Day 8- The Resurrection

You can find it here

Happy Easter everyone!

Day 7- Christ Visits the Spirit World & Speaks to the Nephites

**This is a little early but I wanted to make sure it got posted on time.

The Four Gospels in the New Testament don't say a whole lot about what occurred on the seventh day of Christ's last week as His body lay in the tomb in Jerusalem. In fact, Luke is the only one who mentions anything and all he says is that they "rested the sabbath day according to the commandment" (Luke 23:5).

Later in the New Testament Peter gives us a little idea of what happened that day:

“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; …

“For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.” (1 Pet. 3:18–19; 1 Pet. 4:6.)

The short time Christ had between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection He spent teaching the spirits of those people who had died before His glorious Atonement and Resurrection were completed. I can only imagine their rejoicing as Jesus Christ our Savior appeared to them and taught them the truths of the everlasting Gospel! Finally, they were freed from the bonds of death. Their bodies and their spirits woud once again be joined together, never to be separated again. What a glorious day!

The sixth president of the church, President Joseph F. Smith, experienced the events of that day in a vision on October 3, 1918. President Smith describes a scene of rejoicing and gladness as the Savior appeared to these people who had been waiting since the beginning of man for their redemption from death. He saw Jesus go among these people and teach them the everlasting gospel, the doctrine of the resurrection and the redemption of mankind from the fall, and from individual sins on conditions of repentance (Joseph F. Smith, “Vision of the Redemption of the Dead,” Ensign, Nov 1971, 67). You can read the full account of his vision here.

President Joseph F. Smith also saw that Jesus Christ did not visit the hosts of wicked people who were unrepentant and ungodly during their earthly lives. Instead, He organized and appointed messengers from among the righteous to go into the darkness and teach these people. Any who would repent of their sins and accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ were forgiven and redeemed from spiritual death.

Although he could not go to them Himself, He made it possible for those who were separated from Christ to forsake their sins and come unto Him. But they had to do the work and make the effort. He still hopes and desires for us to come unto Him today and He is waiting with open arms to embrace us and fill us with His love and peace.

Through the Book of Mormon, we learn that on this day Christ also spoke to the Nephites on the American continent. His voice was heard coming out of the darkness that fell among the people that was so thick they could physically feel the vapor of darkness over them (3 Nephi 8:20). How comforting His words must have been to those lonely and scared Nephites. Among many things (which you can find here) He says:

“Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name.” (3 Nephi 9:15)

“Behold, I have come unto the world to bring redemption unto the world, to save the world from sin. Therefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of God. Behold, for such I have laid down my life, and have taken it up again; therefore repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth, and be saved.” (3 Nephi 9:21-22).

At this time Jesus Christ did not appear to the people on the American continent, but his voice taught them the truth of His mighty Atonement. In these last days we may not have the opportunity to see our Savior’s face, but His words still teach us, guide us to the truth, and speak peace to our hearts.

I bear my testimony to you the Christ loves you, He counts you among one of His sheep, never to go astray if we but rely on Him and His teachings. It is my testimony that Christ fulfilled the work of the Father, that through His crucifixion and atonement all mankind may be saved. As His mortal body lay in the tomb in Jerusalem, His Spirit taught the people He loved His Gospel, the greatest gift He could give them- and us. I know that it is through Christ that we are made whole and perfect. We are too weak to inherit the Kingdom of God on our own accord, but Christ provides the way if we but turn to Him, believe in Him, follow Him, and love Him. He is the light that guides me in darkness.

“Among many peoples on the earth the seventh day was a day of physical darkness, but it was only the brief darkness of the night that was to precede the most glorious dawn in history.” (Daniel H. Ludlow, “The Greatest Week in History,” Ensign, Apr 1972, 34)

Day 6

Sorry for the late post today, it's been a long day.

You can read Christa's review of Day 6 here.

Day 5

Rebecca covered the events of Day 5 here.

Day 4

I hope you're enjoying this week as much as I am.

You can find out what happened on Wednesday, Day 4 of the Last Week of Christ's Life here at Janae's blog.

Day 2

This was written by Janae:

Four important events happened the Monday before the Savior was crucified. First, he cursed the fig tree. Second, he cleansed the temple. Third, he healed at the temple. Last, children gathered crying "Hosanna." The following explains each of these in more detail.

After spending the night in Bethany, Jesus and his apostles walked to Jerusalem on Monday morning. As they were walking they were hungry (Matt. 21:18), and Jesus promptly found a blossoming fig tree. When he looked closer, however, he found that the tree had no fruit, only leaves. Jesus cursed the tree and it immediately withered away (Matt. 21:19). Apparently, this type of fig tree produces small fruits even before it gets leaves, so finding a tree full of leaves but no fruit meant that the tree was barren. It gave the appearance of having fruit, when in reality it would never have any (New Testament Seminary Student Study Guide, 48). The fig tree is a symbol of hypocrisy, particularly of the Jewish leaders in Jesus' day. They gave the appearance of being righteous when inwardly they were ravening wolves.

Upon arriving in Jerusalem, Jesus and the apostles when straight to the temple. In that time period it was common for people to travel a long distance to the temple, and they were therefore unable to bring the necessary animals for their sacrifices. Shops set up outside the temple to provide currency exchange and sacrificial animals were both acceptable and necessary. Unfortunately, when Jesus arrived he found that the sellers and traders were priests who worked in the temple, and that they were lying and cheating the people to fill their own pockets (Eric D. Huntsman, “Reflections on the Savior’s Last Week,” Ensign, Apr 2009, 56). It had been three years to the week that Jesus had first cleansed the temple, and here they were again, doing the same thing (Daniel H. Ludlow, “The Greatest Week in History,” Ensign, Apr 1972, 34). He pushed over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of the dove sellers, and cast out the men involved (Mark 11:15).

Jesus spent the entire day at the temple. He healed the blind and lame who gathered there after the money changers and animal sellers were kicked out (Matt 21:14). Children also gathered at the temple, crying "Hosanna to the Son of David," a title used only to reference the Savior. This upset the chief priests and scribes, but Jesus turned to them and said, "Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?" (Matt 21:15-16). After teaching all day in the temple, Jesus returned to Bethany for the night.

The Last Week of Christ's Life

I love Easter. Celebrating our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and remembering the Atonement and what it means for each of us is a humbling experience. I enjoy this time of year- the world is fresh and new with signs of Spring. I feel a renewal in Spirit and Body and Mind.

This year my dear friend Rebecca invited me to participate in a blog hop to celebrate and discuss the days of the final week of Christ's Earthly ministry. Some of these women I know personally, some I have never met. But I'm excited to join together with these wonderful women who have testimonies of Christ and share our testimonies with you.

Today is Palm Sunday and you can find out what happened today and read Rachel's thoughts on the events of the day here

I'll be back tomorrow to link you to the next post so you can follow along with us this week.