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The Resurrection of Jesus Christ
is celebrated annually in all of Christendom, typically during
the season of Easter. Outside of Christmas, Christian churches
experience their highest attendance of the year at Easter as
young girls are dressed in bright Easter attire with hats and
ribbons, and young men in new suits. One hopes that there is
more to Easter than baskets, eggs, and new clothes.
The Impact of the Resurrection on
Humankind
Through the Atonement and the Resurrection, Christ was able to
overcome physical death and open up the pathway of
Resurrection to us all (1 Corinthians 15:21–22). The Prophet
Alma taught that everyone who has ever lived will be
resurrected, “...both old and young, both bond and free, both
male and female, both the wicked and the righteous” (Alma
11:44). As resurrected beings we will be in a state of
immortality, where we “...can die no more” (Alma 11:45).
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Between Christ’s Physical Death and
Resurrection
Three days following his crucifixion, Christ’s spirit was
eternally reunited to his body and was resurrected. Before his
resurrection, after his crucifixion, Christ descended into the
spirit prison to preach the gospel. The Apostle Peter
describes this act of love by the Savior: “For Christ also
hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he
might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but
quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached
unto the spirits in prison” (1 Pet. 3:18–19).
Vision of the Spirit Prison Where
Christ Preached
Joseph F. Smith recorded a vision in which he saw Christ visit
the righteous spirits in the spirit world. It was there that
Christ organized missionary work for the dead, including the
appointment and endowment of messengers to “...carry the light
of the gospel to them that were in the darkness, even to all
the spirits of men” (D&C 138:20).
While the Bible introduces the concept of Christ having
visited the spirits in prison, the details provided in the
vision by Joseph F. Smith are remarkable and worth
considerable amounts of pondering and thought. The Prophet’s
vision described how Christ, during the time between his death
and resurrection, organized the preaching of the gospel in the
spirit world. During the period of Christ’s preaching among
the “realm of the dead,” Jesus organized the missionary effort
to preach the gospel in the spirit world. This effort not only
took place when he was there, but it was organized to continue
after he left. See the website section and Sword Series™ essay
on the spirit world for
more details.
Jesus and His Physical Body in the
Resurrection
Following his resurrection, Jesus demonstrated the physical
nature of his body by showing himself to his apostles to touch
for themselves (Luke 29:39-40), and eating fish and honeycomb
(Luke 29:42-43). The corporeal nature of Christ’s body after
the resurrection causes us to ponder the logistics of His
ascension and the physical nature of God , which is addressed
more fully in the website section and Sword Series™ essay on
God the Father.
Our Personal Resurrection
The Foundation discusses the subject of our personal
resurrection in the website section and Sword Series™ essay on
the resurrection of man.
It is key to recognize that our own resurrection would not be
possible without Jesus Christ having broke the bands of death
on the cross at Calvary.
Conclusion
By and through His resurrection Jesus Christ overcame death
and made immortality possible for all of the children of God.
Before His resurrection Christ descended into the spirit world
to commence the preaching of the gospel, organizing missionary
work that will continue until the conclusion of the millennial
reign of Christ on earth. Jesus Christ ascended from the earth
in a glorified, perfected, and resurrected body and stands at
the right hand of the Father, promising to come again in a
like manner. Following our own physical death we too will be
resurrected, with the choices we make here on earth dictating
the type of resurrection we will have.
Doctrinal
Study: Godhead /
Trinity: Resurrection of Christ
Download the Sword Series™ essay on the Resurrection of Jesus
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