The Events of Holy Week

Near the end of his mortal ministry, Jesus Christ went to Bethany, a suburb of Jerusalem, with his disciples. There he publicly raised his close friend, Lazarus, from the dead. 

Christ had performed many miracles during his ministry and raised at least two others from the dead, but this time was different. Most of his ministry had been private and focused on the individual. The others he had raised from the dead had died recently enough that word had not yet spread or Christ could claim they had just been sleeping. This time, Christ demonstrated his divine power in a public setting after Lazarus had been buried for several days. It was an undeniable witness that Christ had divine power, as He professed, and a fitting capstone to a ministry dedicated to inspiring faith in the Son of God and His ability, as the Messiah, to save us from sin and death.

Many of those who witnessed the raising of Lazarus believed in Christ, but some of them went to the Pharisees to report what they had seen. "Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation... Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death" (John 11:47-48, 53). The Pharisees would also try to kill Lazarus, who was walking evidence of Christ's miracle (John 12:9-11).

With the table set for his crucifixion, Christ went to the wilderness in Ephraim for a time. The Savior often retreated to the wilderness for spiritual preparation and revelation, and, though the scriptures do not specifically say it, we can expect that was again his purpose here. He knew that His time had come and so He turned to God in the face of trial for strength to do God's will.

We don't know how long Christ was in the wilderness. Some scholars speculate that it was about two weeks; others say more or less. What we do know is that his return to Jerusalem would start the events we now know as Holy Week.

Palm Sunday

When there was a temple in Jerusalem, faithful Jews would travel to the Holy City for Passover. This pilgrimage represented the Exodus from Egypt, or "the world" at lower elevations, up into the presence of God at the temple in Jerusalem. It also allowed Jews to participate in sacred rituals, including the sacrifice of the paschal lamb that would bring divine forgiveness and purification. It was on such a trip decades earlier that the twelve-year-old Christ was found teaching the priests in the temple.

After his time preparing in the wilderness, Christ began his journey to Jerusalem. He traveled on Sunday, the first day of the week after the traditional sabbath on Saturday. Before entering the city, Christ went around it and two miles beyond to visit Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha, in Bethany. As Martha served supper, and despite a protest from Judas Iscariot, Mary lovingly anointed Christ's feet with a costly ointment and wiped his feet with her hair (John 12:2-8). This, Christ explained, was something she had saved for the time of his burial.

After supper, Christ traveled the two miles back to Jerusalem. Near the Mount of Olives, just outside of the city, Christ turned to two of his disciples and told them to go to a nearby village and retrieve a young donkey, which they did with the owner's permission (Mark 11:1-6, Luke 19:28-34). Matthew, whose primary purpose in writing was to prove to the Jewish people that Christ fulfilled the prophecies of the Torah, zealously records that Christ rode both a donkey and a colt into the city, as prophesied by Zechariah (Matthew 21:1-5, Zechariah 9:9). Most likely, Zechariah was just being poetic and the donkey and the colt are the same animal.

The crowds of pilgrims at Jerusalem had heard about Lazarus being raised from the dead. Word spread quickly that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem and "all of the city was moved" to greet him. They spread their cloaks in the road as they would for a great king and took branches of palm leaves, symbolic for victory, triumph, peace, and eternal life. This must be the Messiah! This must be the man who would deliver them from Rome! As Christ passed, the multitude cried, "Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest." (Matthew 21:6-11, Mark 11:7-11, Luke 19:35-38, John 12:12-18).

Some of the Pharisees in the multitude were less pleased and asked Christ to rebuke the people. They were plotting to kill him, after all, and that would be more difficult if "the world is gone after him" (John 12:19). Christ testified, "I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out" (Luke 19:40). He was the promised Messiah; and even if the people were silenced, the earth itself would testify of its creator.

Yet, as he beheld the city, Christ wept for all the people did not see. The city would be destroyed, he prophesied, "because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation" (Luke 19:44). Their god had been among them, but they had been too skeptical, too preoccupied, or too proud to accept of all he could have shared with them.

Holy Monday

Christ was lodging in Bethany with Lazarus and his sisters, walking the two miles to and from Jerusalem each day. As he set out with his disciples on Monday, Jesus was hungry, "and seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon" (Mark 11:13). It was not yet the season for figs, but fig trees bear fruit before their leaves so the leaves on the tree were a sort of announcement that the tree was laden with fruit. It turned out to be a deception; there was no fruit on the tree.

"The symbol was perfect-- a tree professing fruits and having none standing in the very shadows of the temple where a corrupt priesthood professed righteousness and devotion to Israel's God as they plotted the death of his Son" (Joseph F. McConkie, Studies in Scripture, Vol. 5: The Gospels, ed. by Kent P. Jackson and Robert L. Millet, 376). Christ cursed the tree, which immediately withered, as a symbol or foreshadowing of the "heaviest of all cursings" he has promised for those, like the chief priests and Pharisess, who profess his authority and yet reject him (D&C 41:1).

Continuing on to the temple, Christ destroyed the marketplace he found inside and cast out those who were doing business there, "saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves" (Luke 19:46). With the temple cleansed, he began to teach and healed the blind and the lame who came unto him. "And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased"  (Matthew 21:15). As the Pharisees had done the previous day, these rulers looked to Christ to refute the people. Instead, Christ reminded them that King David had prophesied these events in the ministry of the Messiah (Matthew 21:16, Psalm 8:2). Hearing this, "the chief priests and the scribes... sought to destroy him, And could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him" (Luke 19:47-48).

Holy Tuesday

On the walk into Jerusalem the following day, the disciples saw the withered fig tree and marveled. "Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive" (Matthew 21:21-22).

Returning to the temple to continue his teaching, Christ was confronted at the entrance by the chief priests, scribes, and elders who wanted to know by what authority he performed such marvelous acts. They had confronted him with the same question before, citing the "tradition of the elders" as the authority Christ and his disciples needed to follow (Mark 7:3; Matthew 15:2). During that earlier confrontation, Christ had refuted their tradition by showing how it contradicted the commandments and noting that "if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch" (Matthew 15:3-14).

This time, Jesus turned the entrapment back on the leaders by asking whether the baptism of John was ordained of heaven or men. The leaders saw themselves as the ultimate authority-- the keepers and enforcers of the tradition of the elders. They disapproved of John, but their positions were also political in nature and they feared the majority who believed John was a prophet. "And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things" (Mark 11:33).

Christ then taught the leaders three parables. In the first, a man had two sons: one who refused to work at first but eventually did, and another who said he would work but never did. In the second, the owner of a vineyard hired men to work in his vineyard, but they killed his messengers and eventually even the son of the vineyard owner. In the third, a king invited people off the street to the wedding of his son because those who had been invited killed the servants who invited them and were subsequently destroyed by the armies of the king. The leaders knew all three parables condemned them and their behavior, but Christ also said as much explicitly: "Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you" (Matthew 21:31). The leaders' violent desires toward Christ were restrained only by their love of power and fear of the people in the crowded temple.

Christ continued to teach both the leaders and the people who had gathered around them. He answered all of the leaders' entrapments about tribute, marriage and resurrection, the greatest commandment, and how he could be the son of David if David worshipped him. He denounced hypocrisy and taught his disciples about the widow's mite.

Leaving the temple, Christ mourned over Jerusalem a second time. When Andrew and Phillip came to tell him that there were Greek Jews wanting to meet him, he taught and testified to them and all the people around them that he was sent by God to do His will. At the Mount of Olives, Christ taught his disciples about the destruction of Jerusalem, signs of the second coming, and the parables of the ten virgins, the talents, and the sheep and the goats.

