The miracle of the Atonement of Jesus Christ is such an unspeakable gift. Happy Easter to you all.

Editor’s note: “The Miracle” is an Easter song that was written by Shawna Edwards for the Primary children in her ward. Some of those children are my own. This is a very special song to us. I hope you enjoy it. ~Michelle

p.s. Music is available here.

The post The Miracle that Rescues Me (Easter video) appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

Here are several other links to help explain more about our beliefs. Jesus Christ is central to all our beliefs about the blessings available to us after death. Were it not for Him, there would be no heaven, no hope, no life after death (resurrection/immortality), no possibility to repent and be cleansed from sin, no possibility for eternal life.

Please feel free to ask questions if you have any come to mind.

Mormon.org – God’s plan of happiness

Mormon belief about life after death

What was Barbara Walters referring to when she referenced the three heavens? Unlike most Christian or other religions, Mormons don’t believe in a binary of a heaven and a hell. We believe that because of the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ, all people who have ever lived on the earth or who ever will live on the earth will be resurrected, will live again. And we believe because of Jesus Christ, all will obtain a degree of post-mortal ‘glory.’ Read more about our belief in Three Degrees of Glory, or three Kingdoms of Glory.

Immortality — living again after death through the resurrection — is a free gift to all. Eternal life is what our Father hopes for all His children, but whether or not we obtain such an existence depends on our faith and choices and the reception of saving ordinances. (This is why Mormons believe in doing proxy ordinance work for those who have died – so everyone has the opportunity to accept or reject the ordinances (such as baptism).)

Barbara Walters also mentioned Mormon temples. You can read more about them here.

Scripture References

1 Corinthians 15:40-42

 

Revelation 20:12

 

Alma 11:42-45

 

3 Nephi 27:14

 

Doctrine and Covenants 88:20-39; 130:18-19

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The message of Easter is one of hope. No matter what our pain, no matter what our burdens, no matter what we have faced or will yet face, because of Jesus Christ, we can have hope!

Because Jesus Christ died and was resurrected, we, too, will all live again. Resurrection is a free gift given to all who have lived or who will yet live on the earth. The sting of death can be swallowed up in Christ. “Jesus Christ…is the Son of God, … and by the power of the Father he hath risen again, whereby he hath gained the victory over the grave; and also in him is the sting of death swallowed up.” (Mormon 7:5)”[T]here is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ.” (Mosiah 16:8)

Because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we can be forgiven of our sins when we repent.

Because of His infinite Atonement, not only can we repent when we make mistakes, but through His miraculous power, our hearts and characters can be changed. With His help, we can overcome weakness and sin. With His help, we  can become more like Him.

Because of Jesus Christ, we can also receive heavenly help and comfort through God’s Holy Spirit — in times of trial, doubt, sorrow, betrayal, loneliness, fear, when facing death or illness (of self or loved ones). Because of what Jesus suffered for our sake, we know we are never alone.

All that is good comes because of Jesus Christ — all that is good now, or all the good that can come as we hold on and keep moving forward — we can have hope because of Jesus Christ. “[I]n Christ there should come every good thing.” (Moroni 7:22) He can give us “beauty for ashes,” as Isaiah declared.

As Jeffrey R. Holland stated, Jesus is our High Priest of Good Things to Come:

Every one of us has times when we need to know things will get better. Moroni spoke of it in the Book of Mormon as “hope for a better world.” ²For emotional health and spiritual stamina, everyone needs to be able to look forward to some respite, to something pleasant and renewing and hopeful, whether that blessing be near at hand or still some distance ahead. It is enough just to know we can get there, that however measured or far away, there is the promise of “good things to come.”

My declaration is that this is precisely what the gospel of Jesus Christoffers us, especially in times of need. There is help. There is happiness. There really is light at the end of the tunnel. It is the Light of the World, the Bright and Morning Star, the “light that is endless, that can never be darkened.” ³ It is the very Son of God Himself. In loving praise far beyond Romeo’s reach, we say, “What light through yonder window breaks?” It is the return of hope, and Jesus is the Sun. ⁴ To any who may be struggling to see that light and find that hope, I say: Hold on. Keep trying. God loves you. Things will improve. Christ comes to you in His “more excellent ministry” with a future of “better promises.” He is your “high priest of good things to come.”

