2014-05-00-ensign-eng

and tenderly asked her, “Woman, whyweepest thou? She saith unto them,Because they have taken away myLord, and I know not where they havelaid him.” 6 At that moment the resurrectedSavior, now standing behindher, spoke, “Woman, why weepestthou? whom seekest thou? She, supposinghim to be the gardener, saithunto him, Sir, if thou have borne himhence, tell me where thou hast laidhim, and I will take him away.” 7Elder James E. Talmage wrote: “Itwas Jesus to whom she spake, herbeloved Lord, though she knew itnot. One word from His living lipschanged her agonized grief intoecstatic joy. ‘Jesus saith unto her,Mary.’ The voice, the tone, the tenderaccent she had heard and loved inthe earlier days lifted her from thedespairing depths into which she hadsunk. She turned, and saw the Lord.In a transport of joy she reached outher arms to embrace Him, utteringonly the endearing and worshipfulword, ‘Rabboni,’ meaning My belovedMaster.” 8And so this blessed woman becamethe first mortal to see and speak tothe resurrected Christ. Later that sameday He appeared to Peter in or nearJerusalem; 9 to two disciples on theroad to Emmaus; 10 and in the eveningto 10 of the Apostles and others,appearing suddenly in their midst,saying, “Behold my hands and myfeet, that it is I myself: handle me,112and see; for a spirit hath not flesh andbones, as ye see me have.” 11 Then tofurther convince them “while they yetbelieved not for joy, and wondered,” 12He ate broiled fish and honeycombbefore them. 13 Later He instructedthem, “Ye shall be witnesses unto meboth in Jerusalem, and in all Judea,and in Samaria, and unto the uttermostpart of the earth.” 14Beyond these confirmed witnessesin Jerusalem, we have the incomparableministry of the risen Lord toancient inhabitants of the WesternHemisphere. In the land Bountiful, Hedescended from heaven and invitedthe assembled throng, some 2,500, tocome forward one by one until theyhad all gone forth, thrusting theirhands into His side and feeling theprints of the nails in His hands and inHis feet. 15“And when they had all gone forthand had witnessed for themselves,they did cry out with one accord,saying:“Hosanna! Blessed be the nameof the Most High God! And they didfall down at the feet of Jesus, and didworship him.” 16Christ’s Resurrection shows that Hisexistence is independent and everlasting.“For as the Father hath life inhimself; so hath he given to the Son tohave life in himself.” 17 Jesus said:“Therefore doth my Father loveme, because I lay down my life, thatI might take it again.“No man taketh it from me, but Ilay it down of myself. I have power tolay it down, and I have power to takeit again.” 18The Savior is not dependent onfood or water or oxygen or any othersubstance or power or person for life.Both as Jehovah and Messiah, He isthe great I Am, the self-existing God. 19He simply is and ever will be.By His Atonement and Resurrection,Jesus Christ has overcome allaspects of the Fall. Physical death willbe temporary, and even spiritual deathhas an end, in that all come back intothe presence of God, at least temporarily,to be judged. We can haveultimate trust and confidence in Hispower to overcome all else and grantus everlasting life.“For since by man came death, byman came also the resurrection ofthe dead.“For as in Adam all die, even so inChrist shall all be made alive.” 20In the words of Elder Neal A.Maxwell: “Christ’s victory over deathended the human predicament. Nowthere are only personal predicaments,and from these too we may berescued by following the teachingsof him who rescued us from generalextinction.” 21Having satisfied the demands ofjustice, Christ now steps into the placeof justice; or we might say He is justice,just as He is love. 22 Likewise, besidesbeing a “perfect, just God,” He is a perfect,merciful God. 23 Thus, the Saviormakes all things right. No injustice inmortality is permanent, even death,for He restores life again. No injury,disability, betrayal, or abuse goesuncompensated in the end becauseof His ultimate justice and mercy.By the same token, we are allaccountable to Him for our lives, ourchoices, and our actions, even our