Holy Wednesday

The scriptures don't specifically say what Christ did on the second day before Passover. Perhaps he continued to teach in the temple or around Jerusalem. Perhaps he retreated into the wilderness for rest and further preparation for the days ahead. He continued to lodge in Bethany, which protected him from the schemes of the Jewish leaders. Some Christians call this day "Silent Wednesday," suggesting a time for quiet contemplation and reflection.

Maundy Thursday

Joseph ben Caiaphas was the high priest in Israel, appointed by Rome, and among Jerusalem's elite aristocracy. With Roman support, he had held his position for more than fifteen years. In the aftermath of Lazarus being raised from the dead, the leaders of Israel had gathered at his palace and he had prophesied "not of himself... that Jesus should die for that nation; And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad" (John 11:51-52). Now the same leaders were gathered in his palace again, having been unsuccessful in all of their entrapments, to conceive a new plot to kill Christ. They knew it would cause an uproar if they acted on the day of the Passover feast-- they needed to be more subtle-- but they didn't have a plan until the appearance of an unlikely ally.

"Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver" (Matthew 26:14-15). Christ had recently prophesied that he would be betrayed and crucified (Matthew 26:1-2) and Zechariah had prophesied the sale for thirty pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12-13). Although it amounts to less than five hundred dollars in modern currency, it was the standard price for a slave in ancient Israel. It was also the amount named in a popular idiom, carried over from Sumerian culture, that something of trivial value was "a mere thirty shekels." Judas had trivialized Christ, an action he would deeply regret later, and agreed to help the leaders of Israel find a private opportunity to arrest the Savior.

Meanwhile, this was also the first day of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread and the disciples asked where they might prepare to eat the Passover. Christ told the disciples where they could find a room and there they made the necessary preparations.

As the Last Supper began, Christ identified Judas as his betrayer, warned him of the consequences of that betrayal, then conceded to the choice Judas had already made. "That thou doest," he said, "do quickly" (John 13:27).

The word "maundy" in "Maundy Thursday" refers to a mandate or a command. As the apostles ate with Christ for the last time, he commanded them to love one another, taught them about servant leadership, and encouraged them to follow his example. He instituted the sacrament and taught them about the Holy Ghost.

After supper, Christ began to wash the disciples' feet. This was a beautiful act of service, but it was also necessary to continue teaching the apostles all that Christ had to share with them. Cleansing rituals were common in Israel and a more thorough ritual was done when entering the temple; but if a person left the temple and returned the same day, they washed only their feet upon reentry. As the apostles sat in an upper room chosen by Christ, having been in the temple earlier that day, Christ reintroduced them into a temple environment. When Peter did not understand and objected, Christ taught, "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me" (John 13:8). Peter then consented and we are left to understand that Christ taught his apostles about temple ordinances under the Melchizedek Priesthood.

The temple experience ended with a hymn and Christ and his disciples left for the Mount of Olives. Christ warned the disciples that they would be offended because of him that night, that Peter would deny him three times, and that they would be hated by the world. He again taught them to love one another, to turn to him as the true vine, and that he would send the Comforter. He taught them again about his Atonement and he prayed for them. Then he asked his First Presidency-- Peter, James, and John-- to continue with him a little farther while the rest of his disciples stayed where they were.

It must have been late into the evening when Christ, Peter, James, and John entered the Garden of Gethsemane. A traditional supper would have started around 6:00 p.m. and they had since received a great deal of instruction, including their temple experience. It was well after sundown and so, by the Jewish reckoning of time, it was already Friday.

Feeling sorrow "unto death," Christ asked Peter, James, and John to pray and watch. "And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt" (Mark 14:34-36). "And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground" (Luke 22:43-44).

Twice the Savior returned to Peter, James, and John, and woke them from their sleep and asked them again to watch and pray. When he returned the third time, he told them to rise.

He had scarcely done so when Judas arrived with a body of temple guards and a band of Roman soldiers. This opportunity was unique: normally, Christ was surrounded by people or staying the night in Bethany, but now he had only his apostles in the dark seclusion of Gethsemane.

Judas greeted Christ, saying, "Hail, master," and kissing his face. It was a common greeting, but Christ knew it meant something more to the ecclesiastical and military forces that Judas had brought. "Friend, wherefore art thou come?" he asked. Then the rebuke, "Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?" (Matthew 26:47-50, Luke 22:47-48).

Turning to the officers who were sent to arrest him, Christ asked, "Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he... As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground" (John 18:4-6). If we take the biblical description literally, there could have been 300 - 600 soldiers present, yet, as Elder James E. Talmage observed, "Christ's presence proved more potent than strong arms and weapons of violence."

Christ asked again and identified himself again, asking this time for his apostles to be allowed to leave. Peter attempted to defend Christ with the sword, but Jesus rebuked him and healed the ear of Malchus that had been damaged by Peter's rash stroke. Submitting to the officials there to arrest him, Christ called out his oppressors for their cowardice. He had been in the temple every day and could have been arrested there, yet they chose to do their evil deed in the dark. As Christ was led away, the apostles fled except for Peter, who followed at a distance.

Good Friday

The soldiers illegally took Christ first to the house of Annas, the father-in-law to Caiaphas who had been the high priest two decades earlier. Annas asked Christ about his disciples and doctrine. Jewish law required that a hearing on a capital charge could only be held in the official courtroom of the Sanhedrin, that charges must be announced from the outset, and that the accused should be protected from testifying against themselves. Annas was violating all three of these laws, so Christ responded with a legal defense and invited Annas to ask those he taught. As he said this, one of the soldiers slapped him across the face. "Jesus answered him, If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou me?" (John 18:19-24).

Annas sent Christ to Caiaphas, the high priest, who assembled in his palace an informal and illegal meeting of the Sanhedrin, the governing council of Jewish leaders. Like Annas, these self-proclaimed devotees and upholders of the law searched, outside of the legal process, for any possible excuse for a death sentence.

Caiaphas first attempted to use false witnesses to convict Christ, but witnesses were hard to find in the middle of the night and the stories of those who could be roused conflicted. Caiaphas next tried to get Christ to react to the witnesses he had heard, but Christ did not respond. Finally, Caiaphas asked directly, "Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am" (Mark 14:55-62). At this Caiaphas tore his clothes as a sign of his outrage and proclaimed Christ guilty of blasphemy. The council of leaders agreed, condemned Christ to death, and began to spit on him, humiliate him, and strike him repeatedly. The soldiers joined in, blindfolding Christ and asking him to prophesy who had struck his face (Luke 22:63-65).

When morning came, Christ was led to the official courtroom of the Sanhedrin and the facade of formal proceedings began. Informed by their illicit meeting held in the early morning hours, and continuing to ignore Jewish laws against self-incrimination, the council led off with the question they were sure would settle the matter. "Art thou the Christ? tell us. And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe: And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go" (Luke 22:66-68). The council asked again, "Art thou then the Son of God? And he said unto them, Ye say that I am" (Luke 22:70). This was enough to pronounce a guilty verdict. Impossibly, Jehovah had blasphemed against Jehovah and was delivered to the Roman governor for questioning.

Pontius Pilate lived in Caesarea, on the coast, but he was in Jerusalem at that time because of the large numbers of people expected to be gathered there. The Roman judgement chamber was part of Pilate's house, so the Sanhedrin delivered Christ to the door but refused to go in lest they be defiled by the proximity of leaven and thereby become unworthy to partake of the paschal lamb later that day.