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It’s a great comfort to know that because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we will all live again. The reality of the resurrection is a foundational doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The post Death is Not the End appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

This topic is a tender one for me today. One of my dear friends is dying. I arrived at church to hear the news that she was “near the end.” I couldn’t believe it. Not yet! I had just been with her two weeks ago, and she was doing so well. I still wanted to go plop myself down on the fluffy down comforter that covered her bed, and listen to her tell me about her life (a regular ritual as of late). We thought she had months left, not weeks.

Yesterday, I went to her home. The feeling there was somber, yet peaceful. I quietly walked to the side of her bed; the family was kind enough to let me sit in the chair right next to her. She was clearly aware that I was there, and knew who I was, but she could say precious little. What she could say was difficult to understand. I couldn’t keep the tears from flowing.

I just don’t want her to go.

But I remember the conversations she and I had had, more than once. She realized that whether she lived or died, she would be happy. She desperately wanted to live long enough to see her new granddaughter (due in a week and a half). She wanted to see her grandson serve as a missionary.

But she also realized that if she died, she would see her husband and mother again. Her husband died a few years ago, and her mother died when she was only 14. How can I not be happy for those blessed reunions that are just around the corner for her?

We as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that death is not the end to life. We believe that we are spirit children of heavenly parents, with whom we lived before in the premortal world (or existence). We believe that this life has a purpose — to give us experience, to allow us to learn and grow, to allow us to have families, to allow us opportunities to make choices. God’s hope, of course, is that we will make choices to seek Him and follow His Son.

While the end of the life of a loved one brings sorrow and mourning, we declare that there is life after death! Ultimately, death is part of God’s plan of happiness for us. (Let me interject and say that our beliefs about death should not be misunderstood as supporting deliberately ending a life (one’s own or someone else’s) prematurely. See more about Mormon beliefs regarding suicide (part 2 is here).)

After death, spirits of those who have died do pass on, to another sphere (called the Spirit World). There they wait until the resurrection — the rejoining of the body and the spirit — never to die again! We believe all who have ever lived on this earth will be resurrected. This conquering of death is made possible through the Savior, Jesus Christ and His resurrection (recently celebrated with Easter last weekend).

I cannot tell you what comfort this knowledge gives me. I know my friend will live again! I know, too, that after she passes from this life, that same spirit that gave her earthly body life will live on. She will continue to love and serve in a the Spirit World. We believe that those who have passed on are not far from us. While I don’t know exactly how that all works, I do believe it to be true. I believe my friend will indeed have a joyous reunion with her sweetheart and mother and others who love her.

A key part of understanding Mormon doctrine about death is understanding the belief that families can be eternal. (We often talk of “forever families.”) Through ordinances performed in holy temples by men holding priesthood authority of God, a husband and wife can be sealed to one another. This marriage union is bound not just “till death do us part” but can exist beyond death into eternity, conditional on the individuals’ faithful choices and desires. Children can also be sealed, bound, to their parents. In this way, families are given the potential to be connected eternally across generations through these sacred ordinances.

But knowledge of this doctrine does not mean we don’t mourn. As I sat at my friend’s beside and wept, first alone and later with my children, I was reminded of this quote by Elder Russell M. Nelson, one of the Church’s current Twelve Apostles:

Mourning is one of the deepest expressions of pure love. It is a natural response in complete accord with divine commandment: “Thou shalt live together in love, insomuch that thou shalt weep for the loss of them that die.” (D&C 42:45.)

Moreover, we can’t fully appreciate joyful reunions later without tearful separations now. The only way to take sorrow out of death is to take love out of life.

And so, for now, I will let the tears flow. I love my friend and will miss her terribly. But through the tears, I hold onto the knowledge that this is not the end, and I look forward to a time when I believe I will be able to see her again.

Until then, to my dear friend: Godspeed. I love you. Thank you for your example of faith, your love, and your friendship. I will miss you, but I rejoice in your good life and in joyful reunions that await you. I am so grateful that God allowed me the blessing of knowing you. Rest in peace, until we meet again.

