The Living Christ

Elder John N. Craig, North America Central Area Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, extends the following Easter message on behalf of the Church in Canada:

As we approach this Easter season, our minds and hearts naturally turn more fully to the Saviour Jesus Christ. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints invite all to reflect upon all He has done and continues to do for each one of us.

The foundational document “The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles” teaches, “None other has had so profound an influence upon all who have lived and will yet live upon the earth.”

This Easter, let us pause and remember what only Christ could do:

1. In the premortal realm, He supported our Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness and agreed to be our Saviour (see Abraham 3:24–27).
2. Under the direction of Heavenly Father, He was the Creator of this earth (see Genesis 1; John 1:3; Abraham 4).
3. From the beginning, He gave to man the priesthood to direct and guide them (see Doctrine and Covenants 107:40–41; Abraham 1:2).
4. As the Great Jehovah of the Old Testament, He established a covenant people who would ultimately bless all the nations and families of the earth (see Genesis 12:2–3, 26:3–4; Exodus 6:3).
5. Though a God, He condescended to come to earth in a mortal body and live among mortals (see John 1:14, 6:38; 1 Nephi 11:16–21; Mosiah 15:2).
6. He set a perfect example of goodness and taught us to follow Him (see John 13:15; 3 Nephi 12:48, 18:16, 27:21, 27).
7. He organized His Church built upon apostles and prophets, He himself being the chief cornerstone (see Ephesians 2:20).
8. He instituted the sacrament as a reminder of the great atoning sacrifice that He would personally make (see Matthew 26:26–28).
9. He voluntarily took upon Himself the sins, sicknesses, pains and suffering of all mankind, and in so doing, He sweat as it were great drops of blood. Through His Atonement, we have the opportunity to repent and to return to our heavenly home. Through His Atonement, healing, understanding, strength and comfort are available to all. (See Matthew 11:28; Luke 22:44; Alma 7:11–12; Doctrine and Covenants 19:16–19.)
10. He surrendered Himself into the hands of wicked men to be crucified. He laid down His life so that all might live again. (See John 10:18; 1 Corinthians 15:22; 3 Nephi 27:13–15.)
11. He rose from the grave to “become the firstfruits of them that slept.” Many bore witness of His Resurrection. (See 1 Corinthians 15:5, 20; Mark 16:9–15; Luke 24:30, 33, 42–43; John 20:16–17, 26–28; John 21; 3 Nephi 11.)
12. He organized the teaching of the gospel among the dead (see Doctrine and Covenants 138).
13. In our day, He, along with His Father, appeared to the boy Joseph Smith, ushering in the long-promised dispensation of the fullness of times and the commencement of the restitution of all things (see Acts 3:21; Ephesians 1:10; Joseph Smith History 1:17).
14. He has personally restored His Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He stands at its head (see Doctrine and Covenants 5:14, 10:53, 20:1, 115:3–4).
15. He will one day return to the earth to rule and reign (see Isaiah 40:5; Acts 1:11; Doctrine and Covenants 45:57–59).

At this Easter time, we are grateful to Him for so much. As “The Living Christ” powerfully declares, “God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son.”

“He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. … He saith: Come unto me all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey, without money and without price” (2 Nephi 26:24–25).

May we, therefore, “love him, because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).