Pilate asked what the charges were against Christ. Caiaphas answered, in essence, "Trust us. He's a problem." Unsatisfied, Pilate told them to judge Christ themselves, but they reminded him that only the Romans could put a man to death (John 18:29-31). The Sanhedrin continued to fear that if they killed Christ by stoning, even with Roman approval, the people might revolt. "And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a King. And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answered him and said, Thou sayest it" (Luke 23:2-3). Like "Ye say that I am," "Thou sayest it" is a a confirmation as clear in that time as a simple "yes" would be in ours.

After Pilate interviewed Christ, he returned to the Sanhedrin with a verdict. Christ was not guilty. "And they were more fierce, saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place... And as soon as he knew that he belonged unto Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at the time" (Luke 23:5, 7).

Herod, who had ordered the death of John the Baptist a few years earlier, was referred to as a king, though the Romans did not recognize him in that way. He was initially happy to see Christ because he had heard so many awe-inspiring things about him. Herod hoped that Christ would perform some great miracle for his amusement. Yet, as the interrogation began, Christ, out of mistrust or distain or simply a sound legal defense, did not answer. Instead of seeing something extraordinary, Herod is the only accuser who never heard the Savior's voice. Unable to pass a conviction, Herod and his soldiers mocked the Savior instead, dressing him in a gorgeous robe and sending him back to Pilate.

Pilate had already tried Christ and found him innocent of all wrongdoing. Neither Herod nor Annas had passed a conviction. Pilate recognized the jealous motives of Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin, which was hardly a reason for capital punishment. Pilate's wife had also warned him, as a result of a dream, that he should not harm Jesus.

All of this weighed on his mind as the Jewish leaders, and those they brought with them, gathered. Pilate offered a compromise: he would allow Jesus to be scourged, despite his innocence, but then he would be released. The multitude was not pacified and instead demanded that Christ be crucified. Unsure of how to proceed, and perhaps feeling overwhelmed, powerless, frustrated and vulnerable in the face of an irrational mob, Pilate conceded, washed his hands, and declared, "I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it" (Matthew 27:24).

Christ was mocked, scourged, and crucified on Golgatha. "And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin. Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews. Pilate answered, What I have written I have written" (John 19:19-22). This was the first of many testimonies from the Gentiles to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ.

As Christ had suffered on the cross, darkness had covered the land. His death caused a terrible earthquake that ripped the veil of the temple and opened the Holy of Holies, previously reserved for the high priest, for all to see. A centurion standing near the cross during the earthquake, who had heard Christ forgive his oppressors and die of his own volition, added his testimony that Christ was "a righteous man" and "truly... the Son of God" (Luke 23:47; Mark 15:39).

It was late afternoon now and the Jewish officials who had not hesitated to demand the crucifixion of Christ to preserve their political influence began to worry that the burial of those crucified might infringe on the Sabbath and defile the land. With their pleading, Pilate consented to allow the legs of the crucified to be broken to hasten their deaths. Finding Christ already dead, a soldier pierced his side and water and blood rushed out. Like the paschal lamb, he was killed for the people without a bone of his body being broken.

With permission from Pilate, Joseph of Arimathea took the body of Christ, wrapped it in linen, and put it in his own sepluchre. Nicodemus, a Pharisee who had come to Christ early in his ministry, brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes as a traditional sign of respect, honor, and devotion. Matthew records that many women followed Christ through his trials and ministered unto him, including Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses (likely the sister of his mother, also named Mary), and Salome (Matthew 27:55-56). Now Mary Magdalene and "the other Mary" followed behind and watched the burial. A large stone was rolled to the opening to close the door before the sun had set.

Black Saturday

The Sanhedrin returned to Pilate the next morning. It was the Sabbath, but they had another request. They had remembered that Christ said he would rise again after three days and they wanted to secure his burial place so that apostles could not steal the body and fake a resurrection. Pilate was tired of their requests and tells them, with a degree of annoyance, that they should secure it themselves. "So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch" (Matthew 27:66).

Beyond the veil of death, the scriptures record that there was a crowd of the just gathered in the world of spirits full of joy and gladness. There "the Son of God appeared, declaring liberty to the captives who had been faithful; And there he preached to them the everlasting gospel, the doctrine of the resurrection and the redemption of mankind from the fall, and from individual sins on conditions of repentance... And the saints rejoiced in their redemption, and bowed the knee and acknowledged the Son of God as their Redeemer and Deliverer from death and the chains of hell. Their countenances shone, and the radiance from the presence of the Lord rested upon them, and they sang praises unto his holy name" (D&C 138:18-19, 23-24).

Christ organized the faithful departed and assigned them to teach the dead who had not been faithful. He instructed and prepared them for their missions, including many of the great prophets, and gave them power to be resurrected after he had been resurrected. Then he departed.

Resurrection Sunday

As the Sabbath concluded in the early morning hours of the next day, the earth began to shake and two angels descended in glory. The guards at the scene fainted at first and then, when they had recovered, fled their post in fear as the angels rolled back the stone of the sepluchre.

When dawn came, the two Marys who had witnessed the closing of the sepluchre, with Salome and "certain others," took spices to the tomb to anoint the body of Christ as Nicodemus had done at the time of burial. As they walked, they considered whether any of them would be strong enough to roll away the stone at the door.

The group of women arrived to find an open sepulchre and walked into the dark tomb to find it empty with the grave clothes folded neatly. Perplexed and likely concerned, one can imagine the confused conversation that then commenced. Suddenly, the two angels appeared and the women bowed themselves to the earth. One of the angels spoke: "Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen" (Luke 24:5-6). He reminded them that Christ had prophesied of his resurrection and told them to go share the good news with the apostles. Filled with joy, the women ran to to tell the apostles and "all the rest."

Mary Magdalene went to Peter and John, who came running and saw the empty tomb. John notes that the apostles still did not know that Christ would be resurrected, but that he entered the sepluchre and believed.

After the apostles returned home, but Mary Magdalene, who had returned with them, lingered at the sepluchre and wept. Christ was gone and neither Mary nor the apostles understood where or why. Still weeping, she stooped and looked into the sepluchre and saw the two angels there as before.

"And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou has laid him, and I will take him away" (John 20:13-16).

Mary had not yet seen the resurrected Christ, who was standing outside of her field of vision. But when he called her by name, she recognized his voice and turned with joy toward him, returning the salutation, "Rabboni; which is to say, Master" (John 20:16). Stopping short of an embrace at his direction, Mary obeyed Christ's direction to return to the apostles and testify of what she had seen. Christ then appeared to the other women who had come to the tomb and gave them a similar charge.

Even as many other faithful saints were resurrected and began to appear to the people in Jerusalem, the Sanhedrin gathered in council to discuss the news brought to them by the guards of the sepluchre. With hard hearts and a persistent lust for power, they completely ignored and dismissed the miracle of the resurrection. Knowing that the guards could be executed for abandoning their post, the Sanhedrin bribed the guards with money and their lives to say that the body was stolen by the disciples.

Meanwhile, Christ appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus who rushed back to Jerusalem to join the apostles there. Then the resurrected Christ came to his apostles, who had gathered in a secure place to hide from the retaliation of the Jewish leaders. He admonished them for their lack of faith and then showed them his hands and his side. It was true! He had suffered and died on the cross; and now he had risen. He was the great Jehovah, the promised Messiah, their Lord and their God, and he had completed his Atonement for all mankind. As he had promised, Christ gave them the gift of the Holy Ghost and power to do his work. Over the next forty days he continued to teach them, to endow them with power from on high, and to command them to preach the gospel to all nations.

A few weeks before, Lazarus had emerged from his tomb and put away the grave clothes that he would need again. "And 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. He is the light and life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death" (Mosiah 16:7-9).

Happy Easter! He is Risen!