– – – – – – –

**Please note: The answers in “Ask a Mormon Woman” and reflect the thoughts, perspectives, and experiences of individuals. Although here at Mormon Women, we strive to have our content consistent with the Church’s doctrine and teachings, we do not speak officially for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. For official information about or from the Church, please visit www.mormon.org or www.lds.org.

___
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Come at the dawn to the silent garden
Brightly beams the morning sun
Come at the dawn to the silent garden
See what wonder the Lord hath done!

Come to the tomb in the silent garden
Lo! the stone is rolled away
Linger in awe, for the tomb lies empty
See the place where his body lay

He is risen! He is risen! risen unto endless life
Weep no more in the silent garden
Death is swallowed up in Christ

Seek him no more in the silent garden
Seek him not among the dead
Find him in glory among the living
Risen even as he said

Victory is wrought in the silent garden
Joy is born of an empty tomb
Sing for the morning of our salvation
Christ hath brought us life anew

He is risen! He is risen! risen unto endless life
Weep no more in the silent garden
Death is swallowed up in Christ.

-Sally DeFord (for free downloadable sheet music to this song, click here)

– – – – – – –

Mosiah 16: 7-8:  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 ^asting, there could have been no resurrection. But there is a ^aresurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of ^bdeath is swallowed up in Christ.

1 Cor. 15: 55: O ^adeath, where is thy sting? O ^bgrave, where is thy victory?

– – – – – – –

He Lives! How grateful we are for prophets and apostles today who testify of the Savior, Jesus Christ, just as ancient prophets and apostles did.

The post “Death is Swallowed Up in Christ” — He Lives! appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

Over the years I have been taught the story of Easter time and time again. As years pass, my understanding deepens. I have pondered it, and prayed about it.  I have read it, and listened to prophets and apostles speak about it.  I have taught lessons to young women about it. I know about the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for us. I know about His time in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the betrayal of His friends. I continue to be amazed at Christ’s ability to say, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” I understand that His sacrifice makes it possible for us all to be resurrected and to live with our families again after death.

Each year, as Easter approaches, I do different things to help me remember Jesus Christ and His sacrifice.  I like to read the story of His death and resurrection in the Bible.  We own a couple of children’s books that I read with my children.  We have an animated DVD that we watch with the kids.  I like to watch this video featuring Jeffrey R. Holland entitled, An Apostle’s Easter Thoughts on Christ:

This year, as Easter comes closer, I am thinking about my children.  Am I doing enough to teach them? Do they understand the story? How can I better teach them the meaning of Jesus’ death?  Through the Holy Ghost, I am reminded that they learn through repetition.  Each year, their understand will deepen just as mine has over the years.

Years ago my mother gave me a kit to use at Easter time to help the kids understand.  I plan to spend a few quiet minutes with them reading through the text and sharing what I believe. The kit contains twelve plastic eggs and inside each egg is an important part of the story – a sacrament cup to signify when Jesus prayed and asked, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass by me”; a nail to signify the nails that were pounded through His hands and feet; a piece of white cloth to signify the cloth that was placed in the tomb with the body of Christ, and a stone to represent the boulder placed over the opening of the tomb.

The final egg is empty. It is to remind us of when the angel told Mary Magdalene and another Mary to look inside the tomb, where they would see that it was empty. For Jesus had been resurrected, He was alive again. He walked and talked with His friends once more.

I have a testimony of this. I know that our Savior, Jesus Christ, was crucified for us. I know that He gave His life, so that we may live again. I know that He paid the price for our sins. I know that He was resurrected on that third day.

If you would like a copy of the words and a list of things to fill your own plastic eggs with, please go to this Google Doc.

The post Teaching Easter to Little Children appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

~by Amy

I went to Eastern Europe in August. I went for some sightseeing and a little vacation time from my hectic work and school schedule.

But really, I went to hold babies that needed to be loved.

