On this Easter Sunday, as we celebrate the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ, we also celebrate the fact that because of Jesus’ resurrection, all of us will resurrect as well through the Lord’s saving grace and mercy. Here are three things to look forward to in the resurrection:
This past week I (Anthony) had the privilege of having my new son born. Here’s a picture of me with my new little man:
As some of you know, these past few weeks President Boyd K. Packer’s general conference talk has been criticized by some who feel that he was insensitive to those who struggle with homosexual temptations. While we sympathize with those who struggle with same gender attraction, we also sympathize with those who struggle with opposite gender attraction for intimacy before (or outside of) marriage, and those who struggle with powerful urges to view pornography, and those who can’t seem to control their anger, or those who seem to be prone to laziness, lying, selfishness, self-hurting, and an innumerable number of temptations that can be part of our natural man. If we carefully read President Packer’s talk, we quickly see that he is not just speaking to those struggling with same gender attraction–he is speaking to all of us who struggle with temptations that are not in harmony with the plan of salvation, teaching us that through the atonement we can resist those temptations. He wasn’t speaking to just one group of people–President Packer was speaking to ALL OF US.
We are all HUMAN
We love little things that are funky and cool, like how 2 Nephi 9:39 spells the acronym S.M.I.L.E. with “spiritually-minded is life eternal.” Or, like how Santa Claus, ho-ho-hoing and going from the north pole to the whole world, is in the scriptures in Zechariah 2:6: “Ho, ho, [come forth], and flee from the land of the north, saith the LORD: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven.” Or, a personal favorite for Anthony—that Rebekah apparently had a smoking problem in Genesis 24:64 “And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel” J (that is before the Word of Wisdom was a commandment. Relax.).
Sometimes we hear that in order to repent we need to remember the five “R’s” (Realize, Remorse, Reveal, Restore, Resolve). While it is a clever way to remember some of the parts of repentance, it misses the most important “R” of all: The Redeemer.
"Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee . . . "
One of the great blessings in the entire gospel is that through the atonement of Jesus Christ we can be forgiven of sins and mistakes in our lives. The scriptures repeatedly testify of this truth: “Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more” (D&C 58:42). “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18). The modern prophets testify: “Through the Atonement, you can receive forgiveness and be cleansed from your sins when you repent” (“Repentance,” For the Strength of Youth: Fulfilling Our Duty to God, 29).
The following question has been asked to numerous LDS youth across the nation. We are interested in how you would respond to it. Here is the question:
One of the best hymns (in our lowly opinion) in the LDS hymn book is the classic “I Need Thee Every Hour.” But do we really need Christ every hour? Every time we sin and need forgiveness—yes—and when we die and need to resurrect, well of course, but every hour? We don’t sin or need to be resurrected every hour (well, hopefully we aren’t sinning every hour). So why do I need Jesus each hour of each day?
The answer has to do with the definition of the word “grace.” We know that Christ’s atoning grace can save us from sin and death, but His grace does more than that. The LDS Bible Dictionary defines Jesus’ grace as “diving means of help or strength” or an “enabling power” (“Grace” p. 697). In other words, Christ’s atonement has the power to help us, to give us strength and enable us, in every aspect of our lives, not just in regards to sin and death.