Wooden Shoes and the Abundance of Christ

"Living Water" by Simon Dewey

Every year at Christmas, my family reads about the Miracleof the Wooden Shoes. The story takes place many years ago in Germany, where a boy named Walter grappled with the responsibilities of manhood after his father fell ill. He knew from his mother’s whispered conversations with the doctor that his father was dying and Walter wanted to help his family however he could. He began hoarding candle stubs that were discarded at school, digging for forgotten carrots and turnips in the frozen ground of the garden until his fingers were bloody, and searching for hours for a few dry sticks to heat his home. It was not enough; the house was still cold and their stomachs were empty. With so little, Walter was grown up enough to know that there would be no Christmas.

When December 5^th rolled around, Walter’s mother reminded him to set out his shoes for St. Nicholas Day. In Germany, St. Nicholas traditionally comes on December 6^th and fills the children’s shoes with candy. Walter didn’t want to upset his mother, so he made some noise to hide his rebellion and went to bed.

Early the next morning, Walter’s mother called him from the kitchen. “Schnell!” She called. “Quick! Come and see your wooden shoes.” He found them on the doorstep full of enough candles to help his mother finish her sewing at night. There were enough candles for a proper Advent wreath. With the candles was a scroll, tied with a festive red ribbon, which quoted John 8:12, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

Walter and his mother were astonished. Neither of them knew who had filled the shoes. It was a miracle.

The next morning, Walter woke first. He put on his coat and reached for his shoes so he could go find a few sticks for the stove, but his shoes were gone. He could not find them anywhere. Cautiously, he opened the front door and found them again on the doorstep, this time overflowing with sticks. More wood was stacked nearby. In one of his shoes was a scroll, tied with a festive red ribbon, which quoted Jeremiah 20:9, “His word was in mine heart as a burning fire.”

For the second time, Walter and his mother were surprised and grateful for the miracle they had received. Walter was able to build a fire hot enough to heat the whole house, even his father’s bed in the back room.

Walter’s shoes were on the front step the next morning, too. This time they were filled with bread, rolls, and lebkuchen. A pail of milk and a basket of fruits and vegetables stood behind the shoes. This time, the scroll quoted John 6:35, “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”

As Walter went to bed on the third day he set out his shoes and hoped for another miracle, but when he awoke the shoes were empty. Walter’s father was getting worse, even with the warmth and the food in the house. They had enough to last a little while, but then what would they do?

That same day there was a knock on the door. On the porch were two missionaries. Walter had seen them in town. When they looked longingly at the warm fire, Walter knew he should let them in. One of the missionaries reached into his satchel and pulled out a small scroll tied with a festive red ribbon. Walter and his mother looked at each other in surprise as the missionary began to read a verse from John 11: “I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”

Walter jumped to his feet and pointed at the scroll. “It was you!” he exclaimed. “You are the one who filled my shoes. You gave us the three scrolls.” The missionary shook his head in confusion. “I don’t know what you mean,” he replied. “I found this scroll in my shoes this morning with a note to visit your family today. I don’t know where it came from.”

Walter and his mother decided to listen to the missionaries as they taught them about a prophet named Joseph Smith who had restored Christ’s true church to the earth, including the keys of the priesthood. They gave Walter’s father a priesthood blessing and returned many more times to teach Walter and his family.

Walter’s father soon recovered and the family embraced the gospel message. One more scroll appeared on Christmas morning. Walter’s shoes were filled with chocolates and candy. The scroll read, “Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life” (2 Nephi 31:20).

Like Walter and his family, we all have five basic needs to sustain our lives: light, water, air, shelter, and food. Without one or more of these, we will not survive; and even when we have them today, we have no guarantees that we will have what we need to thrive tomorrow. Any of us could be affected by an illness, a turn in the economy, a wildfire, flood or drought, or some other change to our circumstances.

In a world of scarcity, where everything we need is consumable and fleeting, the Savior promises us eternal abundance and invites us to share that abundance with others.

Abinadi taught that “[Jesus Christ] is the light and life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death” (Mosiah 16:9). Joseph Smith wrote that Christ is, “the light and Redeemer of the world; the spirit of truth, … and in him was the life of men and the light of men” (D&C 93:9). “Therefore,” the Savior invites us to, “hold up your light that it may shine unto the world. Behold, I am the light which ye shall hold up—that which ye have seen me do” (3 Nephi 18:24).

At Jacob’s Well, the Savior taught that “Whosoever drinketh of this [well] shall thirst again, But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:9-15). He explained that “unto him that keepeth my commandments will I give the mysteries [or covenants] of my kingdom, and the same shall be in him a well of living water, springing up unto everlasting life” (D&C 63:23).

We are invited to follow the iron rod of His Word to “the fountain of living waters” (1 Nephi 11:25), where we may covenant to keep his commandments in the waters of baptism. He promises that “if [we] will come, [we] may, and partake of the waters of life freely” (D&C 10:66). As we do so, he also requires us to, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20).

The Lord testified that He, “formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Moses 3:7). Jesus Christ is our Creator and “in him [is] life” (John 1:4). He preserves and sustains all living things by lending them breath from day to day and moment to moment (Genesis 7:22, Mosiah 2:21, Acts 17:25).

Yet, His work and His glory is the immortality and eternal life of each of us (Moses 1:39). He invites us to have unshaken faith in Him and “do the things which… your Lord and your Redeemer should do… For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost. And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life…” (2 Nephi 31:17-18). When we are converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ and steadfastly walking the covenant path, “having a perfect brightness of hope and a love of God and of all men” (1 Nephi 31:20), the Lord admonishes us to “strengthen [our] brethren” (Luke 22:32).

Our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, is “a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall” (Helaman 5:12). He testified, “I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward” (Genesis 15:1). He is the founder of the house of Israel, and of Zion, and he will gather us, “as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if ye will repent and return unto me will full purpose of heart” (3 Nephi 10:6).

In the shelter of His holy temples, we can rest from the cares of the world and enjoy peace, like a river, unto our souls (Isaiah 48:18, D&C 121:7). We can extend that peace to our families and others we have never met through vicarious ordinances. He promises that “in my Father’s house are many mansions” (John 14:2) and that one day, if we are faithful, we will be “received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where [we] shall rest from all [our] troubles and from all care and sorrow” (Alma 40:12) and return to a kingdom of eternal glory (D&C 76, Revelation 7:14-17).

Finally, the Lord testified that He is the bread of life (John 6:35). “Yea, he saith: Come unto me and ye shall partake of the fruit of the tree of life; yea, ye shall eat and drink of the bread and the waters of life freely; Yea, come unto me and bring forth works of righteousness” (Alma 5:34-35).

He invites us to feast of his abundance: to “feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do” (2 Nephi 32:3); to “lift up your heads and receive the pleasing word of God, and feast upon his love” (Jacob 3:2); and to “feast upon that which perisheth not, neither can be corrupted, and let your soul delight in fatness” (2 Nephi 9:51).

When we have tasted of the bread of life, like manna from heaven, that fills our soul with “exceedingly great joy” (1 Nephi 8:11-12), we are also invited to bring forth works of righteousness in service to Him. “For the sake of retaining a remission of your sins from day to day, that ye make walk guiltless before God,” King Benjamin advised, “I would that ye should impart of your substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants” (Mosiah 4:26). For “inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren,” the Savior taught, “ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40).

To His servant, Simon Peter, Christ taught that if we love him, we will feed his lambs and feed his sheep (John 21:15-17). To us, Peter echoed that we should, “feed the flock of God which is among you,” not by constraint, but by persuasion and by our own examples (1 Peter 5:2-3).

