Church Talks
WHAT THE RESURRECTION CAN MEAN FOR US
[Talk given by John E. Enslen to the Wetumpka congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day on April 16, 2017.]
Introduction
In its Easter message earlier this week, the First Presidency reminded us that “[n]o mere mortal can comprehend the full import of what Christ did for us....” I readily acknowledge that I am one of those “mere mortals who is totally incapable of comprehending the full import of what Christ did for us.” I have prayed that I may speak truth under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost.
My assigned topic on this glorious Easter Sunday is fittingly “The Resurrection,” a sacred subject which is as broad as eternity. The difficulty in writing a quality talk is not found in the finding; rather, it is rooted in the rejection. My dividing and divining rod has been an aim to doctrinally inform, as opposed to entertain, and the scriptures have been my guide.
Superiority of the Book of Mormon
Many of my scripture references come from the Book of Mormon. The word “resurrection” is mentioned 43% more times in the Book of Mormon than in the Bible. Because plain and precious truths were omitted or taken from the Bible, (1 Nephi 13:26,28-29,32,34-35,40) the word “resurrection” does not appear at all in the Old Testament.
In the Book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price, Jehovah foreknowingly revealed to Enoch, the father of Methuselah, about the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and its particular importance in testifying of the resurrection: “[T]ruth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men....” (Moses 7:62)
A major purpose for the coming forth of the Book of Mormon is to provide an additional witness of the Savior’s resurrection, and the recorded appearance of the Savior as a resurrected being in the New World is the book’s most powerful witness of the Savior’s divine nature as the only begotten son of God.
What Is the Resurrection?
What is the resurrection? The Bible Dictionary defines the “resurrection” as: “The...uniting of a spirit body with a body of flesh and bones, never again to be divided.” (Note the absence of blood in defining a resurrected body.)
Who Will Be Resurrected?
Who will be resurrected? As declared in multiple scriptures, both in the Bible and the, all men because of Christ, both the just and the unjust, Book of Mormon will be resurrected. (Acts 24:15,21; 2 Ne. 9:22; see also 1 Cor. 15:22) As mortals we cannot avoid at least four things: death, taxes, sin, and being resurrected.
Variables in Time of Resurrection
But there are at least two variables that prevent the resurrection from being an event of complete equality or universality amongst us. One variable is the time of one’s resurrection. With regard to timing, those who will obtain the privilege of coming forth in the first general resurrection, sometimes referred to as the resurrection of the just, will be caught up to meet the resurrected Savior as He descends from Heaven to commence the Millennium—his descent being in like manner as was his ascent into Heaven (Acts 1:11). His triumphant return as a glorified resurrected being is a certain forthcoming event and is often referred to as the “Second Coming,” and the most extreme extravaganzas of men pale into non-existence in comparison with the unprecedented, incomparable occurrences that will be associated with the “Second Coming.”
The especially blessed people of the first general resurrection, those who will be caught up with the Savior to descend with him, will be composed of four groups:
1. First, they are the righteous who are living in mortality at the time of the Second Coming (D&C 43:32; see also 1 Cor. 15:52). They will be resurrected in the twinkling of an eye without ever tasting death. (Some refer to this instantaneous “twinkling-of-an-eye” phenomenon as the “rapture”—a word not found in the scriptures and based in part on Matthew 24:39-41.)
2. The second source of people for the first general resurrection consists of the dead adults who were righteous in mortality and who will arise from their graves or other locations, presumably from the area of their death, such as the place where they were drowned at sea (Rev. 20:13), consumed by fire at the stake (see D&C 101:35), dismantled by explosion, dismembered through torture, and so forth to include every means and location of death.
3. The third contingent of people who add to the makeup of the heavenly hosts of the first general resurrection consists of the righteous from the Spirit World who there received and accepted for the first time the fullness of the gospel as taught in its purity by authorized representatives of the Savior (D & C 88:96-99).
4. And the fourth group consists of those who died in mortality as little children (Mosiah 15: 24-25) or who were otherwise not accountable.
Additional resurrections will continue to take place throughout the 1,000-year reign of Christ. Many of those who are resurrected as the millennium progresses will ultimately be assigned to the terrestrial kingdom. When all of these groups of people have been resurrected, including those who receive a terrestrial glory, the first general resurrection will be completed. (See Rev. 20:5)
The last general resurrection will take place at the end of the millennial period. Abinadi warned King Noah and his priests, men who had been taught the commandments of God, with these words: “[B]ehold, and fear and tremble before God, for ye ought to tremble, for the Lord redeemeth none such...that have known the commandments of God, and would not keep them; these are they that have no part in the first resurrection….[F]or he cannot deny justice when it has its claim” (Mosiah 15: 26, 28).
