Introduction

At the end of a long overseas assignment, my wife, Lesa, and I stepped into an airport terminal in preparation for just one more flight—a red-eye—to get home. As we stood with many others moving a step at a time in long lines, we could feel the growing anxiety of fellow travelers worried about making flights, getting through passport and visa review, and successfully navigating security checks.

We finally reached a station occupied by a customs officer who seemed unaffected by the high levels of stress and anxiety in the room. She almost mechanically, with no eye contact, reached for my documents, confirmed my picture, thumbed through one page after another, and finally stamped my passport with a heavy thud.

She then reached for Lesa’s papers. Devoid of emotion, head down and focused on her work, she methodically thumbed through the pages with an expert eye, focusing on the details of the documents in front of her. We were somewhat surprised when she suddenly stopped, lifted her head, and made eye contact with Lesa in a deliberate and warm upward gaze. With a tender smile, she gently stamped Lesa’s passport and handed the documents back to her. My wife smiled in return, accepted the documents, and exchanged warm parting words.

“What just happened?” I asked incredulously.

Lesa then showed me what the agent had seen—a small card with the image of the Savior. It had accidentally slipped from Lesa’s purse into the folds of her passport. This is what the customs officer had found. This is what had changed her whole demeanor.

What do you take from this story?

This small picture of the Savior connected the hearts of two otherwise disconnected strangers. It transformed the impersonal to personal, capturing the beauty, the miracle, and the reality of the Light of Jesus Christ. For the remainder of that day and often since, I have contemplated that sweet, simple moment with awe and have rejoiced in the glorious effect of the Light of Christ upon God’s children.

Have you ever had a similar experience where a small symbol of Christ or of His Gospel has impacted others?

We Talk of Christ

We are followers of Jesus Christ, and we seek to both receive and share His light. Implicit in the name of the Church is our theology of “Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.” Through ancient and living prophets, our Heavenly Father has commanded us to “hear Him!” and to “come unto Christ.” “We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, [and] we prophesy of Christ.”

Elder Quentin L Cook in the April 2012 General Conference said:

“The message, ministry and Atonement of Jesus Christ, our Savior, are our essential family curriculum.”

How can we make a reality of this?

We teach that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and during His earthly ministry, Jesus taught His gospel and established His Church.

We testify that at the end of His life, Jesus atoned for our sins when He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, was crucified on the cross, and then was resurrected.

We rejoice that because of the Savior’s atoning sacrifice, we can be forgiven and cleansed of our sins as we repent. This brings us peace and hope while making it possible for us to return to God’s presence and receive a fulness of joy.

How does the Atonement of Jesus Christ bring YOU peace, hope and joy?

We prophesy that because of Jesus’s Resurrection, death is not the end but an important step forward. “We will all be resurrected after we die. This means that each person’s spirit and body will be reunited and live forever.”

Come unto Christ

Living prophets in our day—who receive revelation from God to teach and lead us—are increasingly inviting us to come unto Christ. They are helping us to center our hearts, ears, and eyes more fully on Him. We could cite numerous examples of adjustments and enhancements announced by the First Presidency that are designed to focus us on Jesus Christ. Some of these include:

• The decision to retire the name “Mormon Church” and to replace it with the correct name, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
• The availability of new, inspired Christ-themed art for display in meetinghouses.
• Young Women and Aaronic Priesthood quorum themes and music focused on Jesus Christ, such as “Disciple of Christ” and “Look unto Christ.”
• Greater emphasis on the Atonement and literal Resurrection of Jesus Christ as the most glorious events in history.
• Celebration of Easter as a season and not just a holiday, with an emphasis on Jesus Christ.
• The introduction of the visual identifier of the Church of Jesus Christ and its symbolic nature.

Which of these adjustments have been most impactful for you?

Let us look closer at the impact of some of these. First, the Church symbol.

The Church Symbol

In 2020, President Russell M. Nelson introduced a new visual identifier for the Church. This symbol reflects the truth that Christ is at the center of His Church and should be at the center of our lives. We now see this familiar symbol on temple recommends, on Church websites and magazines, as the icon for the Gospel Library app, and even on military ID tags for many members of the Church serving in the armed forces. The symbol includes the name of the Church contained within a cornerstone, a reminder that Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone, shown here in Cambodian and in use in 145 languages.

The center of the symbol is a representation of Bertel Thorvaldsen’s beloved marble Christus statue, which has become widely associated with the Church and is found in visitors’ centers and on temple grounds around the world. Its prominence in the Church symbol suggests that Christ should be the center of all we do. Likewise, the Savior’s outstretched arms indicate His promise to embrace all who will come unto Him. This symbol is a visual representation of the love of the Savior Jesus Christ and a constant reminder of the living Christ.

Out of curiosity, I have inquired of many families and friends concerning one important element of the Church symbol. Surprisingly, many are not aware of a hallowed feature that it embodies. Jesus Christ stands under the arch. This represents the resurrected Savior emerging from the tomb. We truly celebrate the resurrected, living Christ, even in the use of the Church symbol.

What does this symbol mean to you?

