revelations; I have seen and heard for myself, and know these things are true, and nobody on earth can disprove them. The eye, the ear, the hand, all the senses may be deceived, but the Spirit of God cannot be deceived; and when inspired with that Spirit, the whole man is filled with knowledge, he can see with a spiritual eye, and he knows that which is beyond the power of man to controvert. What I know concerning God, concerning the earth, concerning government, I have received from the heavens, not alone through my natural ability, and I give God the glory and the praise.” (Discourses of Brigham Young, 1951 ed., p. 433.)
  • John Taylor testified:
    • “As a God, He descended below all things, and made Himself subject to man in man’s fallen condition; as a man, He grappled with all the circumstances incident to His sufferings in the world. Anointed, indeed, with the oil of gladness above His fellows, He struggled with and overcame the powers of men and devils, of earth and hell combined; and aided by this superior power of the Godhead, He vanquished death, hell and the grave, and arose triumphant as the Son of God, the very eternal Father, the Messiah, the Prince of peace, the Redeemer, the Savior of the world; having finished and completed the work pertaining to the atonement, which His Father had given Him to do as the Son of God and the Son of man. As the Son of Man, He endured all that it was possible for flesh and blood to endure; as the Son of God He triumphed over all, and forever ascended to the right hand of God, to further carry out the designs of Jehovah pertaining to the world and to the human family.” (The Mediation and Atonement, pp. 147–48.)
  • Wilford Woodruff testified:
    • “When our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, stepped forth into the world to occupy the position to which He had been ordained of God, there were but few individuals who had faith in Him, or who were looking for the coming of the Son of Man in fulfillment of prophecy. Jesus, all His life, it may be said, from the manger to the cross, was very unpopular with the mass of the human family, more particularly the inhabitants of Jerusalem. His history is before the world. He died an ignominious death upon the cross, and those of His own Father’s house, the High Priests, and the leading men of Jerusalem, were all in favor of His death. Yet the Savior possessed truth. He offered truth to the world; He offered life and salvation to the world. But the principles He taught were unpopular in His day. He gathered around Him a few followers; but the acceptance of His principles cost them their lives, as it did the life of the Savior Himself. I do not know of a man—except it was John the Revelator—who escaped. They all died violent deaths. They had to seal their testimony with their blood. Some were crucified; others were sawn asunder, beheaded, or in some way put to death for the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ. They were put to death for their religion. How is it to-day? What name has been more honored, or more held up as an ensample to the world than the name of Jesus Christ?” (JD, 25:5.)
  • Lorenzo Snow testified:
    • “There is no man that knows the truth of this work more than I do. I know it fully; I know it distinctly. I know there is a God just as well as any man knows it, because God has revealed himself to me. I know it positively. I shall never forget the manifestations of the Lord; I never will forget them as long as memory endures. It is in me. There is something to labor for, there is something to sacrifice for. When the Elders go forth among the nations, they dare to say this; they dare to say that God has revealed himself. They dare to say that God has spoken to His sons and daughters as He did in former days, and they dare to say that He has heard the prayers of the house of Israel, He has heard the prayers of the honest in heart, and He has come down as He did in the days of Israel when they were in Egyptian bondage to deliver them; He has come down to relieve the distressed, and to confer upon them knowledge, intellectually, spiritually, and to place them in a country where they can be blessed and saved from that half-starvation in which many have been found where the Gospel reached them.” (CR, Oct. 1880, p. 32.)
  • Joseph F. Smith testified:
    • “I bear my testimony, and surely it is of as much force and effect, if it be true, as the testimony of Job, the testimonies of the disciples of Jerusalem, the disciples on this continent, of Joseph Smith, or any other man who told the truth. All are of equal force and binding on the world. If no man had ever testified to these things upon the face of the globe, I want to say as a servant of God, independent of the testimonies of all men and of every book that has been written, that I have received the witness of the Spirit in my own heart, and I testify before God, angels and men, without fear of the consequences, that I know that my Redeemer lives, and I shall see him face to face, and stand with him in my resurrected body upon this earth, if I am faithful; for God has revealed this unto me. I have received the witness, and I bear my testimony, and my testimony is true.” (Gospel Doctrine, pp. 446–47.)
  • Heber J. Grant testified:
    • “I thank God for the knowledge I possess by the inspiration of his Spirit that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, the Redeemer of the world, the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh. And I thank him that I do know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the true and the living God. . . . May God help me and every Latter-day Saint who has a testimony of the divinity of the work in which we are engaged to so live that our lives may proclaim the truth of this Gospel, is my humble prayer, and I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Amen.” (CR, Apr. 1930, p. 192.)