The wicked who are living at the time of the Second Coming of the Lord will be destroyed in the flesh, mostly by fire, but also by earthquake, tempests, floods, meteor impacts (D&C 45:42, 29:14, 34:9; Rev. 8:10, 6:13), and other natural occurrences. They, along with the wicked who had died prior to the Second Coming, will make up the last resurrection. These will be brought to judgment and will either inherit the telestial kingdom or be cast into outer darkness with Satan, who ironically receives no resurrected body (D&C 76:32-33;81-112), but rather the key to a bottomless pit. (Rev. 9:1)
Thus, from a time standpoint, there is a resurrection of life and a resurrection of damnation (see John 5:29), and the righteous take precedence over the wicked from a time-of-resurrection standpoint, the righteous being the “first-fruits” (Jacob 4:11; D&C 88:98).
But just like the Savior’s Second Coming is not truly his second appearance to a mortal, the first general resurrection is not truly the very “first resurrection.” Of course, Christ was the first to be resurrected and the moving cause of all other subsequent resurrections. “[I]f Christ had not risen from the dead,...there could have been no resurrection” (Mosiah 16:7).
But almost immediately after Christ arose from the dead, other righteous people who had died since Adam and Eve were also resurrected—both in the Old World and the New. They appeared in the streets of Jerusalem in the Old World and were seen by many. (Matt. 27:52-53)
The Savior verified a similar early resurrection in the New World when he appeared in the Americas and referenced a prophesy of Samuel the Lamanite which had not been written down by disciples as commanded by the Savior: “Verily, I say unto you, I commanded my servant, Samuel, the Lamanite, that he should testify unto this people, that at the day that the Father should glorify his name in me that there were many saints who should arise from the dead, and should appear unto many, and should minister unto them. And [the Savior] said unto them: Was it not so? And his disciples answered him and said: Yea, Lord, Samuel did prophesy according to thy words, and they were all fulfilled.” (3 Ne. 23:9-10; see also Helaman 14:25) So the Savior chastised them for not having recorded in their personal journals that episode involving the first resurrected dead in the New World.
In order to achieve his purposes in building the kingdom of God and in bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man, Heaven is already inhabited by many resurrected beings, the remainder being righteous spirit personages yet to be resurrected. (D&C 129)
The Variable of Body Quality or Glory
In addition to the variable that is based on time, there is another variable based on body quality or glory of the body. With regard to the varying quality of resurrected bodies, Paul relied on an analogy:
“All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead.” (1 Cor. 15:39-42) (The Joseph Smith translation corrects this scripture by adding “bodies telestial” which makes the analogy to the sun, moon, and stars more consistent.)
God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him (Heb. 11:6), and one of those elements of reward or recompense is a more glorious resurrection. (See Luke 14:14) Those who were tortured for Christ’s sake will receive a “better” resurrection (see Heb. 11:35). Only those who are exalted will possess a resurrected body that is somehow associated with the capacity to bear spirit offspring, although there has been no revelation relating to the manner in which such offspring are produced, other than by couples of opposite gender.
Our bodies are the vehicles through which we experience and sense joy and peace, as well as other less desirable emotions like pain and anguish. With perfect resurrected bodies in a perfect world where there is no pain or anguish, the level of our joy and peace moves toward a fullness that is beyond our comprehension. “[A]s it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Cor. 2:9). And who are those that truly love God? Those only that keep his commandments. (See John 14:15)
Conclusion
Christ has a perfect, glorified, resurrected body of flesh and bone. (See Luke 24) He has not died again and will never die again. He has not transformed himself into some other type of being or non-being.
If we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, or in other words if we have endured well the persecutions grounded in our faith in Christ, then we shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection. (Romans 6:5) And when he appears at the Second Coming, we shall be like him. (1 John 3:2-3; Moroni 7:48) We shall be joint-heirs with him if it so be that we have suffered with him. (Romans 8:17) In ways we do not presently understand, the righteous shall receive their inheritances and be made equal with Christ (D&C 88:107) and partake of all his glory (D&C 101:35).
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most glorious of all messages to mankind. It is the supernal evidence of the Godhood of Jesus Christ and his power over death and Hell. For us, obtaining through the resurrection a celestial, exalted body is the center point of hope in the gospel of Jesus Christ. In order to maximize our individual blessings, there is but one thing remaining for us to do to receive all of the blessings, and that is to obey.
At this Easter season, I solemnly testify that our Savior was resurrected and that He lives again. As a result, each us will receive the Savior’s gift of immortality, and those who follow the Savior’s teachings and receive the gospel’s saving ordinances will be blessed with eternal life, which is the type of life that God lives.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.