April 7, 2020
Preparing for Easter
Remarkable General Conference!
What a remarkable General Conference! President Nelson was right – it was “memorable” and “unforgettable”! Not only were we blessed by inspired messages about the Restoration and words of encouragement and counsel and by wonderful music (Who can forget the six choirs from around the world joining the Tabernacle Choir to sing “We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet”? I could hardly sing for emotion when our turn came to join in.) But unique to the conference and for which it will be long-remembered were the introduction of the new Church logo (Have you noticed that your Gospel Library app now looks different?), the presentation of the Bicentennial Proclamation (I’ll start working on memorizing that this week.), the invitation to join in a worldwide fast on Good Friday this week, the solemn assembly and Hosanna Shout (How fitting that we were waving handkerchiefs and shouting “Hosanna!” on Palm Sunday, the day we remember the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem accompanied by shouts of “Hosanna!” and the waving of palm branches!) and announcement of 8 new temples, including China, Dubai and two more in Africa. And finally, we were given an Apostolic Blessing by the Lord’s senior apostle on the earth. Here are the words of his blessing:
Dear brothers and sisters, I express my love for you. During this time of tension and uncertainty, invoking the authority vested in me, I would like to confer upon you an Apostolic blessing.
I bless you with peace and increasing faith in the Lord. I bless you with the desire to repent and to become a little more like Him each day. I bless you to know that the Prophet Joseph Smith is the prophet of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in its fulness. Should there be illness among you or your loved ones, I leave a blessing of healing consistent with the will of the Lord. I so bless you adding once more my expression of love for each of you in the sacred name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Memorable, unforgettable Conference! Inspired and inspiring Prophet!
Holy Week
The week from Palm Sunday to Easter is called by many “Holy Week.” So much happened in that week! Nearly half of the Gospel of John is devoted to that one week alone. We are in the middle of that week now. It began with Palm Sunday two days ago and will conclude with the celebration of Easter Sunday at the end of this week. When I think of the energy, preparation and anticipation that we put into preparation for Christmas, I hope that we give at least some portion of that same energy, preparation and anticipation in preparing for and celebrating Easter. (The irony is that Christmas is not when Christ was born. We actually could, and one day probably will, celebrate His birth as well as His death and resurrection at this time of year.)
I hope to be able to share later this week in this Book of Mormon blog some Insights from the Book of Mormon on Easter. I haven’t written that post yet, but plan to and will send it out before Sunday. Hopefully, I can add in a small way to your preparation and enjoyment of this holy week and provide some insights based on what we learn about the atonement, sacrifice and resurrection of the Savior in the Book of Mormon.
In the meantime, I wanted to share with you some resources that you may find helpful for you and your family to observe this Holy Week and prepare for the celebration of Easter Sunday. This list is not at all exhaustive. There are many resources. But, hopefully, you will find these useful. Here are some suggestions:
Bible – Obviously, the best source for reading about the greatest week in the history of the world is the Bible, specifically the gospels. Here are the chapters in the four gospels that cover the time from Triumphal Entry (Palm Sunday) to Resurrection (Easter):
Matthew 21 – 28
Mark 11 – 16
Luke 19 – 24
John 12 – 20
Book of Mormon – Sometimes called the “Fifth Gospel”, Third Nephi tells of Christ’s ministry after His resurrection among the righteous Nephites and Lamanites who survived the destruction at the time of His death. Chapters 11 and 17 are especially meaningful.
Jesus the Christ – Elder Talmage’s landmark text of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ is a wonderful place to read about His last week. The events of Holy Week begin in Chapter 29 and continue to Chapter 37. It would be a major commitment to read all those chapters this week, but it could be done and you would be well rewarded. Even just reading Chapter 37 about the Resurrection will add to your appreciation of Easter Sunday.
The Mortal Messiah – Elder McConkie’s witness of the Savior is wonderful! If Elder Talmage writes like a scientist, Elder McConkie writes like a witness. I find his commentary powerful and moving. But it is not short. The life of Christ is contained in four volumes, The Mortal Messiah, the central part of the Messiah trilogy which also includes The Promised Messiah and The Millennial Messiah. The chapters that deal with the last week of Christ’s life are mostly in Volume 4 of the Mortal Messiah books. Even just reading Chapters 110 and 111 will add to your understanding and appreciation of Easter.
Come, Follow Me – The Come, Follow Me for Individuals and Families this week is about Easter. It has some good ideas for families. Here is the link: https://www.
Easter Video – The Church has released a lovely, short video about Easter which is very well done. Here is the YouTube link: https://youtu.be/PqervTCq9L0.
Another Video – Book of Mormon Central has produced an excellent video “What the Book of Mormon teaches us about Easter”. It is less than 4 minutes, but very good! It has lots of good Book of Mormon references about the atonement, suffering and resurrection of Christ. Here is the YouTube link: https://youtu.be/f0yFJHpZgTI
Tyler Griffin and Daniel Smith podcast – Book of Mormon Central has also released an excellent podcast, about 30 minutes long, about Easter Week. In it, Tyler Griffin, one of the anchors of this weekly podcast, introduces a virtual model of Jerusalem as it was at the time of Christ allowing one to take a virtual tour of the places where the events of Holy Week occurred. The model is very good and will engage young people who are especially facile at that kind of electronic stuff. He also goes through a brief chronology of the week. Daniel Smith is also part of this week’s podcast. He is new to this podcast but gives the best discussion in 15 minutes of the connection between Passover and Christ’s Last Supper and Atonement that I have heard in years. I highly recommend it!
I know there are lots of other resources for your preparation to celebrate Easter. Start with ChurchofJesusChrist.org and ComeUntoChrist.org for some excellent options. You can also go to https://www.thetabernaclechoir.org/messiah.html to get information on how to stream Handel’s Messiah by the Tabernacle Choir on Friday evening at 7:00 pm. That would be a wonderful way to close a special day of fasting and prayer.
Despite the turmoil and uncertainty of the world around us, we have every reason to trust in the Lord, His promises to the obedient (and those who are trying to be – see D&C 46:9) and the promises, counsel, and blessings of His prophets. Imperfect as we are, we are His people and He will not forsake us in this, our time of need. May He bless, comfort, protect and sustain us all!
Have a wonderful Holy Week!
Richard
From my good friend, Dave Parkinson:
ReplyDeleteOne thought that has meant a lot to me is that in order for Christ to be a “righteous” judge, it is necessary that he be in a position that no one coming before him for judgement could say “you don’t understand what I was going through” or “you don’t understand the way I felt.” Being a “righteous judge” in the eternal sense means that he understands absolutely, perfectly. For me that means that the Atonement of Jesus Christ created a familiarity or emotional identity with me that he could know absolutely how I feel, what I think, how I am affected by circumstance and those around me and so on. I think the verses of Alma 7:11-13 describe a far more intimate “taking upon himself” than we usually realize. It gives added meaning to the phrase “personal Savior.” No one will be able to say “You don’t understand how I felt.” And to think that He did that for everyone who will ever live on this earth truly is “Wonderful” to use the words of the hymn.