Disbelief All Too General

My brethren and sisters: I am glad to worship with you and with the Tabernacle Choir on this the Lord's day, so designated by the early apostles in commemoration and in testimony of the resurrection of our Lord. ¶

However, as I fill this assignment to speak to you I am deeply conscious of the fact that I am feeling more the significance of the resurrection than I am able to express. I pray, therefore, that the Spirit of the Lord may enlighten our minds to see and touch our hearts to feel more than my mere words will denote. ¶

For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: ¶

And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: ¶

Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me. (Job 19:25-27.) ¶

He who can thus testify of the living Redeemer has his soul anchored in eternal truth. ¶

The latest and greatest confirmation that Jesus rose from the grave is the appearance of the Father and the Son to the Prophet Joseph Smith, nineteen hundred years after the event that today Christendom is celebrating. It is highly appropriate, therefore, that the Church should join in the annual festival commemorating the resurrection of Christ, the most significant, the most memorable event in the history of mankind. ¶

This miracle of life is significant not only in itself, but in its connotation of all the basic principles of true Christianity. ¶

Disbelief All Too General

Judging from the war now raging it is quite evident that leaders of some of the governments of the world do not believe in the actuality of the resurrection. At least the beginning of this deadly conflict indicates that they not only do not accept it as a fact, but reject it as a myth or superstition. At any rate, we know that the leaders of the nation directly responsible for starting this worldwide holocaust have openly repudiated Jesus Christ and his teachings. ¶

Too many today are like the men on Mars' Hill two thousand years ago who erected an altar to “The Unknown God,” but who knew little or nothing about him. We read that on his way to the Aeropagus, Paul had beheld magnificent statues erected to various gods which the Greeks worshipped—to Mars, the god of war; Aphrodite, the goddess of love; Bacchus, the god of wine, and towering above them all, the Pallas-Athene, the goddess of wisdom, the protectress of Athens—these and many others. ¶

Here frequently gathered philosophers and judges, the ablest thinkers, the wisest sages of the ancient world, considering and discoursing on the mysteries of life and the destiny of the human race. ¶

In the midst of all this worldly wisdom there stood a lonely little brown-eyed man who challenged much of their philosophy as false and their worship of images as gross error—the only man in that great city of intellectuals who knew by actual experience that a man may pass through the portals of death and live—the only man in Athens who could clearly sense the difference between the formality of idolatry, and the heartfelt worship of the only true and living God. By the Epicureans and Stoics with whom he had conversed and argued, Paul had been called a babbler, a setter-forth of strange gods: So they took him, and brought him unto Aeropagus, saying, ‘May we know what this strange doctrine whereof thou speakest is?' ” ¶

“Ye men of Athens,” said Paul, “I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. ¶

“For, as I passed by, and beheld your devotion, I found an altar with this inscription. ‘To the Unknown God.' Whom, therefore, ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.” ¶

As Paul discoursed eloquently on the personality of God, the philosophers listened curiously though attentively until he testified that God had raised Jesus from the dead. ¶

When they heard of the resurrection, some mocked and all but a few turned away, leaving him who had declared the truth even more lonely than ever. ¶

Today, as on Mars' Hill, when we speak of the resurrection of the dead, there are some who mock and others who doubt and turn away. Today, as then, too many men and women have other gods to which they give more thought than to the resurrected Lord— the god of pleasure, the god of wealth, the god of indulgence, the god of political power, the god of popularity, the god of race superiority—as varied and numerous as were the gods in ancient Athens and Rome. ¶

Thoughts that most frequently occupy the mind determine a man's course of action. As one writer aptly says: “The ever pressing pursuit of secular aims—natural science, commerce, luxury—any form of earthly ambition or absorption, makes the mind incapable of receiving, understanding, or even entertaining the idea of any Being higher than man, or any state of existence higher than the present.” It is therefore a blessing to the world that there are occasions such as Easter which, as warning semaphores, say to mankind: In your mad rush for pleasure, wealth, and fame, pause, and think what is of most value in life. ¶

When men heed this warning, and search the innermost recesses of their hearts, they find that the most important question of their lives relates to the subject of immortality. A leading railroad man, as quoted in Young Man and the World, expressed the thought of many when he said: ¶

