Easter & Resurrection: April 2025
Talk given to the Mountain Point 4th Ward in Draper, UT on Sunday, April 20, 2025
Overarching Goal(s)
- Use the topic of Resurrection to help people understand why it is important to seek a deeper relationship with Jesus
- Help people ponder what it means for them personally to come to “know” Jesus
Outline
- Opening - He is Risen
- Findings from people: How do you grow your relationship with Jesus?
- Main point: It seems like, regardless of your age or stage of life, the primary ways we can come to know Christ are the same
- Ways we grow our relationship with Jesus:
- Quiet, reflective time to study and ponder
- Service to others
- Temple Worship & The Covenant Path: How prophets today encourage us to know Christ
- Closing
- The resurrection makes coming to know Jesus vital
- As we’ve heard: Without Easter, there would be no Christmas
- Further, without Easter, there would be no hope
- Closing questions to ponder
- Testimony
Introduction - He Is Risen - 3mins
- It’s a pleasure to be with you all this Easter morning!
- Brothers and Sisters, He is Risen!
- As we reflect on what it means that, on this glorious morning almost 2000 years ago, Jesus Christ rose again, I’ve found some places this week to be especially inspiring
- The Come, Follow Me lesson says the following:
What does it mean to say that Jesus Christ is “He who liveth”? It doesn’t just mean that He rose from the tomb and appeared to His disciples in Galilee. It means that He lives today. He speaks through prophets today. He leads His Church today. He heals wounded souls and broken hearts today. So we can echo the words of Joseph Smith’s powerful testimony: “After the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony … which we give of him: That he lives!” (Doctrine and Covenants 76:22). We can hear His voice in these revelations, witness His hand in our lives, and feel “the joy this sentence gives: ‘I know that my Redeemer lives!’” (Hymns, no. 136).
- The Living Christ, The Testimony of the Apostles:
We solemnly testify that His life, which is central to all human history, neither began in Bethlehem nor concluded on Calvary. He was the Firstborn of the Father, the Only Begotten Son in the flesh, the Redeemer of the world. … We bear testimony, as His duly ordained Apostles—that Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son.
- I believe this to be true, brothers and sisters
- But how can we grow closer to the Living Christ if we don’t see Him regularly?
- Been thinking a lot about this recently, considering ways that we can grow closer to Him.
- We don’t often pray to Jesus, we pray to the Father in His name
- I seek the Holy Ghost for inspiration
- But what about my Savior?
- How can we develop a deeper relationship to Jesus?
Polls / Interviews - 3mins
- In pondering on this topic, I had a further question: Does growing your relationship with Jesus look differently depending on the stage of life that you’re in?
- Asked family, including parents, grandparents, siblings (including my teenage sisters), children, and my wonderful wife
- Regular, recurring themes that came through
- Some slight variance, and some things are easier or more attainable depending on your stage of life, but almost all ages said basically the same thing:
- Themes (presented in the first person)
- Regular temple attendance - The more I attend, the more I find Jesus in the temple
- Attending seminary
- Reading the Book of Mormon together as a family at night
- Finding time to quietly meditate, or study the Scriptures and words of modern prophets
- Listening to general conference talks in the morning while I’m getting ready
- Seeking out uplifting content focused on the Scriptures and on Jesus, like studying more about Church History through reading The Saints, watching The Chosen
- Spending thoughtful, quiet time in nature
- Accepting callings and looking for ways to magnify them
- I’d like to distill down these themes and focus on 3 ways that, no matter your age or stage of life, you can come to know Jesus better; you can grow your relationship with Him this week
- Seek quiet, reflective time to study daily
- Serve others
- Walk on the covenant path
Quiet, Reflective Time to Study - 4.5mins
- In this recent general conference, Elder Rasband said something that I found to be really profound:
Last fall I spoke at a devotional to an arena full of seminary and institute students and their parents at the University of Utah. Their attendance said much about their desire to know and follow Jesus Christ. My message to those students was clear: Give the Lord equal time. I counseled them to balance their studies with true higher learning, even a study of “the Son of the living God.”
I ask the same of everyone today: Whatever is on your to-do list, give equal time, not spare time, to the Lord in personal scripture study, family study of Come, Follow Me, prayer, Church callings, ministering, partaking of the sacrament, worshipping in the temple, and pondering the things of God. Our Lord and Savior has said, “Learn of me … and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Take Him at His word. And give Him equal time.
- In April 2022, President Nelson, the man who we believe to be a prophet of God, said the following:
With frightening speed, a testimony that is not nourished daily “by the good word of God” can crumble. Thus, the antidote to Satan’s scheme is clear: we need daily experiences worshipping the Lord and studying His gospel. I plead with you to let God prevail in your life. Give Him a fair share of your time. As you do, notice what happens to your positive spiritual momentum.