Without our Savior, Jesus Christ, we are like Walter and his family. We can figuratively dig in the frozen ground for forgotten carrots and search the forest for a few sticks, but the relative scarcity of even our best and most successful efforts cannot save us and our families from physical death nor the separation from God imposed by our own sinful behavior.

We need the abundance our Savior offers us through His servants. We need the light of his example, the unwilted strength of his covenants, the life his breath sustains, the shelter of His gospel, and the nutrition of his word. He offers everything we need to live, temporally and spiritually—everything we need to overcome sin and death—in such abundance that, if we are faithful, “there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:10).

Jesus Christ is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), but is he the way we have chosen, the truth we believe, and the center of the life we live? Do we recognize the miracles in our lives? When he stands knocking at the figurative door of our lives (Revelation 3:20), do we let him in and allow him to teach us how to change? Do we study and live His gospel with scarcity, maybe on Sundays or certain holidays, or do we strive to consecrate all that we have throughout the year and during each day to taste of His fruit, hold up His light, and feed His lambs?

Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life, the light of the world, the living water, the breath of life, a sure foundation and shelter from the storm, and the bread of life. Because He lives, there is healing for our sicknesses and heartaches. Because He lives, we can be forgiven for our sins and strengthened in our shortcomings. Because He lives, His church is restored with covenants and ordinances to unite our families with His love. Because He lives, we can live eternally in the presence and glory of God. Because of a sacred, silent night in Bethlehem, there will be a Christmas this year and we can live each day in the abundance provided by our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Following Christ

As we have studied the New Testament again this year, it has been interesting to read again about how Christ called each of his disciples. He called Matthew as he passed by the tax office where Matthew worked. The Lord called Phillip and Phillip brought Nathanael, who believed when Christ told him about a private moment he had under a fig tree. Andrew believed the preaching of John the Baptist and brought his brother, Simon Peter, to meet the Messiah. The Lord later called Andrew, Peter, James, and John, from their fishing boats after performing a miracle to fill their nets with fish.

Though each of these men would eventually be ordained as apostles, they were first called to be disciples. Others were called too: Mary called Magdalene, Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward, Susanna, Salome, and many others recognized the Savior and accepted the call to follow him (Luke 8:2-3).

So what was it these disciples were called to do?

To the fishermen, Andrew, Peter, James, and John, the Lord called, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:18). To Matthew, son of Alpheas, as with Phillip, Nathanael, and others, the Lord said simply, “follow me.” To the rich young ruler, the Lord called, “Sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me” (Luke 18:22). Indeed, “if any man will come after me,” the Lord taught, “let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16).

Following Christ is more than just believing in him. It is doing the things that he did during his life and that he would do again if he were here with us today. Alma taught that the members of Christ’s church follow him when they “are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death” and enter into covenants to serve him and keep his commandments (Mosiah 18:8-10).

Each of us is a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ who has accepted the call to follow him and covenanted through baptism and temple ordinances to serve him and keep his commandments. So what do you think it is that he has called you and I to do? That is, what would Christ do if he were to come to our community today?

I believe he would minister to us like he did to the people he visited in 3 Nephi. He would command “that none of you should go away, but rather… that ye should come unto me, that ye might feel and see” (3 Nephi 18:25). He would administer the sacrament and minister especially to our children and youth. He would teach us and perform miracles. He would invite the Holy Spirit to change our hearts and admonish us to put an end to all contention, to love one another, and to hold up our light, which is Christ, that it may shine unto the world (3 Nephi 18:24).

The invitation to us is to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and come and follow Christ. Come and do the things that he would do if he were here. Set aside the cares of the world and come learn the word of God. Let go of criticism, cynicism, and doubt and come, minister to one another with love, especially for our children and youth. Come partake of the sacrament each week and invite the spirit into your life to change your heart. Come perform miracles. Come hold up your light and witness of Christ at all times and in all things and in all places.

After they had received the priesthood, Christ sent his disciples on assignments to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel”. He admonished them to preach as they went and charged them to, “heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, [and] cast out devils” (Matthew 10:6-8). They returned rejoicing and astonished at the miracles they had performed in the name of Christ (Luke 9:10, 10:17).

Yet, on another occasion, a “certain man” approached the Savior and begged on his knees: “Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatic, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him” (Matthew 17:15-16).

After the Lord had rebuked the devil and cured the child, the disciples asked why they had not been successful. “And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:18-21).

We can pray and fast for direction and courage to share the gospel. Surely Christ would be anxiously engaged in this work if he were in our community; and He is just as anxious to teach us what to do and guide us to those He has prepared. Just as a tiny mustard seed grows into a large seed, at least some of our fasting and prayer today must be for the faith to believe that, as we follow Christ and do the things he would do, our ward can grow into something greater than it is.

President Ballard once related the following story in General Conference:

“Some years ago a faithful convert, Brother George McLaughlin, was called to preside over a small branch of 20 members in Farmingdale, Maine. He was a humble man, driving a milk delivery truck for a living. Through his fasting and earnest prayer, the Spirit taught him what he and the members of his branch needed to do to help the Church grow in their area. Through his great faith, constant prayer, and powerful example, he taught his members how to share the gospel.

“It’s a marvelous story, one of the great missionary stories of this dispensation. In just one year there were 450 convert baptisms in the branch. The next year there were an additional 200 converts. … Just five years later, the Augusta Maine Stake was organized. Much of the leadership of that new stake came from those converts in the Farmingdale Branch.

“Now we might ask why there was such great success in those days, and the answer may be because of the urgent need to strengthen the Church. Let me assure you that that same urgency in all units of the Church is every bit as critical today as it was then” (April 2003).

President Nelson has promised that “as [we] choose to let God prevail in [our] lives, [we] will experience for [ourselves] that our God is ‘a God of miracles’ (Mormon 9:11” (Let God Prevail, October 2020). He taught on another occasion: “the Lord will bless you with miracles if you believe in Him, ‘doubting nothing’. Do the spiritual work to seek miracles. Prayerfully ask God to help you exercise that kind of faith. I promise that you can experience for yourself that Jesus Christ ‘giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he ‘increaseth strength’.”

The Lord has called each of us to follow Him and do the things He would do if He were in our community. He is the Good Shepherd and He wants us to find his lost sheep of the house of Israel. Some of those lost sheep are members of our families, others are members of our ward, and still more are in our community looking for the truth, but they know not where to find it.

Elder Stevenson has taught us how to follow Christ and reach out to these lost sheep:

“The first thing we can do is love as Christ loved… By demonstrating Christ’s love to others, we may cause those who see our good works to ‘glorify [our] Father which is in heaven’. We do this expecting nothing in return.

“Our hope, of course, is they will accept our love and our message, though how they react is not within our control… Through Christlike love for others, we preach the glorious, life-transforming properties of Christ’s gospel, and we participate significantly in the fulfilling of His great commission.

“The second thing we can do is share… We all share things with others. We do it often. We share what movies and food we like, funny things we see, places we visit, art we appreciate, quotes we’re inspired by…

“Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf explained: ‘If someone asks about your weekend, don’t hesitate to talk about what you experienced at church. Tell about the little children who stood in front of a congregation and sang with eagerness how they are trying to be like Jesus. Talk about the group of youth who spent time helping the elderly in rest homes to compile personal histories’.

“Sharing isn’t about ‘selling’ the gospel. You don’t have to write a sermon or correct someone’s incorrect perceptions. When it comes to missionary work, God doesn’t need you to be His sheriff; He does, however, ask that you be His sharer.”