Higher and Holier Easter

Now let us contemplate the significance of Easter. In recent First Presidency messages concerning Easter, we have been challenged to “celebrate the Resurrection of our living Savior by studying His teachings and helping to establish Easter traditions in our society as a whole, especially within our own families.” In short, we have been encouraged to move to a higher and holier celebration of Easter.

Have you established any Easter traditions or practices that you feel have made your celebration of Easter higher and holier?

I love continuing revelation concerning Easter and am gratified for your many efforts to make Easter a sacred and holy occasion. In addition to holding a one-hour sacrament meeting on Easter Sunday, other examples of worthy activities include ward and stake devotionals and activities on Palm Sunday as well as during Holy Week. These remembrances include activities with children and youth and often incorporate interfaith choirs. Others have held “Living Christ” open houses for members and friends and have participated in multidenominational community Easter events.

Such activities mirror the multitudes in the city of Jerusalem whose voices joined together to praise the Savior during His triumphal entry. Equally impressive are reports of your responses to the First Presidency’s invitation to worship at home as families to commemorate this most important holiday.

I believe that family worship surrounding Easter has elevated remarkably. Two years ago, I spoke about our family’s determination to improve the way we honor Easter. Admittedly, this is still a work in progress. We have always enjoyed a special Easter Sunday meal, Easter baskets, and an Easter egg hunt, and we still do. However, adding an intentional spiritual dimension that focuses on Jesus Christ and His Atonement to our celebration has brought a sweet balance to our commemoration of these most holy of all events.

This year will be our third attempt to make Easter more Christ-centered. Like the Christmas nativity, our family Easter Day play includes rudimentary costumes, reading of scriptures from the New Testament and Book of Mormon, music, Easter pictures, palm fronds—and a little chaos, if I’m being completely honest. Children and grandchildren reading and reciting the Palm Sunday praises of “Hosanna … Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest” and “This is Jesus … of Galilee” seem as relevant as “Peace on earth, good will to men” is at Christmastime.

We now enjoy a mix of decorations. What was once almost exclusively bunnies and Easter eggs is now balanced with the Christus and images of the empty tomb, the resurrected Savior appearing in the garden outside the tomb, and the Savior’s appearance to the Nephites. We are also striving to make Easter a season rather than just a day. We are trying to be more conversant, thoughtful, and celebratory of Palm Sunday and Good Friday and of the sacred events that took place during all of Holy Week.

Easter allows us to honor both the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the literal and joyous Resurrection of Him. Our hearts are heavy as we imagine the Savior’s suffering in the garden and upon Calvary, but our hearts rejoice as we envision the empty tomb and the heavenly decree “He is risen!”

A Literal Resurrection

Recent First Presidency encouragement to look “forward to Easter and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ—the most glorious of all messages to mankind” highlights the magnitude of this season. While there appears to be a growing trend among various Christian theologians to view the Resurrection in figurative and symbolic terms, we affirm our doctrine that “the Resurrection means that all who have ever lived will be resurrected, and the Resurrection is literal.” “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” Jesus Christ broke the bands of death for every living soul.

Right from the beginning of his ministry, the Lord tried to make it clear that he would die and then rise from the dead.

John 18:31¶ Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.

  32 For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on:

  33 And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall arise again.

To us, looking back through history, this teaching may seem clear and unambiguous, yet Jesus’ disciples “understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken” (v. 34).

So after his resurrection, Jesus made sure that his disciples witnessed that he had a physical body and was not some sort of spiritual manifestation or vision.

Luke 24:36 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.

  40 And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.

  41 And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?

  42 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.

  43 And he took it, and did eat before them.

So:

He was not a spirit

He had flesh and bones

He could eat.

The Bible tells us that Jesus provided “many infallible proofs” of his resurrection (see Acts 1:3), appearing to many during the forty days before his final ascension.

We truly stand all amazed at the grace Jesus offers us. We embrace His words that “greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

C. S. Lewis stated that “to preach Christianity meant [to the Apostles] primarily to preach the Resurrection. … The Resurrection is the central theme in every Christian sermon reported in the Acts. The Resurrection, and its consequences, were the ‘gospel’ or good news which the Christians brought.”

Why is the Resurrection central to the Gospel message?

I proclaim that “there is a resurrection, … the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ.”

Conclusion and Testimony

In conclusion, I testify that all who accept the invitations from our living prophet and his counselors to more intentionally commemorate the holy events that Easter represents will find that their bond with Jesus Christ grows ever stronger.

Just days ago, I learned about a grandmother who rehearsed the Easter story with her four-year-old grandson by using simple replicas of the tomb, the stone that covered the sepulchre, Jesus, Mary, the disciples, and the angel. The little boy watched and listened intently as his grandma shared the burial, closing and opening of the tomb, and the garden scene of the Resurrection. He later carefully repeated the story in surprising detail to his parents as he moved the figures about himself. Following this sweet moment, he was asked if he knew why we have Easter. The boy looked up and with childlike reasoning answered, “Cuz Him’s alive.”

I add my testimony to his—and to yours and to that of angels and prophets—that He is risen and that He lives, of which I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

NB: Passages in italics are direct excerpts from Elder Stevenson’s talk.

You can watch Elder Stevenson’s talk here.

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