Easter: Peace, Becoming, and Belonging

A week ago Sunday, Elder Gerrit W. Gong taught that we celebrate three divine gifts at Eastertime: the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the resurrection, and the Restoration. He used three words to illustrate how these gifts bless us: peace, becoming, and belonging.

• The Atonement of Jesus Christ brings us peace. King Benjamin’s people “were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience, because of the exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ” (Mosiah 4:3). Our confidence that the Savior has compensated for the effects of our mistakes can quiet our fears and set our hearts at rest.
• The Resurrection represents becoming. After we die, we will live again, not in a corruptible, illness-prone mortal body, but in a perfected, immortal body. “This mortal body is raised to an immortal body, that is from death … unto life, that they can die no more; their spirits uniting with their bodies, never to be divided; thus the whole becoming spiritual and immortal, that they can no more see corruption” (Alma 11:45). Jesus not only repairs what has been broken; He elevates and transforms. He can make us perfect, helping us achieve our full potential as sons and daughters of God.
• The Restoration of the Gospel enables us to belong. On Easter Sunday, April 3, 1836, in the Kirtland Temple, Moses, Elias, and Elijah restored the keys to gather Israel, to preach the gospel of Abraham, and to unite families eternally. (See Doctrine and Covenants 110:11-16.) These keys remind us that the blessings of the Savior’s Atonement extend beyond the individual. They strengthen families, connect generations, and invite us into lasting covenant relationships with God and with each other.

Elder Gong concluded:

May we each find in Jesus Christ atonement, resurrection, and restoration—peace, becoming, and belonging—that which is enduringly real and joyful, happy and forever,

“Eternity’s Great Gifts: Jesus Christ’s Atonement, Resurrection, Restoration,” General Conference, April 2025

Today, I will express gratitude for the peace I have found through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the hope of becoming whole through His Resurrection, and the joy of belonging made possible through the Restoration of His Gospel.