“The third thing you can do is invite… There are hundreds of invitations we can extend to others. We can invite others to ‘come and see’ a sacrament service, a ward activity, an online video that explains the gospel of Jesus Christ. ‘Come and see’ can be an invitation to read the Book of Mormon or visit a new temple during its open house… Sometimes the invitation is something we extend inward—an invitation to ourselves, giving us awareness and vision of opportunities surrounding us to act upon.

“In our digital age, members often share messages through social media. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of uplifting things you might find worthy of sharing. This content offers invitations to ‘come and see.’ ‘come and serve,’ and ‘come and belong.’”

As we each deny ourselves, take up our cross, and strive to follow Christ and share his gospel, we will experience miracles in our lives and in our communities.

Receive the Holy Ghost

In the six weeks that followed the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the apostle Peter undergoes a miraculous transformation. It is a change that has had lasting impacts on the history of the Church and the world; and a similar change is within all of our reach.

Simon Peter is a prominent figure in Christ's ministry. He was the Savior's chief apostle, the "rock" and future leader of Christ's church and one of the Lord's most devoted friends. It is Peter that has the faith to walk a step or two on the water, who learns by the spirit and testifies that Jesus is the Christ, who witnesses the transfiguration and the most sacred miracles of Christ, and who cuts off the ear of Malchus in defense of Christ immediately prior to his crucifixion. In simple terms, Peter was a good guy.

Yet, when the Sanhedrin seized the Savior and sentenced him to die, Peter wasn't feeling so good. He was recognized three times as he followed the proceedings and each time Peter denied his association with the accused. When he realized what he had done he went out and wept bitterly. Then, when the Lord was gone, he went back to his fishing boat aggrieved. It must have seemed like it was over-- like there was nothing more to hope.

Six weeks later, everything looked different. Peter and John noticed an older man in front of the temple who had been lame from his birth. When they heal the man, a crowd gathers and Peter testifies of the same Christ who the leaders in the crowd had just crucified. Peter and John were then brought before the Sanhedrin themselves, where Peter boldly declares:


Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand before you whole (Acts 4:10).

What could have made such a difference in so little time? Yes, he had been with Christ for 40 days after the resurrection; but he had been with Christ three years before his infamous denial. He had testified that Jesus is "the Christ, the Son of the living God" before he decided he'd go back to being a fisherman (Matthew 16:16). Now he and John were defying a direct order from the Sanhedrin, ignoring threats of violence against them, and "rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name" when they were imprisoned and beaten (Acts 5:41).

The difference wasn't the prints of the nails in the Savior's hands or his resurrected glory alone, as wonderful as it must have been to witness the Resurrected Lord. Peter had seen Christ's glory, witnessed the raising of the dead on more than one occasion, and had a testimony of the Savior's divinity even prior to his crucifixion. It also certainly wasn't that like-minded individuals had assumed political power or that the risk of association had diminished. To the contrary, Christ had prophesied that Peter would be crucified for his testimony. So what else could it have been?

In the closing moments before the Savior's ascension into heaven, he repeated a promise to his apostles that he had made before. "Ye shall receive power," he said, "after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

A week later, "they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2:4). A crowd of 3,000 people gathered in Jerusalem that day and Peter taught them the gospel. The hearts of the people in the crowd were softened until they asked Peter and the disciples, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Peter responded, "Repent, and be baptized... and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:37-38).

Peter had experienced the power of the Holy Ghost prior to the resurrection. When he had testified of Christ's divinity in Ceasarea Phillipi, Christ's response confirmed that "flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 16:17). He had participated in the first sacrament and the ordinance of the washing of feet. These spiritual experiences and others like them were intermittent however, and in many ways insufficient to facilitate full conversion. In between spiritual high points, Peter was left to himself and the weakness of his own flesh.

It is only after Peter and John receive the gift of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost that they really begin their ministries. Only then do they have the boldness to stand in a crowd of Jewish leaders and testify of those leaders' sins and their ignorance of the teachings of all the prophets regarding Christ's return and the restoration of the gospel. Only after Peter is "filled with the Holy Ghost" does he have the courage to stand before the Sanhedrin and preach of the same Christ that was hated and crucified by them. Only then do the apostles perform many signs and wonders in defiance of the high priest and then explain with plainness that "we ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29).

Receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost brings confidence, sanctification and peace of conscience, knowledge of all things, strength to endure all things and a desire to share that gift with all of the children of God. It helps Peter overcome his fear of men and transform from student to teacher, from follower to disciple and from having a testimony to being converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is only natural that, given the opportunity to teach the people after experiencing the gift of the Holy Ghost, he teaches the goal and promise of receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Peter's teaching is for us, too. The Lord stands ready to bless each of us with the power that is accessory to the gift of the Holy Ghost, but we have to be ready to receive it. Elder Bednar explained:

 These four words-- "Receive the Holy Ghost"-- are not a passive pronouncement; rather, they constitute a priesthood injunction-- an authoritative admonition to act and not simply be acted upon. The Holy Ghost does not become operative in our lives merely because hands are placed upon our heads and those four important words are spoken. As we receive this ordinance, each of us accepts a sacred and ongoing responsibility to desire, to seek, to work, and to so live that we indeed "receive the Holy Ghost" and its attendant spiritual gifts ("Receive the Holy Ghost", October 2010).

The gift of the Holy Ghost is sometimes called the "baptism of fire". In ancient Hebrew culture, fire was a symbol for the presence of the divine. Thus, we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost only after we repent and are baptized by the proper authority for the remission of sins. Only then are we worthy of the presence of the divine.

Likewise, after this gift has been bestowed upon us, it operates in our lives as we remain worthy of it. Elder Bednar taught, "Receiving the Holy Ghost starts with our sincere and constant desire for His companionship in our lives." When we desire to live in the presence of the divine, we invite the companionship of the Holy Ghost as we make and keep sacred covenants, seek virtuous thoughts and actions, strengthen appropriate relationships with friends and family and commune with God through scripture study and prayer.

In short, we can be transformed by the presence of the divine if we're willing to leave old habits behind and heed the priesthood injunction to receive the Holy Ghost. If we will do this, the promise of the Lord is that, come what may, we will receive power-- power to know all things, to overcome all things, to endure all things, and to witness in our homes, our communities, on social media and to all people foreign or domestic. Most miraculous of all, through the gift of the Holy Ghost we receive power to change ourselves, the legacy we leave for our families, and the entire world.

You Are What You Eat

Most cells in your body have an expiration date. A stomach cell only lives for a couple of days, skin cells last about a month, and red blood cells are with you about four months. Cells in your pancreas are hard at work regulating your blood sugar for about a year. Bone cells hang on for 25 - 30 years. Only very few-- like the cells that make the lens in your eye or the muscle of your heart-- last a lifetime.

So you don't fall to pieces, your body is constantly replacing, healing and regenerating cells that are injured, dead, or just worn out from helping you do what you do. This perpetual renovation means that the cells and molecules that make your physical self are seldom all the same from one moment to the next. You are always changing. And you're constantly deciding-- subconsciously or not-- what it is you're changing to be.

That's because your body gathers its building materials, be they for your liver or your toenails, from the nutrients in your food. In this way, we literally become what we have chosen to eat. A low-nutrient diet forces our body to improvise and we end up with the biological equivalent of a house made from cardboard and packing tape. Healthy eating gives our bodies what they need to build something a little stronger and more efficient.

For thousands of years, part of healthy eating has been whole-grain breads. Interestingly, bread also plays a significant role in many Bible stories and observances. Unleavened bread remains an important culinary and symbolic part of the Passover; it was bread from heaven, called Manna, that fed the Israelites in the desert after they escaped from the Egyptians; ravens brought bread to Elijah when he was hiding from the queen; and the widow of Zaraphath had an endless supply of oil and meal to make bread after feeding the prophet the last of what she had.

