Sacrament Meeting Program

Presiding: Bishop Todd Christensen
Conducting: Brother Grady Stoner
Opening Hymn: #258 - O Thou Rock of Our Salvation
Invocation: By Invitation

Ward Business

Sacrament Hymn: #178 - O Lord of Hosts
Administration of the Sacrament

Speaker: Sister Paige Christensen
Musical Number: Ward Choir - My Shepherd Will Supply My Need
Speaker: Sister Emmy Whitmer

Closing Hymn: #1070 - The Miracle
Benediction: By Invitation

He Is Risen

By Elder Ronald A. Rasband
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

This Easter Sunday, all Christians, brothers and sisters in the Lord, honor and celebrate the Resurrection of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. His Resurrection and His Atonement are the most powerful, far-reaching, and sacred events in all human history.

Jesus Christ and His Resurrection are at the very core of the doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Prophet Joseph Smith, the first prophet of the Restoration, who saw and spoke with God the Father and His Beloved Son, taught, “The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven.” As an Apostle called of Jesus Christ, I bear my testimony to all the world of that truth.

Jesus Christ is “the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob,” “the Almighty God” of the Old Testament, “the light of the world” of the New Testament, “the Messiah” and “Savior of the world” of the Book of Mormon and other latter-day revelation. He came, was crucified, and rose again.

After three days in a borrowed tomb, Jesus Christ broke the bands of death imposed by the Fall. With His Resurrection, He secured salvation from physical death for us, all of God’s children throughout the ages. That includes the just, who herald Him as the Son of God, and the unjust, who will someday recognize Him as “the King of kings,” for it is prophesied, “Every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess” that Jesus is the Christ.

When Mary and other faithful women approached the Garden Tomb to care for the body of their Lord, they found two angels, who announced, “He is not here, but is risen.”

Those glorious words, “He is risen,” have sparked religious ceremony, gratitude, faith in Jesus Christ and His promises for centuries. President Dallin H. Oaks has testified: “The resurrection is a pillar of our faith. It adds meaning to our doctrine, motivation to our behavior, and hope for our future.”

Jesus Christ is more than a mortal first laid in a manger, more than a friend, teacher, rabbi, minister, or prophet. He is the Only Begotten Son of the Father. And by divine design, His Resurrection by His own godly power reunited His body and His spirit. What a majestic and monumental event in Father in Heaven’s eternal plan.

The resurrected Jesus Christ first appeared to Mary and with tenderness spoke her name. He appeared to His Apostles, saying, “Handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.” He walked with two of His disciples, on the road to Emmaus, who pleaded, “Abide with us.” The risen Lord, “Endless and Eternal,” appeared to hundreds in the Holy Land.

Accounts in the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ also bear witness of Him resurrected. A gathering at a temple in the New World, in the land Bountiful, heard a voice from the heavens saying, “Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name—hear ye him.”

Then they beheld “a Man descending out of heaven; and he was clothed in a white robe; and he came down and stood in the midst of them.” And “he stretched forth his hand.” I love the image of Him stretching forth His hand. He said, “Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world.”

That outstretched hand was well known in His earthly ministry. His hand rescued Peter as he began to sink in the choppy waves of the Sea of Galilee. His hand motioned for the crippled man at the Pool of Bethesda to “rise … and walk.” His hands washed the feet of His disciples, and His hands “took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it,” initiating the sacrament “in remembrance of” Him. He promised the prophet Isaiah, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: … for I am thy God: … I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” That promise is for all of us.

He Is Risen

Elder Rasband shares the accounts of Jesus Christ’s Resurrection in the Bible and Book of Mormon, along with His own witness as an Apostle.

Ronald A. Rasband