I would rather be sure that when a man dies he will live again with his conscious identity, than to have all the wealth of the United States, or to occupy any position of honor or power the world could possibly give. ¶

A young student recently expressed the thought that belief in Christ as the Redeemer, as God made manifest, is waning; that professing Christians no longer believe that Jesus is the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh; that in some miraculous manner his death made expiation for sin; or that after His crucifixion Christ rose from the dead. ¶

With a view of getting a cross-section of current opinion on this matter the following question was put directly to a number of leading citizens here in our city: ¶

“Do you accept as a fact the actual resurrection of Christ from the grave?” ¶

Among the twenty-six men contacted were ministers, doctors of medicine, lawyers, and leading business men. A majority answered yes, some equivocated, eight answered no. ¶

Accepted as Fact by Early Apostles

Establish it as a fact that Christ did take up His body and appeared as a glorified, resurrected Being, and you answer the question of the ages —“If a man dies, shall he live again?” ¶

That the literal resurrection from the grave was a reality to the disciples who knew Christ intimately is a certainty. In their minds there was absolutely no doubt. They were witnesses of the fact. They knew because their eyes beheld, their ears heard, their hands felt the corporal presence of the risen Redeemer. ¶

Value of Their Testimony

The deep significance of their testimony may be better understood when we realize that with Jesus' death the apostles were stricken with gloom. When He was crucified, their hopes all but died. That His death was a reality to the disciples is shown (1) in their intense grief, (2) in the statement of Thomas, (3) in the moral perplexity of Peter when he said, “I go afishing,” and, (4) in the evident preparation for a permanent burial of their Master. Notwithstanding the often-repeated assurance of Jesus that He would return to them after death, the apostles seemed not to have accepted or at least not comprehended Christ's statement as a literal fact. At the crucifixion they were frightened and discouraged. For two and a half years they had been upheld and inspired by Christ's presence. But now He was gone. They were left alone, and they seemed confused, helpless, and panic-stricken. Only John stood by the cross. Not with timidity, not, with feelings of doubt, gloom, and discouragement is a skeptical world made to believe. Such wavering, despairing minds as the apostles possessed on the day of crucifixion could never have stirred people to accept an unpopular belief, and to die martyrs to the cause. ¶

What was it that suddenly changed these disciples to confident, fearless, heroic preachers of the Gospel? ¶

It was the revelation that Christ had risen from the grave. ¶

I think it was Spurgeon who said: ¶

His promises had been kept, his Messianic mission fulfilled. The final and absolute seal of genuineness had been put on all his claims, and the indelible stamp of a divine authority upon all his teachings. The gloom of death had been banished by the glorious light of the presence of their risen, glorified Lord and Savior. ¶

On the evidence of these unprejudiced, unexpectant, incredulous witnesses, faith in the resurrection has its impregnable foundation. ¶

Principles Connoted

The event we celebrate today connotes the fundamental principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In general these are: ¶

I. The Fatherhood of God

No man can accept the resurrection and be consistent in his belief without accepting also the existence of a personal God. Through the resurrection Christ conquered death, and became an immortal soul. “My Lord and my God” was not merely an idle exclamation of Thomas when he beheld his risen Lord. The Being before him was his God. Once we accept Christ as divine it is easy to visualize his Father as being just as personal as he; for, said Jesus, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” ¶

Inseparable with the idea of a Divine Personal Being is the acceptance of Him as the Creator of the world. True Christianity does not look upon the universe as the result of mere interaction of matter and motion, of law and force, but, on the contrary, it regards all creation as the product of a Divine Intelligence “who made the world and all things therein.” As one writer puts it: “This is what Christianity means by a personal God. It believes that all existence has its roots in a conscious and intelligent purpose and that this purpose is good.” ¶

II. Sonship of Jesus Christ

The Gospel teaches that Christ is the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world. No true follower is satisfied to accept him merely as a great Reformer, the ideal Teacher, or even as the One Perfect Man. The man of Galilee is, not figuratively, but literally, the Son of the living God. ¶