In the New Testament, Satan tempted Christ in the desert to turn rocks into bread and Christ broke bread to introduce the ordinance of the Sacrament to his apostles. There are dozens more examples, but none so impressive as when Christ used five loaves of bread and a few fish to feed 5,000 people on the coasts of Galilee. Some scholars believe that it was actually closer to 15,000 including women and children. Regardless of the number, it caught the people's attention.

Most of the thousands of people who were fed on this occasion had walked 5-7 miles along the coast of the Sea of Galilee to meet Christ on the other side. The Savior had left the city by boat that morning after hearing his friend and cousin, John the Baptist, had been murdered. He had gone to be alone, but when he saw the crowd of people he had compassion on them and ministered the rest of the day to them.

When evening came, Christ encouraged the people to stay rather than making the long walk back to the city to find food. He broke five loaves of bread and a few fishes into pieces and had his disciples distribute the pieces to the crowd. After all had eaten, there were more than five loaves of bread and a few fishes left over. It was a miracle!

The first reaction of those present was to testify that "this is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world" (John 6:14), but that reality means different things to different people. This crowd was hoping it would mean a lot of free meals. "When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone" (John 6:15).

Human nature has hardly changed in two thousand years. The masses today often choose not only their religious and political leaders but also their furniture store and orthodontist based on the "free bread" that can be offered. At first glance, it may even seem that Christ avoided a great opportunity here. The people wanted him to be their king! How much easier would it be to share his message as a king than as a carpenter?!

Christ explained his refusal the next day when the crowd found him in the city. "Verily, verily, I say unto you," he said, "Ye seek me, not because ye desire to keep my sayings, neither because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled" (John 6:26). The Jews wanted a temporal Messiah that would free them from Rome and put food in their bellies; Christ had come with the much greater mission to free us all from sin and death and put the gospel in our hearts so we could one day be like him.

His mission wasn't concerned with votes or consensus or popular opinion, but rather commitment and devotion and discipleship. Followers without faith aren't any better than if they hadn't followed at all.

Addressing the crowd's focus on their next meal, he concluded his explanation with an admonition to, "Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you" (John 6:27). Said another way, it's not the pot luck after church that nourishes our souls but the feast upon the Word that happens during church, at home and wherever else we choose to open our scriptures or go to our knees in prayer. It is by ingesting his gospel, not funeral potatoes and Jell-o, that our souls are able to heal, replace toxic habits and behaviors, and become stronger and more faithful.

With the advantage of two millenia of hindsight, it may seem easy to spot the short-sightedness of the people of Capernaum. They stood in the presence of the Creator, a god through whom all things are possible, and asked only for another loaf of bread. It is sometimes harder to recognize such smallness when our own approaches to the Divine become focused on similar requests for temporal wants or "golden goose" solutions that may be equally inappropriate and ungrateful.

Yet, we as they are often most persistent about our least important needs. When Christ refused to become their king, the crowd asked for Christ to simply provide more bread. When Christ refused again, they changed their approach and asked for the bread as a sign that he, like Moses, was doing the work of God. When Christ offered the bread of the gospel as a superior alternative to the manna their ancestors ate, the people responded, "Evermore, give us this bread," or, "That sounds great, but what we really need is something that goes with our lamb stew" (John 6:34).

Finally, in response to the crowd's oblivious persistence, Christ gave the people the formula for an endless supply of bread. "I am the bread of life," he taught, "he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst" (John 6:35). Unfortunately, the crowd was so focused on what they wanted that they did not perceive that they were being offered something much greater than a loaf of honey wheat. We can avoid their folly by zooming out to see that the formula Christ presents here-- and previously to the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well (John 4:13-14)--  is fulfilled in at least two different ways.

First, Christ gives us the bread and water of His gospel as we come unto him. That is, as we exercise our faith, continue to repent and improve ourselves, make and keep sacred covenants, and receive and follow the Holy Ghost, our souls receive the nutrients they need to repair and rebuild. And just as our DNA provides the blueprints for our physical bodies to build according to our biological heritage and the available nutrients, our souls have within them the potential to be like our Heavenly Father and our Heavenly Mother if we'll just feed it the right nutrients.

And second, Christ offers us the bread and water of the sacrament as symbols of his sacrifice for us and the covenants we have made with him. When the Lord instituted the Passover, he instructed the Israelites to both mark their doorposts with lamb's blood and consume the meat of the lamb in a special meal. The Israelites were physically saved and physically fed by their obedience. In like manner, the Lord instituted the sacrament so that we could symbolically eat the flesh of the Lamb of God and mark the doorposts of our souls with his blood. We are fed both body and spirit as we partake and delivered from sin and death through our obedience and the power of his atonement.

We witness as we partake of the sacrament that we will always remember him and keep his commandments. But what's more, Christ and the covenants we have made with him become a little more of who we are-- physically and spiritually-- as we take the sacrament each week.

Every day we decide to eat hot dogs or steaks, carrots or chips, yogurt and berries or twinkies and soda. We make the same kind of decisions about building spiritual cardboard huts or something more enduring. If we make a regular diet of the meat which endureth unto everlasting life, we will find that we will change from this moment to the next. More specifically, we will become the gospel that we have consumed and the image of the Lamb of God will radiate from our countenances. The choice is ours, but buyer beware: you are what you eat.

Faith in Impossible Christmas Stories

Our family recently rebooted our daily scripture study. We had done well for awhile, encountered a few distractions and then suddenly realized it had been weeks since we had sat down together to read. We needed a reminder and a new burst of motivation.

The day after we started reading again, our oldest son came to his mom with some confessions. He is seven years old and his admissions were mainly focused on fibs and half-truths he had told about things that had happened at school. More confessions came on the second day and it really seemed like our family scripture study was helping him make better choices.

On the third day, he confessed again on the drive home from school. When he had vented, he added with concern, "Hey, Mom? Do you think that Santa will still bring me a present since I fixed it?"

So that's it.

Of course, my son's behavior is based on an impossible premise. There's just not enough time for one old man on a reindeer-powered sleigh to deliver hundreds of millions of presents around the world in a single night. Behavioral scientists observing my son's behavior might then conclude that his behavior has been completely irrational-- and they would be right except for two important details: first, my son is making decisions with imperfect information; and second, despite his lack of knowledge, his faith in Santa has always been rewarded as promised.

Indeed, our faith in Christ operates in much the same way. Though we are often "left in the dark" when it comes to the details, the Lord encourages us to live his gospel and see for ourselves whether our faith will be rewarded as promised. Just as my son ascribes Santa's deliveries to magic, we often see the fulfillment of God's promises as miracles-- and at no time do we celebrate our belief in those miracles more than during the Christmas season.

The biblical account of the first Christmas begins with the miraculous story of an angel who appeared to Zacharias in the temple. The angel told Zacharias that his wife, who had not been able to have children and was now "well stricken in years," would have a baby boy. Such a birth was not only improbable, but physiologically impossible.

A few months later, the same angel appeared to announce another impossible birth. This time he was speaking to Mary, a young woman engaged to the rightful heir of King David's throne. According to the commandments of the Lord and the customs of the day, the couple had remained chaste prior to their wedding:

And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus...

Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God... For with God nothing shall be impossible. (Luke 1:30-31, 34-35, 37).

In both cases, the appearance of an angel alone may seem unlikely if not viewed through the lens of faith; but the subsequent pregnancies of a virgin and a barren old woman challenge even the faithful. Yet, as the angel instructs, with God nothing shall be impossible. The question is not whether his word will come to fruition, but how we respond to even the most impossible promises.

