Just after Peter affirmed that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the Living God,” Jesus prophesied plainly to His disciples about His atoning sacrifice: “how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day” (Matthew 16:21; see also Mark 8:31, Luke 9:22).
After Peter, James, and John saw Him in His glorified state on the Mount of Transfiguration, He reaffirmed this prophecy, but “they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him” (Mark 9:31-32; see also Matthew 17:22-23, Luke 9:44-45).
On the third day after His crucifixion, as a group of women approached His tomb, two angels not only announced the Savior’s resurrection but reminded them that He had foretold it:
Why seek ye the living among the dead?
He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,
Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.
Luke 24:5-7
These women remembered the Savior’s prophecy, and now they understood.
Hundreds of years earlier, Father Lehi taught his family that the Messiah would be slain and would rise from the dead. (See 1 Nephi 10:11.) His son, Nephi, prophesied, “after he is laid in a sepulchre for the space of three days he shall rise from the dead, with healing in his wings” (2 Nephi 25:13).
In Mormon’s final testimony, he extends this invitation:
Believe in Jesus Christ, that he is the Son of God, and that he was slain by the Jews, 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
Three years ago, President Russell M. Nelson said:
On this Easter Sunday, with my deep feelings of love and gratitude, I declare my witness that Jesus Christ is indeed risen. He is risen to lead His Church. He is risen to bless the lives of all of God’s children, wherever they live.
“Christ Is Risen; Faith in Him Will Move Mountains,” General Conference, April 2021
On this Easter Sunday, I will be grateful for the resurrected Savior of the world. I will be grateful that, on the third day following His death, He rose from the grave. He hath risen, and more importantly He is risen, with healing in His wings.
Happy Easter!
Thank you