I went to a little village named Tutova in Romania for three weeks with a volunteer organization. I went on a team with 19 people, 15 of whom were to work at the recuperating pediatric clinic with me. While I was in Romania I turned 19. I was one of the youngest, and the only member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the team.

While I was there I learned many lessons about myself, and about my faith and what it means to me. The greatest lesson is one I learned while holding and loving a little girl who couldn’t talk or smile or even make eye contact.

Her name is Maria Cleopatra, and she is a princess. This little angel is hydrocephalic – her head is swollen with water to three times a normal size. She also has little more than a brain stem. Her situation is so bleak that she functions entirely on reflex. She can eat and cry and poop. Tiny muscle spasms make her arms flail, her legs kick, and her eyes roll, but she can’t control any of it.

I couldn’t control how much I loved her. I held this helpless little one in my arms day after day. Nothing changed, but nothing stayed the same. I’d sing to her the Primary songs I’d learned as a child in church. Her spasms would quiet and her eyes stopped roving. When I finished one of the songs, her eyes flipped up, as close to focusing on mine as they’d ever. Her big brown eyes begged me to keep going.

I sang it again: I am a child of God. “His promises are sure; Celestial glory shall be mine If I can but endure.”

Her condition might be treatable, but the economics of seeking a solution means that instead, Maria Cleopatra will be in that clinic until she dies. The authorities expect that will be within months.

The ways of men are not perfect, but the ways of God are. I know Maria Cleopatra will someday run and laugh and sing. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, she will have a resurrected body, and because of her pure state, she will inherit celestial glory.

I hope to someday wrap my arms around her again. And someday, she’ll be able to hug me back.

——-

For more Sharing Our Voices posts, please click here.

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My father-in-law passed away recently. He and my mother-in-law lived together for 41 years (I guess you would call it common law). Here is the problem: My mother-in-law paid for the burial and he was cremated, but when she went to the funeral home to pick up his ashes, they would not release them to her. [Apparently they said the next-of-kin should receive them.] Now his adult daughter who had no relationship with him wants half of his ashes. My mother-in-law is heartbroken and does not want to separate his ashes.

What can we say to his daughter in a nice way to get her to understand how my mother-in-law feels and how she should have all his ashes?

Answer by: Brenda**

When I read your question in our inbox, I was dumbfounded. I had no idea how to answer. As time passed, a Bible story kept pushing itself forward to the front of my consciousness. I could feel your anxiety through your words, and it reminded me of the anxiety felt by the disciples of Jesus Christ at His death.

When even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple; He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, And laid it in his own tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulcher, and departed. (emphasis added) (Matthew 27:57)

And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulcher, and how his body was laid. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments: and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment. (Luke 23:55)

As I thought about these verses, I thought how natural it is for all of us to care how and where the bodies of our loved ones are laid. In their diligence and lack of fear of being associated with Jesus Christ, Joseph and the women of Galilee proved their love and devotion. Likewise your mother-in-law showed her love and devotion to a man she adored by paying for his funeral and cremation.

But in the Bible, Christ’s burial was far from the end of the story. In fact, it was a beginning.

Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulcher. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments; And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen. (Luke 24:1)

I have been taught the story of the resurrection of Jesus Christ since my infancy, and the significance of Jesus conquering death was not lost on me. I believe that through Jesus Christ all men and women will live again. Not only do our spirits live on after we pass from this world, but we will also regain our bodies as part of the resurrection that Jesus made possible. This belief has given me so much peace. I hope your mother-in-law also has this belief.

I am no expert on how to handle issues related to death. In fact, when my father-in-law died seven years ago, I proved to be an insufficient place of solace for my husband. I was seven months pregnant at the time, and I told my husband that it would be unwise for me to travel by plane or car to his father’s funeral, which was over 700 miles away. He accepted my decline, but in our hearts we knew I was trying to avoid a heightened and charged emotional experience with his family. I had the chance to mourn with those that mourn, to enlarge my soul in Christlike love, but instead I chose to stay away and stew in the misery and regret of an unwise choice. Looking back, I feel in that situation, I failed my husband, his family and myself miserably.