Perhaps we will be logical, like Zacharias, who was skeptical of the angel's message though the divine messenger stood before him. His skepticism made his experience more difficult, but when his wife bore a son as the angel had prophesied he was ready to believe.

Mary's fiance had a similar reaction. We don't know what, if anything, Mary shared of her experiences, but Joseph sought to break off their engagement until he saw the angel himself in a dream. His vision persuaded him to believe the impossible and move forward with the wedding.

Elizabeth, Zacharias' wife, had been "righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless" despite living her entire life in a culture that incorrectly believed that her inability to have children was a form of divine punishment (Luke 1:6). Clearly, she was a woman of faith. Yet, knowing her conception was impossible, Elizabeth appears to withhold judgment for several months. Finally, she allowed her hope to sprout a greater faith and rejoiced that the Lord had taken away her shame. When Mary visits a month or so later, Elizabeth instantly recognizes the joy of her unborn child and testifies that Mary is the mother of the Christ.

Mary was also a woman of faith who, according to the angel, had found favor with God. When she heard the angel's impossible news, she responded with a humble and willing statement of faith. "Behold, the handmaid of the Lord," she said, "be it unto me according to thy word" (Luke 1:38). When Elizabeth saluted her as "blessed... among women," Mary gave a similar response: "My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call be blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name" (Luke 1:46-49).

None of us knows all of the details about how Mary and Elizabeth conceived their miraculous children, nor are those details particularly important to our salvation, but as we respond with faith we will benefit from the many promises made possible by the lives of Jesus Christ, our Savior, and his Elias, John the Baptist. We can receive a remission of our sins, the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, knowledge to guide us through our most vexing problems and happiness in times of trial.

We can also receive greater faith that with God nothing is impossible. At Christmas we celebrate that a virgin did conceive and bear a son. That son walked on water and calmed the storms; turned water to wine and fed thousands with a few loaves of bread and some small fish; healed the blind, the leprous and the paralyzed; brought the dead back to life; atoned for our sins and was resurrected. Because of Him, we can see estranged family members reunited, be relieved of physical or mental anguish, find the strength to forgive, have a chance to pursue our impossible dreams and return to live with our families in the presence of God forever.

There were many others who responded to the impossible news of Christ's birth. Three kings traveled for years to bring gifts and worship him. King Herod tried to kill him. Simeon and Anna looked for him their entire lives and immediately recognized him and rejoiced when they saw the Christ child in the temple. Our experience will depend a great deal on our response to his invitations. Will we be skeptics, like Zacharias, and throw rocks into our own path; or will we allow "he that is mighty" to do "great things" in our lives because of our faith in him?

One indication may be our efforts to understand and rely on Christ through our study of the scriptures. Though our family may not always be consistent, it is a blessing in our lives to know that our faith-inspired study does indeed help our son, and all of us, respond with readiness to the Lord's invitations to serve his children. We don't know exactly how but we've noticed that it always seems to work-- no cookie tax required.

Walking on Water

All of us have heard the story about the time that Christ, and for a short time, Peter, walked on water. We know that the wind was blowing and that Peter took a few steps on the choppy sea before he began to doubt and sink. We’ve talked at church and at home about the importance of keeping our focus on Christ and how Christ will help us when we falter. We know this stuff, and it is important, but we also miss a lot when we examine this experience as an isolated incident. Consider for a moment the many lessons available for us in the context of this story:

Less than 24 hours before Christ traversed the surface of the stormy sea, he learned that his cousin, friend and predecessor, John the Baptist, had been killed unjustly to satisfy a young woman who had danced for the king. The news was a heavy blow and Christ soon boarded a ship across the Sea of Galilee to the wilderness where he could be alone to grieve.

When he reached the opposite coast however, Christ found that thousands of people had walked the several miles around the sea to be with him when he arrived. Rather than sending them away or being frustrated that he couldn’t get a moment for himself, Christ spent the rest of the day preaching and healing the sick.

When evening came and there was no food, Christ could have very easily dismissed the crowd with no ill will. Surely after the loss of John and a full day of ministering to the multitude, he would have been justified in doing so. But the scriptures say that he was moved with compassion and instead performed a miracle to feed the multitude.

Finally, sometime after dinnertime, Christ told the disciples to take the boat and head home. He stayed with the crowd a little longer and then sent them to their homes as well. It had been a full day. Christ was probably physically and emotionally exhausted, but he was finally alone. Still seeking solace himself, he climbed a nearby mountain to pray.

Hours later, the disciples were struggling to get home. The five-mile journey that might normally take about two hours had stretched into a very difficult nine or more hours of rowing in a choppy sea against a blasting wind. What physical strength they had was likely exhausted. Different personalities in the boat may have been upset or annoyed or even a little incredulous that they had battled through the entire night and were still stuck out in the middle of the sea. Some might have been scared that they weren’t going to make it across at all.

Then, sometime between three and six in the morning, the disciples saw a mysterious figure out on the water. Christ had seen them struggling from the temple-mountain where he had been praying and had walked the five or more miles to where they were. He was unrecognizable in the dark of night and the disciples cried out in fear of what they thought may be an evil spirit. Christ responded, “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.”

Peter recognized the voice of the Lord and answered, “Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.” Peter’s qualifying statement, “if it be thou”, indicates that Christ was probably still at least partially hidden by the darkness. Christ told Peter to come to him.

Most of us recognize that it is a bit irrational under normal circumstances to get out of a boat that is nowhere near land. By this logic, it is then completely irrational to do so at night amid high wind and waves when you are completely exhausted from a full day of service and a full night of rowing and your peers are terrified of what they see outside the boat. Peter knew this, but Peter got out of the boat.

In utter contradiction to everything he knew to be possible, Peter then walked on the water. He took a few obedient steps before suddenly becoming aware again that he was in the middle of the storm and that what he was doing was impossible. As he sensed himself beginning to falter, he called out, “Lord, save me.” Immediately, the Savior stretched forth his hand and caught Peter. When both men had reached to boat, the storm ceased. The rest of the disciples then recognized the Lord and worshipped him.

The boat made landfall in early morning and again Christ was met by crowds of people seeking healing for themselves and their loved ones. Despite all that had happened and now more than 24 hours without sleep, Christ spent the day ministering unto the people, healing their sick, contending with the Pharisees, and performing another miracle to feed the multitudes.

In the 24 verses adjacent to the story of Christ walking on the water in Matthew 14, we find a rich context with filled with insightful details and instructive gospel lessons. In these verses we learn that Christ always has time for us and is always ready to provide help and healing. We learn that when we serve others even when we are grieved or sad, we are following the example of our Savior. We learn that we can find solace in the temple and in prayer, just as the Savior did.

The context prepares our heart and mind to learn that even though God might not always spare us from the storms of life, he is aware of us and will come to our aid; that we get credit for trying; and that if we will try to come to him he will catch us when we start to sink. It helps us see the power of love and the deceit of fear.

From Peter we learn that sometimes we cannot overcome our trials on our own or even with the support of friends and family; but that doesn’t mean our trials cannot be overcome. We learn the importance of recognizing the voice of the Lord and trusting his voice above the fearful voices of the world or even our own logic. We do not have to see Christ to know he is there. And though it may not always be rational or even possible to obey his voice, the Lord will help us do the impossible if we will just get out of the boat. Indeed, the boat is often our biggest obstacle.

The story of Christ walking on the water is one of the best-known Bible stories worldwide. Its richness is enhanced when we understand the emotions, symbols and other details surrounding it. And best of all, it is true and so are the principles we learn from it. Jesus Christ is the Creator of heaven and Earth. He is our Savior. He loves us. He wants each of us to come to him. He wants each of us to walk on water.