  • George Albert Smith
    • “In conclusion let me say: We are not out of the woods. This world is in for a housecleaning unless the sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father repent of their sins and turn to him. And that means the Latterday Saints, or the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, along with all the rest, but we, first of all, ought to be setting the example. We have sent over seventy thousand of our sons and daughters into the world, paying their own expenses, to divide the gospel of Jesus Christ with his other children. Why? Because we know it is the only plan God has given to the children of men to earn a place in the celestial kingdom. That is why it is so important. In this great building that has been so sacred to all, after listening to the splendid choir and the organ, listening to the prayers that have been offered here, listening to the testimonies that have been borne, I want to leave my testimony with you and say to you: I know that God lives. I know that Jesus is the Christ. I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of the Living God, and had restored to him the true gospel of Jesus Christ in these latter days. . . . “So, realizing the seriousness of a testimony like that, realizing what it means, and with love unfeigned and a desire to be a blessing to all our Father’s children, I leave this witness with you that this is the gospel of Jesus Christ, the only power of God unto salvation in preparation for the celestial kingdom, into which kingdom we may all go if we will, but it will be on his terms, and I bear you that witness this day, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.” (CR, Oct. 1946, p. 153.)
  • David O. McKay
    • “Brethren and sisters, I have cherished from childhood the truth that God is a personal being and is, indeed, our Father whom we can approach in prayer and receive answers thereto. My testimony of the risen Lord is just as real as Thomas’, who said to the resurrected Christ when he appeared to his disciples: ‘My Lord and my God.’ (John 20:28.) I know that he lives. He is God made manifest in the flesh; and I know that ‘there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.’ (Acts 4:12.) “I know that he will confer with his servants who seek him in humility and in righteousness. I know because I have heard his voice, and I have received his guidance in matters pertaining to his kingdom here on earth. “I know that his Father, our Creator, lives. I know that they appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith and revealed to him the revelations which we now have recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants and in other Church works. This knowledge is as real to me as that which occurs in our daily lives. When we lay our bodies down at night, we know—we have an assurance—that the sun will rise in the morning and shed its glory over all the earth. So near to me is the knowledge of Christ’s existence and divinity of this restored Church.” (CR, Apr. 1968, pp. 9–10.)
  • Joseph Fielding Smith Testified:
    • “The Savior never committed any sin nor carried any troubled conscience. He hadn’t been under the necessity of repenting as you and I have; but in some way that I can not understand, he carried the weight of my transgressions and yours and the transgressions of every soul who comes into this Church from the days of Adam to our present time. He came and offered himself as a sacrifice to pay the debt for the things I have done that are wrong and that each of you individually have done that are wrong, and each other person who has been willing to repent of his sins and return to Jesus Christ and keep his commandments. He paid the price. Think of it if you can. Think of what one man can suffer for his wrongdoing. The Savior carried that burden in some way beyond our comprehension. But he carried it. I know that because I accept his word. And the great weight of the torment he went through to save us from the torment was so great that he plead with his Father that if it were possible he may not drink the bitter cup and shrink— ‘but nevertheless thy will be done.’ The answer he got from his Father was, ‘You have to drink it.’
      “Can I help loving him? No, I can’t. Do you love him? Then keep his commandments. If you don’t, you will have to answer for them yourselves. ‘If ye love me, keep my commandments.’” (Take Heed to Yourselves, pp. 281–82.) 
  • Harold B. Lee testified:
    • “As one of the humblest among you, and occupying the station I do, I want to bear you my humble testimony that I have received by the voice and the power of revelation, the knowledge and an understanding that God is. It was a week following the conference, when I was preparing myself for a radio talk on the life of the Savior when I read again the story of the life, the crucifixion and, the resurrection of the Master—there came to me as I read that, a reality of that story, more than just what was on the written page. For in truth, I found myself viewing the scenes with a certainty as though I had been there in person. I know that these things come by the revelations of the living God.” (“Divine Revelation,” Speeches of the Year, 1952, p. 12. Italics added.)
  • Spencer W. Kimball
    • “This is Easter week—a time when we solemnly remind each other of the unprecedented occurrence which took place in a small inner garden, in a roughhewn tomb, in a caliche hill, outside the walls of Jerusalem. It happened there in an early morning and startled every soul who heard of it.
      “Since it had never happened before on this earth, it must have been difficult for the people to believe, but how could they any longer doubt, when the resurrected Lord himself came to them and showed himself, and they felt the wounds in his hands and feet? Hundreds of his intimate believing friends bore witness.
      “This was Jesus of Nazareth, born in a manger, reared in a small village, baptized in the Jordan River, crucified on Golgotha, buried in a stone-cold roomlet in the cliff, and his resurrection attested to in a small, pleasant garden near the tomb.
      “His suffering before and on the cross and his great sacrifice can mean little or nothing to us unless we live his commandments. For he says:
      “‘. . . why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?’ (Luke 6:46.)
      “‘If ye love me, keep my commandments.’ (John 14:15.)
      “Certainly if we fail to live his teachings, we lose communication with him. (CR, Apr. 1972, pp. 25–26.) . . .
      “And eternal life again was made available to men in the earth, for does not the scripture say: ‘And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.’ (John 17:3.) And so we return to the promise made on the hill in Palestine. ‘Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” (Matt. 5:8.)
      “Men who know God and love him and live his commandments and obey his true ordinances may yet in this life, or the life to come, see his face and know that he lives and will commune with them. “Our friends, I invite further inquiry. I testify to these truths, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.” (CR, Apr. 1964, pp. 98–99.)
  • There are many testimonies.  As you have time visit the following and read more testimonies of the resurrection of Jesus Christ: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/topics/Resurrection?lang=eng
  • Additional Study: