April 9, 2020
Some Insights on Easter from the Book of Mormon
Easter – A wonderful Christian celebration!
Easter is a wonderful celebration for all Christians! As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we joyfully join with our other Christian brothers and sisters in celebration of Easter. But as members of the Restored Church of Jesus Christ with additional scripture and modern prophets, we are blessed with a much richer understanding of the significance of Easter and the events that led up to it.
In the western Christian tradition, the Roman Catholic Church and those Christian churches which have their roots in it including Protestant faiths which broke with the Roman church, the main focus of Easter is looking back in time to the events surrounding Christ’s death, particularly His crucifixion. The Garden of Gethsemane is of lesser importance and the Resurrection is almost an after-thought. The central focus in their tradition is Christ on the cross including His suffering and death. By contrast, in the eastern Christian tradition, i.e. the Greek Orthodox Church and other Eastern Orthodox churches and their descendant branches of Christianity, the main focus of Easter is more looking forward to the time when Christ will come and we will have a celebratory feast with Him and all of the Saints. Easter looks forward for them to that feast.
Latter-day Saints have the best of both traditions. We reverently commemorate the entire “atoning period” of Christ’s sacrifice, death and resurrection from Last Supper to Resurrection. We place as much or probably more emphasis on Gethsemane as on Calvary. We have the unique perspective of His Spirit World ministry between death and resurrection which is only hinted at in the Bible. And we rejoice in His literal resurrection and post-resurrection ministry on at least two continents. We also worship the Living Christ and look forward to the day when He will come again in His glory and reign personally upon the earth.
Easter is a wonderful opportunity to focus on Jesus Christ! Christmas should be all about Christ, but there are so many traditions and so much commercial overlay that sometimes Christ gets lost in “Xmas.” The Easter bunny notwithstanding, Easter focuses much more singly on Christ and the events at the close of His earthly life. With modern scripture, particularly the Book of Mormon, as Latter-day Saints, we have a deeper, richer, more complete understanding of Easter and the events surrounding His atoning sacrifice and their significance to us than any in the Christian world. I’d like to point out a few insights from the Book of Mormon that add to our understanding and appreciation of Easter and what we celebrate in this holy season.
When is Easter?
But first, when is Easter and why does Easter move around the calendar? It’s crazy! You never know when it will be. Sometimes it is as early as late March and sometimes as late as middle to later April. Why don’t they just make it the second Sunday of April, kind of like Mother’s Day on the second Sunday of May (in the USA) so we would always know when it will be from year to year?
The reason Easter moves around the calendar is because it is tied to the lunar calendar. It is the only holiday (other than Jewish holidays) celebrated in the Western world that, as far as I know, is linked to the lunar calendar.
So here is how my good friend, Brad Scott, taught me (and a lot of others) how the date of Easter is determined each year. It is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox. Did Brad lose you on that? Let’s go back over it in the reverse order.
The Spring Equinox is when the sun crosses the equator on it’s journey from the Southern Hemisphere to the Northern Hemisphere. This is because the earth is tilted on its axis 23 degrees. That’s what makes for the seasons and makes this earth inhabitable. But that’s another story. The Spring Equinox occurs approximately March 21st (give or take a day) each year. On that day, the period of daytime (from sunrise to sunset) is equal to the period of nighttime (from sunset to sunrise), hence the term “equinox.” It is sometimes also called the “Vernal Equinox” because vernal means fresh or new like the spring. Obviously, there is also a Fall or Autumnal Equinox, which occurs on September 21, give or take a day. (Does that date ring a bell? It was on September 21st, 1823, when Moroni first appeared to Joseph Smith. Moroni returned every year on September 22nd for four years until Joseph received the plates on September 22, 1827. No accident there! But that is also another story.) In 2020, the Vernal Equinox occurred early on the morning of Friday, March 20, at 0349 GMT. It was actually still March 19 in the USA when that happened. That is the earliest for Spring to begin in over 100 years.
So when was the first full moon after March 20th? I hope you saw it this week on Tuesday evening. It was gorgeous! Lori and I were driving home from St. George (Governor Herbert, our state governor, said we could take “leisurely drives” while following his “stay home, stay safe” guidelines. We had taken a “leisurely drive” 300 miles south on I-15 last week to our home in St. George and were coming home on Tuesday evening this week. (I’m not sure that’s exactly what the Governor had in mind.) Anyhow, there was a gorgeous full moon coming up in the east just after the sun set in the west. So the first full moon after the Spring Equinox was on April 7 this year. That’s why Easter is this Sunday, April 12, the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox. Got it? Now you know why Easter can be in late March through late April. By “ecclesiastical rules” the equinox is set for the purpose of determining the date of Easter on March 21st, so Easter can be anytime from March 22nd to April 25.
But there is another reason why Easter is linked to the moon. It is because Christ was crucified at the time of Passover, when the Jews were ritually killing the firstborn lambs which were without blemish in remembrance of when the blood for the lamb saved their ancestors in Egypt and the destroying angel passed over them. Passover begins on the 15th day of the lunar month of Nisan, and the lunar month begins with the new moon, so Passover is always at the time of the full moon. And Christ rose from the dead on the Sunday after Passover, the first Sunday after the full moon. By the way, Jewish Passover this year began at sunset on April 7th, which is technically April 8th because the new day begins at sunset for the Jews. It is no accident that the most sacred Jewish celebration of the year, Passover or Pesach, coincides with the most sacred Christian celebration of the year, Easter. Get it?
By the way, in my short blog post earlier this week, I referred to the podcast by Tyler Griffin and Daniel Smith at Book of Mormon Central. I mentioned that Daniel Smith, a guest to the weekly podcast, in the last 15 minutes of the podcast gives the best explanation of the connection between Passover and Christ’s Last Supper and Atonement that I have heard in years. I highly recommend it! The link for their podcast is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvgJ8o4FfD8.
When was the first Easter in the Book of Mormon?
There are actually a number of references in the Book of Mormon both to the timing of the coming of Christ and of His death and resurrection. Let’s look at some of them.
Twice in the Book of First Nephi, Nephi tells us that the Messiah will come in 600 years from the time his father left Jerusalem. In Chapter 10, quoting his father Lehi, Nephi writes,
Yea, even six hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem, a prophet would the Lord God raise up among the Jews—even a Messiah, or, in other words, a Savior of the world. (10:4)
Then in Chapter 19, Nephi tells us that “the angel” who opened to him the vision recorded in 1 Nephi 11-14, confirmed the timing of the coming of the Messiah.
And behold he cometh, according to the words of the angel, in six hundred years from the time my father left Jerusalem. (19:18)
We have to wonder if this prophecy, much more specific than any recorded in the Bible (at least as we have it now) was had generally among the Nephite people for the next 600 years. I suspect it wasn’t. It was recorded on the Small Plates which were kept by the prophets until Amaleki at the time of Benjamin. Maybe, just like today, the Lord didn’t want the people to know exactly when Christ would come. Interestingly though, over 500 years later, Samuel the Lamanite gives a very specific prophecy for when Christ will come.
Behold, I give unto you a sign; for five years more cometh, and behold, then cometh the Son of God to redeem all those who shall believe on his name. (Helaman 14:2)
This prophecy was so specific that the unbelievers set a date on which those who believed in the prophecy of Samuel would be put to death if the sign (there shall be one day and a night and a day, as if it were one day and there were no night; and this shall be unto you for a sign (14:4)) were not given by that time. The prophet Nephi (son Nephi, son of Helaman) prayed to the Lord in great faith pleading for the lives of the people. The Lord said to him,
And it came to pass that he cried mightily unto the Lord all that day; and behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying:
Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets. (3 Nephi 1:12, 13)
As promised, that night the sign was given.
And it came to pass that the words which came unto Nephi were fulfilled, according as they had been spoken; for behold, at the going down of the sun there was no darkness; and the people began to be astonished because there was no darkness when the night came. (3 Nephi 1:14)
A new star also appeared. The people were astonished. (We’ll discuss all of these things in a lot more detail when we get to this place in the Book of Mormon later this year.) This was such a remarkable event that the people changed their calendar and began from that time to date their calendar from when the sign was given.
And nine years had passed away from the time when the sign was given, which was spoken of by the prophets, that Christ should come into the world.
Now the Nephites began to reckon their time from this period when the sign was given, or from the coming of Christ; therefore, nine years had passed away. (3Nephi 2:7-8)
So no longer did the Nephites mark their calendar from when Lehi left Jerusalem (600 BC) or from the beginning of the reign of the judges (91 BC), but now they marked their calendar from when the sign was given of the birth of Christ.
But Samuel also prophesied of the signs that would occur at the time of the death of Christ. He warned of thunder, lightning, earthquakes, tempests, darkness lasting for 3 days and then the graves being opened. (See Helaman 14:21-27)
Thirty four years after the sign of the Savior’s birth, Nephi records that Samuel’s prophecy was fulfilled and the signs of His death were seen.
And it came to pass in the thirty and fourth year, in the first month, on the fourth day of the month, there arose a great storm, such an one as never had been known in all the land. (3Nephi 8:5)
Nephi goes on to record there were thunder, lightnings, earthquakes, fires and great destruction followed by 3 days of darkness. During these days of darkness, the people hear the voice of the Lord and later He visits them. There is much more here to talk about later, but I recount this to show the timing.
From the Book of Mormon, we see that Christ was born 600 years after Lehi left Jerusalem as prophesied by Lehi, Nephi and the angel and 5 years after prophesied by Samuel the Lamanite. The sign of his death was given 34 years and 4 days after the sign of his birth. We know that because the Nephites now reckoned their calendar from when the sign of his birth was given. We know that Christ was crucified in the spring of the year, at Passover to be specific. Therefore, the Book of Mormon confirms that He was also born in the spring of the year, 34 years and 4 days before he died. According to the Book of Mormon, Christ was crucified 4 days after his 34th birthday. And He rose from the dead 3 days later, when he was 34 years and 7 days old. These events all occurred in the Spring, most likely in April.
So when was the first “Christmas” according to the Book of Mormon? It was in the Spring at the season of Passover 600 years after Lehi left Jerusalem. And when was the first “Easter” according to the Book of Mormon? It was also in the Spring of the year 34 AD, three days after the first full moon after the spring equinox, 34 years and 7 days after Christ was born. Incredible!
Chronology of Holy Week
The Book of Mormon also helps us with the chronology of Holy Week, the last week of Christ’s mortal ministry, death and resurrection. There are some discrepancies between the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) and the Gospel of John as to the timing of some of the events. The traditional chronology for the week as generally taught in the Church and as found in Jesus the Christ and in Mortal Messiah is as follows:
Sunday: (Palm Sunday) Triumphal Entry, cleansing of the temple
Monday: Teaching in the temple
Tuesday: Teaching in the temple and outside of the city
Wednesday: “Silent” i.e. nothing recorded. Thought to be resting in Bethany at the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus
Thursday: Last Supper, Gethsemane
Friday: (Good Friday) Arrest, trials, scourging, crucifixion, death, burial
Saturday: Jewish Sabbath, Christ ministers in the Spirit World
Sunday: (Easter Sunday) Resurrection, appearances to Mary, several women, Peter, disciples on the road to Emmaus and in the Upper Room
We actually don’t know exactly the chronology of the final week of Christ’s life. It must not be important that we do or the Lord would have made it more clear in the scriptures. There is room for interpretation as to when some of the events occurred. The more important thing is to know that the events did occur, that this story is not a myth or fable, that He did what He did (suffered and died for our sins and was resurrected) and that He was who He was (the Only Begotten of the Father, the Savior and Redeemer, the Lamb of God, the first fruits of the resurrection).
Having said that, it is interesting and perhaps helps in our understanding of the events of the greatest week in the history of the world to look for insights in the scriptures, particularly in the Book of Mormon, as to the chronology. The chronology is a little more complicated because in the Jewish calendar, each day begins at sundown not at midnight. At this time of year (near the spring equinox) when sundown is near 6 pm, each day begins at approximately 6 pm when the sun goes down and lasts until that time the next day when the sun goes down again. Make sense? So days on their calendar are offset by about 6 hours on our calendar when days begin and end at midnight.
We know that the resurrection was on the first day of the week, Easter Sunday, though we don’t know exactly when. Some have proposed that it was late on Saturday. We just know that the tomb was empty when the women first went there with spices before sunrise on the Sunday morning after His death. The main discussion point for the chronology of the week centers on when was the evening of the Last Supper and Gethsemane.
Traditionally, as listed above, the Last Supper and Gethsemane were on Thursday evening. Using that as a reference, Christ was crucified and died on Friday and was buried on Friday afternoon before the Jewish Sabbath began about 6 pm. That means His body would have been in the tomb for somewhere between about 24-36 hours, including the last hour or two of Friday, all of Saturday and the first few hours of Sunday. That is consistent with prophecies that He would rise on the “Third Day.” There are nine references in the Synoptic Gospels to Christ’s rising on the “third day.” Many people, including leaders and authors in our Church, have asserted that since His body was in the tomb for parts of three days, the chronology of His burial on Friday afternoon is consistent with these statements that He would rise on the “third day.” Perhaps that is correct.
But what about the prophecy of the sign of Jonah who was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights?
For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matt 12:40)
It’s hard to get three days and three nights from late Friday afternoon until early Sunday morning. What does the Book of Mormon say?
Samuel the Lamanite in prophesying of the destruction that would occur in the New World at the time of Christ’s death in the Old World said,
In that day that he shall suffer death the sun shall be darkened and refuse to give his light unto you; and also the moon and the stars; and there shall be no light upon the face of this land, even from the time that he shall suffer death, for the space of three days, to the time that he shall rise again from the dead. (Helaman 14:20)
There would be three days of darkness, not just one day or two, at the time of Christ’s death in the New World. As prophesied by Samuel,
And it came to pass that it [the darkness] did last for the space of three days that there was no light seen;
And it came to pass that thus did the three days pass away. And it was in the morning, and the darkness dispersed from off the face of the land… (3 Nephi 8:23, 10:9)
The Book of Mormon corroborates the prophecy of the sign of Jonas, that Christ’s body would be in the tomb for three days and three nights. How could that happen? He must have been crucified on Thursday. The three days of darkness would be Thursday (while He was on the cross) and Friday and Saturday (while His body was in the tomb). The three nights would be the night of Thursday (after his burial) and the nights of Friday and Saturday (before He was resurrected early on Sunday morning.) If that is true, then we might revise the traditional chronology of Holy Week. Wednesday was not “silent” after all, but was actually the day of the Last Supper and Gethsemane with the betrayal, arrest, trials, scourging, crucifixion and death on Thursday and burial before the sun went down. His body would then be in the tomb for Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.
Notice the following statement by John and the footnote to this verse.
The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
The footnote in our Bible reads,
Jesus arose on the first day of the week. The previous day was the weekly Sabbath. The day before the Sabbath, being also the day after the Passover meal, could be the “high day.” (John 19:31)
According to John and supported by this footnote, there were actually two Sabbaths between the time of Christ’s death and His resurrection. Friday was the Sabbath of the Passover and Saturday was the Sabbath of the week.
As I said earlier, it doesn’t really matter, but I personally believe that Christ was crucified on Thursday not Friday and that the Book of Mormon and the other scriptures I’ve quoted above support this chronology for the last week of His earthly ministry. Having said that, I choose to observe the traditional chronology during Holy Week. I try to be especially mindful of Christ on Thursday evening (which is when I am currently writing) and remember His Last Supper and suffering in Gethsemane. When I get up on Friday morning, I try to remember that He has been up all night, was now in the hands of apostate Jewish leaders and would soon be taken to Pilate, to Herod and back to Pilate. And I’m always a little uncomfortable on Friday of Easter week regardless of what I am doing from 9 am until 3 pm remembering that it was those 6 hours (from the “third hour” to the “ninth hour”) when He was on the cross. I find myself relieved when I look at my watch and see that it is past 3 pm remembering that by that time on the day He was crucified, He had pronounced that “It is finished” and His suffering was over. Remembering those things on Friday this week will be especially poignant as we participate in a worldwide day of fasting and prayer at the request of our Prophet, Pres. Nelson to petition the Lord for relief and help with the COVID-19 pandemic. I suspect it is no accident that Pres. Nelson was inspired to call a worldwide fast, a small sacrifice for us to make, on the day that we remember the infinite suffering, sacrifice and death of our Savior in our behalf. Remember that one of His last statements on the cross was, “I thirst.” How can we complain if we also thirst a bit this Friday as we fast?
How would Christ die?
The Book of Mormon provides some profound insights into the suffering Christ endured as part of the atoning process and including how He died. I mentioned in my blog post earlier this week that Book of Mormon Central has produced an excellent video Titled What the Book of Mormon has to say about Easter. I highly recommend it!
Beginning with Nephi, we are told,
And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the world; and I saw and bear record. And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world. (1 Nephi 11:32-33)
Later Nephi tells us that
And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men.
[He] yieldeth himself, according to the words of the angel, as a man, into the hands of wicked men, to be lifted up, according to the words of Zenock, and to be crucified, according to the words of Neum, and to be buried in a sepulchre, according to the words of Zenos, which he spake concerning the three days of darkness, which should be a sign given of his death unto those who should inhabit the isles of the sea, more especially given unto those who are of the house of Israel. (1 Nephi 19:9-10)
Some of the most specific teaching about the suffering and death of the Savior comes from the words of an angel given to King Benjamin.
And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people. (Mosiah 3:7)
Abinadi, speaking to the wicked King Noah and his wicked priests (including Alma), testified powerfully of Christ:
If Christ had not risen from the dead, or have broken the bands of death that the grave should have no victory, and that death should have no sting, there could have been no resurrection. But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ. (Mosiah 16:7-8)
These righteous followers of Christ knew a lot about His ministry, suffering, death and resurrection through the prophecies of their prophets and the things written on the Plates of Brass, even though they were nearly half a world away from where they would occur.
We have to wonder, when did Christ learn these things? Obviously, He knew them in the pre-earthly existence. As the Jehovah of the Old Testament, He was the God of Israel who gave these prophecies to His prophets. But when did He learn in this life that He would die by crucifixion? We don’t really know. Some have wondered if Christ came to the earth with a veil of forgetfulness. Of course He did! Otherwise, this life would not have been a test for Him. This life was His mortal experience, just as it is ours. He also learned “line upon line” (See D&C 93). I suspect He pierced the veil at a young age, certainly before He was twelve and was in the temple teaching and answering questions. That means He lived with the heavy knowledge of how He would die. (Fortunately, our loving Father doesn’t burden us with a knowledge of how or when we will die.) How did the Savior feel for instance when he read in Psalms
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Psalms 22:1)?
Did the Savior know that one day He would utter those very words from the cross in sheer agony and utter loneliness? What a burden to bear!
Even with His understanding of what He would have to go through, as He entered Gethsemane alone, more alone than He had ever been before, He began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy … (Mark 14:33) The footnote in our Bible for this verse gives as synonyms for amazed the words awestruck, astonished. Even the Savior was surprised and taken back by the weight of the burden He was called to bear!
Blood cometh from every pore
In the words of the angel to Benjamin, we learn that the Savior’s agony in Gethsemane was so exquisite that He bled from every pore. I believe that the Book of Mormon answers the question raised by Bible scholars if He really did bleed from every pore or if
And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (Luke 22:44)
This question is also answered definitively in modern revelation by the Lord Himself.
For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink— (D&C 19:16-18)
Sweating blood is known in medical parlance as hematohidrosis, literally “bloody sweat.” As a physician, the closest I have seen to this condition is in critically ill patients who have a life-threatening condition known as disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), a condition when they use up all of the coagulation factors in their blood, usually in response to some great stress such as sepsis, and begin to bleed from every puncture site, every IV site, most or all orifices, mucous membranes, bladder, bowel and airway and bruise exceptionally easily. In my experience, DIC to this degree is almost always fatal. Whether that is exactly what Christ had in Gethsemane or something similar, I don’t know. But I do know that He suffered more than man can suffer, except it be unto death (Mosiah 3:7). Why didn’t He die? Because He was the literal Son of God. As half Deity, He had power over death. He willed Himself to live through Gethsemane, through the scourging and through the agony of crucifixion until He had drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given [Him] (3 Nephi 11:11) and could say, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. (John 19:30).
No one killed Christ – not the Romans, not the Jews, though they obviously are responsible for the conditions associated with His death. No, He gave His life. No one else could say as He did from the cross, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer, literally gave His life for us and for all mankind. Only He could do that because only He, as the literal Son of a resurrected holy Man, had power over death. But also as the literal Son of a mortal woman, He had the ability to die. Thus, only He, of all the people who ever have or ever will live on the earth, could perform the atonement.
Where was His Father?
Many people of much greater spiritual stature than I have commented on where the Father might have been at the time of Christ’s suffering. What I give here is my opinion, though I know from conversation there are some others who share these same opinions. This is sacred ground so we will tread lightly.
Again, the Book of Mormon gives us a priceless insight into a very important aspect of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, that of the role of the Father. In writing just a few weeks ago about Jacob chapter 4 (Blog #28), I wrote about Jacob’s teaching that the sacrifice (or near sacrifice) of Isaac by Abraham was a similitude of God and his Only Begotten Son. (Jacob 4:5) I usually don’t quote myself in this blog, but I’d like to quote here some of what I wrote about that verse:
We speak only with the most profound reverence and gratitude of the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. I would never want to write or say anything that would take even in the smallest part anything away from what He did for us in Gethsemane and on Calvary. But this scripture opens our mind to a profound understanding regarding His sacrifice. In the story of Abraham and Isaac, who was making the sacrifice? It was Abraham! And who was the “willing lamb”? It was Isaac! If we miss the role of our Father in Heaven in effecting the atonement for His children, we miss a most important understanding of what He has done for us. Ultimately, it is the Father who paid the price to bring His children home by the sacrifice of His Only Begotten Son. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son (John 3:16). Jesus Christ, like Isaac, was the “willing lamb” submitting His will to that of the Father. In the case of the Father and the Son, the knife was not stayed and there was no “ram in the thicket” to save either of them from going through with the infinite atoning sacrifice. We speak of the “Atonement of Jesus Christ” and rightly so. He is the One who paid the price, who emptied the bitter cup, who endured Gethsemane and the Cross until it was “finished.” But, if we miss the role of our Father in the Infinite Atonement, we miss half of the profound message of love for us and desire for us to return to our heavenly home. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His Divine Son!
I believe the Father was intimately involved in the atoning sacrifice of His Son, more intimately than we typically or probably in propriety should speak. I’ll make just two comments in this regard and leave it at that. I’d be happy to discuss further with any of you if you’d like to pursue the conversation.
In Gethsemane, Luke records
… there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. (Luke 22:43)
Elder McConkie in The Mortal Messiah gives it as his opinion that the angel was Adam and there is good reason to think that’s who it may have been. Perhaps it was John the Baptist, who was very close to the Savior. There are other possibilities. But look at the verse that precedes the verse above:
Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. (Luke 22:42)
In the verse before the angel appears, the Savior was speaking with His Father. I like to think, and the thought is not original to me, that in response to His Son’s pleading prayer, the Father Himself was the “angel” who came to His Son Jesus to explain to Him one more time why He could not remove the cup as much as He would have wanted to do so and why Christ would need to go through with this ordeal. If this is true, perhaps the Father also explained to His Son why He, the Father, would not be able to be with Him in this time of His greatest agony.
Yes, I believe the Father was very close and intimately involved in the atoning sacrifice of His Son, our Savior.
We would never want to subtract one iota from the gratitude, glory and honor the Savior deserves for His role in the infinite atonement. But we miss half the story if we miss the role of the Father in these sacred events. Let me quote two scriptures relating to the atonement which we rightfully attribute to the Savior.
… were it not for the atonement, which God himself shall make for the sins and iniquities of his people, that they must unavoidably perish, (Mosiah 13:8)
… therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also. (Alma 42:15)
Remember that in the model of Abraham and Isaac in Jacob 4:5, a similitude of the Father and the Son, it was Abraham who was making the sacrifice and it was Isaac who was the “willing lamb.” Now read these scriptures again thinking about the similitude of Abraham and Isaac.
… were it not for the atonement, which God [the Father] himself shall make for the sins and iniquities of his people, that they must unavoidably perish, (Mosiah 13:8)
… therefore God [the Father] himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God [the Father] might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also. (Alma 42:15)
Is it any wonder that Jesus said, Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men (D&C 19:19)?
The Savior, ever the humble, meek and obedient Son of the Father, defers to Him, His Father, the glory for the atonement. And the Father, generous and benevolent as He always is, calls the atonement after the name of His Beloved Son, the Lamb of God - the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
A type of the Second Coming
I won’t take long on this point or use any quotes, but I need to point out that in our appreciation of insights the Book of Mormon gives us on Easter, we need to think of the future ministry of Jesus Christ and the celebration of Easter looking forward. As I mentioned in the beginning of this post, the Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition looks forward rather than backward at Easter toward the day when Christ will come again, when we will join with Him and all of the righteous Saints in a great Millennial Feast.
The Book of Mormon is a sobering reminder of the destruction that will occur prior to the Second Coming of Christ as it did before His First Coming to the Nephites and Lamanites. The wicked need to be destroyed before He can dwell among the people. That happened to the Nephite/Lamanite civilization. Those living the Telestial Law were removed by earthquake, tempest, fire, etc. to prepare for the appearance of the Savior. The same will happen before He comes in His glory at His Second Coming. The earth will be cleansed by pestilence, earthquake, fire, tempests and ward. It will not be pretty when it happens. (It may be happening already!) If we are still alive at that time, we hope to be standing in holy places and to be saved when the cleansing occurs. If not us, it will be our children, our grandchildren or their children who will see it happen.
The Book of Mormon provides a wonderful account of the Savior’s tender personal ministry among the people especially to the children and about the subsequent nearly 200 years of peace and righteousness, a “mini-Millennium”, which followed. None of those who were personal witnesses of Him, nor their children nor their grandchildren, ever fell away. When the Savior comes again in His glory, there will be a thousand years of peace on earth. The best model we have for that in all revealed word is in the few verses in 4 Nephi which tell of the righteousness that prevailed among the people for three generations. We can celebrate that hope at Easter, as well, and look forward to that glorious day.
I hope that something I have written here will add in some way to your enjoyment and understanding of Easter this year and to your worship of Him whose loving infinite atonement we gratefully acknowledge and whose literal resurrection we celebrate and bear witness of in this holiest of all weeks.
Thanks for reading!
Despite all the uncertainty in the world around us, may you have a wonderful, worshipful, joyful Easter!
Richard
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