III. The Immortality of the Human Soul

Belief in the resurrection connotes also the immortality of man. Jesus passed through all the experiences of mortality just as you and I. He knew happiness, he experienced pain. He rejoiced as well as sorrowed with others. He knew friendship. He experienced also the sadness that comes through traitors and false accusers. He died a mortal death even as every other mortal. Since His spirit lived after death, so shall yours and mine. So shall your soldier boy who gives his life on the battlefield. ¶

IV. The Brotherhood of Man

One of the two great, general principles to which all other principles are subsidiary is this: “Love your neighbor as yourself,” and correlated with it the promise: “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” ¶

The Gospel, “bids the strong bear the burdens of the weak, and to use the advantages given them by their larger opportunities in the interest of the common good, that the whole level of humanity may be lifted and the path of spiritual attainment be opened to the weakest and most ignorant,” as well as to the strong and intelligent. ¶

V. The Standards of Life

Finally, since Jesus was the one perfect man who ever lived, as He, in rising from the dead, conquered death, and is now Lord of the earth, how utterly weak, how extremely foolish is he who would wilfully reject Christ's way of life, especially in the light of the fact that such rejection leads only to unhappiness, misery, and even to death. ¶

What a more delightful world this would be if, for example, men earnestly strove to apply Christ's advice: “If ye have aught against a brother, go to him.” Or, again, His admonition: “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,” which means, simply, be not so anxious about worldly things as to make them of superior worth to spiritual attainment. ¶

The Savior condemned hypocrisy and praised sincerity of purpose. Keep your heart pure and your actions will be in accord therewith. Social sins—lying, stealing, dishonest dealing, fornication, and the like are first committed in thought. ¶

Jesus taught that an unsullied character is the noblest aim of life. As John W. Powell aptly says: ¶

Not possessions, nor fame, nor honor: not success nor prosperity; not physical pleasure and ease. . . . None of these can completely satisfy the human spirit; nor fulfill the highest demand of life. ¶

No man has attained who has not become a good man, pure and loyal and true of soul; whose character, though bought at the cost of all the common aims of existence, will stand the test of every temptation and bring him into communion with the divine. ¶

Herein, brethren, lies the true source of the testimony: “I know that my Redeemer lives.” No man can sincerely resolve to apply in his daily life the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth without sensing a change in his nature. The phrase “born again” has a deeper significance than what many people attach to it. This changed feeling may be indescribable, but it is real. ¶

Happy the person who has truly sensed the uplifting transforming power that comes from this nearness to the Savior, this kinship to the living Christ. I am thankful that I know that Christ is my Redeemer. ¶

Easter is a sacred day, a day of thanksgiving and divine worship. It is not a day just for rejoicing because of the opening of springtime, not merely an opportunity to display beautiful hats and fine clothing—it is an occasion for the expression of gratitude to God for having sent His Only Begotten Son into the world, to be “the way, the truth, the life,” to declare the eternal truth that “Whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” ¶

When Christians throughout the world have this faith coursing in their blood, when they feel a loyalty in their hearts to the resurrected Christ, and to the principles connoted thereby, mankind will have taken the first great step toward the perpetual peace for which we daily are praying: Reject Him and the world will be filled with hatred, and drenched in blood by recurring wars. ¶

Modern Revelation

Confirming the irrefutable testimony of Christ's early apostles, the Church of Jesus Christ proclaims the glorious vision of the Prophet Joseph Smith as follows: ¶

And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives! ¶

For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father-- ¶

That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.**** ¶

And this is the Gospel, the glad tidings, which the voice out of the heavens bore record unto us-- ¶

That he came into the world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the world, and to bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the world, and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness; ¶

That through him all might be saved whom the Father had put into his power and made by him. (D. & C. 76.) ¶

Conclusion

Brethren and sisters: As Christ lived after death so shall all men, each taking his place in the next world for which he has best fitted himself. The message of the resurrection, therefore, is the most comforting, the most glorious ever given to man, for when death takes a loved one from us, our sorrowing hearts are assuaged by the hope and the divine assurance expressed in the words: ¶

“He is not here: he is risen.” Because our Redeemer lives so shall we. I bear you witness that He does live. I know it, as I hope you know that divine truth. ¶

May all mankind some day have that faith, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