"Oh Sweet, the Joy this Sentence Gives"

Two years ago, during a Stake Conference in my home stake, we were blessed by the visit of Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. In the spirit the Easter Sunday that it was, he shared a powerful testimony of the reality of Jesus Christ; the truth of His divinity, and the power of His Atonement. I was blessed to be up on the same stand as him, as I took part in the choir. As the meeting was coming to a close, we as a choir stood to sing the closing number, the great LDS hymn, I Know That My Redeemer Lives. As the music began, the director mouthed the following words:

"Bear your testimony with your singing."

I took special note of the words I was singing, and the spirit testified so strongly to me of their truth that I had to stop singing, as tears streamed down my face. The words of the hymn struck me with a concentrated power. In the spirit of the upcoming Easter holiday, I would like to make special note here of certain lyrics--just a few--from this most beautiful hymn that struck me that day, and which have influenced my actions ever since.


He lives to bless me with his love.
He lives to plead for me above...

Have we stopped to consider how great a blessing we have to have a God that will love us no matter what? Have we taken a moment or two from our busy days to think of His suffering, to ponder His sacrifice, to be grateful for His love? I know that I often fall short of the covenant that I renew on a weekly basis to always remember Him, to keep His commandments, and to take upon me His name. What is most remarkable, however, is that no matter what I do (or don't do), His love is constant. I could forget about Him for a day, a week, for years, even, and He will be ever mindful of me. Why is that? What have I done to deserve such a blessing? Nothing. I have done nothing.

He has done everything. 

It was that sacrifice in the Garden, His endurance on the road to Calvary and on the cross there, even His triumphant return from the world of spirits in a perfected body which have allowed me the opportunity to overcome my sins and my ignorance, my laziness and my neglect. And so it is with all of us. All He really asks is that we do the little things: study our scriptures, go to church, attend the temple, pray. 

As I have pondered the concept and manner in which we have been asked to pray, in particular--directed to our Heavenly in the name of a Living Christ--I have come to the conclusion that there is something special going on there; a connection between us and Christ that we can easily miss out on if we don't take prayer seriously. I think of His famous intercessory prayer, recorded by John the Beloved. He said, "I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world...I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me...Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are" (John 17:6,9,11). In that holy moment He prayed for His disciples. Are we not also His disciples? When I feel burdened with particularly heavy burdens, such as sin or trials, I cannot help but feel that even as I cry in prayer to my Heavenly Father in His Holy Son's name, that that very Son--Our Savior and Our Brother--is kneeling right beside me, with His arm around me, guiding my words, and giving me comfort. Surely He lives to plead for us all above.

He lives to calm my trouble heart.
He lives all blessings to impart...

It was the Prophet Joseph whose complaints and questions to the Lord in the midst of incredible persecution led the Living Lord to say the following: "If the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good. The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?" (D&C 122:7-8). It was that same Lord, who, during His ministry, said the following to His disciples: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek, and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30). The Christ lives to allow us an intimate friend in our most trying moments. Such moments, as He pointed out to Joseph, are for our good, but that doesn't make them easy. If we can go to Him in the midst of such trials, He will give rest to our souls.

Indeed, those same sufferings and trials, included in His Atonement, allow us not only the capacity to grow in this life, but the potential to become perfect in the life to come. Bruce C. Hafen said:

Here we will see that the Lord's grace, unlocked by the Atonement, can perfect our imperfections....While much of the perfection process involves a cleansing from the contamination of sin and bitterness, there is an additional, affirmative dimension through which we acquire a Christlike nature, becoming perfect even as the Father and Son are perfect. The Savior's victory can compensate not only for our sins but also for our inadequacies; not only for our deliberate mistakes but also for our sins committed in ignorance, our errors of judgment, and our unavoidable imperfections. Our ultimate aspiration is more than being forgiven of sin--we seek to become holy, endowed affirmatively with Christlike attributes, at one with him, like him. Divine grace is the only source that can finally fulfill that aspiration.

Such a blessing is the greatest blessing that He and Our Father can impart, and the one which They labor incessantly to grant us.

He lives all glory to his name.
He lives, my Savior still the same.
Oh sweet, the joy this sentence gives.
I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVES."

There is nothing that I am more grateful for in this life than the knowledge that I have that our Savior lives. It is this knowledge that we have which should drive us to desire to be disciples after His same demeanor--faithful, hopeful, loving. "And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work. Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence" (D&C 4:5-6). It is this knowledge which make writer Samuel Medley's words so powerful to me, and especially on that Easter Sunday with Elder Ballard. Oh sweet, the joy this sentence gives. I know that my Redeemer lives!"

To believe that Christ lives is to believe that He physically manifests Himself in order to ensure the correct direction of His kingdom here on Earth. This He does today. He did it in times of old. He did it even as He called the Prophet Joseph Smith, who said of it all, "And now after the many testimonies which have been given, this is the testimony, last of all, that we give of him: That he lives! For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father--that by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God" (D&C 76:22-24).

I second the Prophet's testimony here. He lives.

And oh, how sweet that is.