- Life is busy, life is chaotic, life is not always routine. So what are some practical ways that we can have these daily, spiritual experiences to help us grow closer to Jesus?
- From those that I polled, and from my own life experiences, I found the following recommendations to be helpful:
- Plan. Plan regular, recurring time, and make that time sacred. Feel free to say “no” to other things so that this time is kept for the Lord
- Start with music, then a prayer. This may be just me, but I feel like I have better studies when I start by listening to uplifting music for 3-5mins, then I kneel and pray, asking for the Spirit to help me.
- Study. Don’t just read, STUDY. Dive deep into the Scriptures. Don’t substitute other things for the Scriptures
- Write. Keep a study journal and write in it about what you’re learning. Write in it about your spiritual experiences.
- A quote that I love goes as follows: “If you’re thinking without writing, you only THINK that you’re thinking.”
- I can testify that I’ve seen this in my life: Choosing to fill my time with more spiritual content, your mindset shifts (when I chose to switch podcast listening)
Service to Others - 2.5mins
- Matthew 25: 31-40
31 ¶ When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
- King Benjamin said, in the Book of Mormon, Mosiah 2:16-17:
16 Behold, I say unto you that because I said unto you that I had spent my days in your service, I do not desire to boast, for I have only been in the service of God. 17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.
- What are ways to serve today?
- Magnify Callings
- Service projects
- Ministering assignments - Become a friend, don’t consider people numbers
- When we serve others that the Lord puts in our path, we will draw closer to Jesus, and feel a deeper connection to Him.
Temple & Covenant Path - 2.5mins
- No one thing came up more frequently in my small interviews than regular temple attendance
- In Temple attendance we can find the other two themes themselves!
- Temple attendance is a type of service
- While in the temple, we find a quiet, sacred place to meditate.
- We remove ourselves from the world and can experience peace, tranquility, and can feel the Savior’s presence stronger than any other place in the entire world
- I’d like to expand this to include participating on the covenant path
- As members of the Church of Jesus Christ, we believe that sacred priesthood authority has been restored to the earth through angelic means, and that authorized, accepted ordinances are not only available again, but required for eternal salvation
- Though it’s always been important, my perspective is that our modern prophets, apostles, and Church leaders have had an increased emphasis on the covenant path over the past 10 years, especially the last 5
- If you’re considering your place on the “covenant path”, and potentially considering taking a step towards making and keeping covenants with Jesus Christ, I would encourage you to take that step
- In a January 2018 press conference following his ordination as President of the Church, President Nelson said:
“Now, to each member of the Church I say: Keep on the covenant path. Your commitment to follow the Savior by making covenants with Him and then keeping those covenants will open the door to every spiritual blessing and privilege available to men, women and children everywhere.”
- I firmly believe that, Included in “every spiritual blessing and privilege” in the deepening of your relationship with our Savior
Closing - 1.5mins
- The resurrection makes coming to know Jesus vital
- As we’ve heard many times: Without Easter, there would be no Christmas
- Further, without Easter, there would be no hope
- Growing our relationship with Jesus is important, and we’ve discussed a lot of ways to do that
- We’ve talked about a lot things, let’s recap
- Quiet, reflective time to study and ponder
- Service to others
- Temple Worship & the covenant path
- We’ve talked about a lot things, let’s recap
- That’s a lot of things to consider, and it’s overwhelming to consider trying to implement everything.
- Start small, ask yourselves these questions:
- What is one small thing that I can do to make more room for growing my relationship with Jesus?
- What is one small way I can shift my mindset during my study to focus more on the Savior?
- What is one small way that I can maybe serve someone better this week?
- Choose ONE thing. ONE SMALL THING. The Lord will bless you in your efforts
Testimony - 3mins
- At the end of talks, we generally bear a testimony
- A testimony is an interesting thing, and it’s a thing that we should share regularly
- A testimony is a declaration of what you believe and what you know
- I know and testify, based on my own personal experience, that I have seen in my life answers to prayer, answers to fasting, I’ve seen miracles in my life that shouldn’t have happened according to what we deem to be “real”. I also have felt the Holy Ghost witness to my heart and to my mind about things like the truthfulness of the Scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon.
- I have personally witnessed in my life that I am happier when I follow Jesus’ teachings, as taught in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and in the Scriptures, which the Church does not contradict. And I am MUCH less happy when I don’t follow those teachings.
- I know, not because I have seen Him, but because the Holy Spirit has born witness to me in my heart and in mind, that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the universe, of all things in it.
- He lives. He rose from the grave after 3 days.
- Because he rose, because he was resurrected, we all have the opportunity to overcome spiritual and physical death.
- He loves us, Heavenly Father loves us, and they want us to come to live with them again