In the years since, I think I have improved as a person. I’m positive that if I could travel back in time and be the person I am now, I could have better aided my husband and his family in the grief process. Sometimes I wish I could do just that. From this experience, I now see death is an opportunity to exercise generosity of spirit toward the deceased and all associated. It is that experience that influences my response to you.

In your question, you indicated that your father-in-law’s daughter had no relationship to him, but still wants half of his ashes. I cannot give you a solution to what to do with your father-in-law’s ashes, but if you were my friend and we were talking face-to-face, I would encourage you to be more wise than I was, and make a choice that would leave no room for regrets.

Your father-in-law is not in the ashes. His spirit lives! As the angel said to the women of Galilee, “Why seek ye the living among the dead?” Your mother-in-law has 41 years of living memories. In my view, there may be room yet for her to show her love for her sweetheart, and God, by enlarging her soul to include a woman who has nothing left of her father but regrets that she didn’t seek him out while he was alive.

Please know that in saying that, I understand your mother-in-law’s desire to have the ashes close to her. We all want tangible, physical objects that remind us of our deceased loved ones.

I also understand that it may, at the core, feel grossly unfair to have the daughter lay claim to something this personal and significant when she was not involved in your father-in-law’s life. But here’s where I think about how the Savior’s grace works, and how He often invites us to give love and forgiveness even when it’s not necessarily deserved — not only for what it does for the person, but what it can do for us. I believe the healing power found in extending that kind of love is real.

In Mormon or LDS culture there is a beloved quote by Camilla Kimball, wife of former Church president Spencer W. Kimball, that says,

“Never suppress a generous thought.”

Just one last scripture:

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John 14:27)

I hope you and your family obtain peace in this matter. There may yet be solutions that you have not considered in all of this. Pray for an answer and when you follow it, your peace will come.

And in all of this, know that I believe that your father-in-law lives on, and you and your mother-in-law can see him again one day. I hope you can find peace in that truth.

——-

**Please note: The answers in “Ask a Mormon Woman” and (other content on this site) reflect the thoughts and perspectives of the administrators at Mormon Women. Although we strive to have our content consistent with the Church’s doctrine and teachings, we do not speak officially for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. For official information about or from the Church, please visit www.mormon.org or www.lds.org.

For more Ask a Mormon Woman questions/answers, please click here. To submit a question, simply leave a comment, or email us at gmail with the username ‘mormonwoman.’

The post Ask a Mormon Woman: Dealing with difficult decisions after the death of a loved one appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

There are times that we get so absorbed in life, in current situations, that it is hard to have perspective. It is hard to remember that God loves us, that there is a plan, that everything will be OK. And when I say, ‘everything will be OK,’ I don’t mean it in a “Pollyanna”-like way. I mean that really horrid things happen, but with the help of God it can all be overcome, it can be healed and in the end we can survive it triumphantly.

Yesterday I went to the temple with an older couple in our congregation. Two years ago their adult son committed suicide. It was one of those really horrid things that happen. I saw in the temple how something like this can be overcome.

Their son’s life was filled with trial and his bodily imperfections made it even more difficult. In the temple, through proxy ordinances he was promised blessings now as if he had been born in a good and righteous family from the very beginning of his life. I felt hope that his healing is taking place in heaven, that he is sorting through what happened to him; looking forward to the resurrection when his body will help him, instead of hinder his eternal progression. The sins of others, that impacted him so greatly, are being lifted off of him through the power of the atonement of Christ

What this meant to his mother and adoptive father yesterday was renewal. They have spent the last two years missing and mourning their son, afraid of what awaited him in heaven because of the mistakes in his life. And even doubting themselves because they couldn’t pull him away from the demons that haunted him. They now have the hope that he can heal, move forward and be happy in heaven. And most of all, to know that their family can be healed, to be together in joy forever.

This life is but a moment, a teaching pause in the grand scheme of eternity. Sometimes we let life become too real, we forget that we are more than this moment. Our vision is shortsighted, seeing only what is obvious between birth and death. Instead we must keep an eternal focus to live our best life, to remember that our choices here build our eternity. This is the plan of God, to learn and progress, to return to him as his precious children to enjoy eternity.

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