Good Morning, Easter Sunday 2012
Another trip around the Sun and it is Easter Sunday once again.
Christians everywhere are celebrating the biblical account of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Following the crucifixion on Calvary, it is the resurrection that separates Jesus Christ from just another prophet. The resurrection is also the keystone that bonds Jesus to God and as most anyone would agree, that it would take an act of God to come back from the truly dead after three days. Natural decomposition of the body that occurs during that time changes things as cells break down and give off gasses. It is the giving off of these gasses that are attributed to the image of Jesus Christ left on the Shroud of Turin.
Jesus alive, after his resurrection was witnessed by many people. Firstly, by Mary Magdalene, then later his disciples in Galilee, including Thomas and eventually 500 brethren. All this occurred before his ascension to the heavens. With the large number of witnesses and numerous accounts, it is difficult to discredit the resurrection. Not my intent.
During the Christmas season this last year, I had the pleasure of attending LDS (Mormon) Stake Christmas Program. It
had been a while since I had attended a Christmas Program in any church, so it was reminiscent of earlier times and familiar in many ways to my earlier years. As guests, we were warmly received and the entire experience made for a pleasant evening to recognize and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. While there, I realized that there was not a single image or icon of a cross. Something I had become accustom to in a Christian Church. It was explained to me the Mormons focus on the life and teaching of the living Christ to guide their lives and not his death and crucifixion. That our atonement was achieved in the Garden of Gethsemane before the crucifixion rather than on the cross. It is considered by many of the LDS faith to be a symbol of Roman torture and therefore undesirable. This also brought to light why some LDS members may be uncomfortable in our home since Jeanie has a pretty good collection of crosses that adore our walls, mantel and her jewelry. There are a good number of theological differences between religions based on Christianity and it is not my intent with this letter to go into them or to pick on a particular version of that belief.
I suppose what I am getting to here is that the significance Easter holds for those who embrace Jesus Christ in there lives, varies from individual to individual, not only from organization to organization and that makes it a very personal experience. Jesus could be to some, just another prophet, stirring up trouble and that is why he was crucified by the Romans. He did stir it up and the paradigm shift has lasted for over 2000 years. During that time it has spawned many variations and interpretations all claiming to be the “right way”. I suspect that they are all right to some degree, but who really knows the absolute? In the end we will know.
Whether you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins and therefore we are granted salvation just by believing it or that he achieved our salvation in the Garden of Gethsemane prior to his angst on the cross and we can earn our way to a level in Heaven by our deeds here on earth, either way sounds plausible. After all, if we live the life of love that Jesus set as an example, we are not going to be bad people and in the end will be a good human being.
So, I say celebrate this time and occasion, for it is Spring, a time for renewing and rebirth. And if you are one who 
doesn’t recognize Easter and the significance to Christians because you embrace a different theology, or none at all, there is and appears will always be, the Easter Bunny, little chicks and lots of chocolate eggs to mark the day. Either way, Spring is a season of the year and one of my favorites of the four.
Love, Dad
Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness toward and tolerance of other religions. Just to clarify, Mormons have many depictions of Christ on the cross in our curriculum, even though we choose not to wear jewelry and place statues, etc., of such images in our buildings of worship. We are eternally grateful for and very much acknowledge His suffering on the cross as a necessary act of His atonement. While His suffering in the garden brought upon Him the emotional and spiritual agony of the sins and pains of the world for our spiritual salvation, even to the point of sweating as it were great drops of blood, His suffering on the cross brought upon the physical pain and death that would be necessary for our physical salvation, which would be complete at His resurrection. We worship and honor Him for His great suffering both in the garden and on the cross. We simply choose to worship the Living Christ! He lives! He is all-powerful and overcame all of those things in great glory! And He did it for us! For this reason we have steeples which point heavenward. Thank you again for your kindness and faith.
Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness toward and tolerance of other religions. Just to clarify, Mormons have many depictions of Christ on the cross in our curriculum, even though we choose not to wear jewelry and place statues, etc., of such images in our buildings of worship. We are eternally grateful for and very much acknowledge His suffering on the cross as a necessary act of His atonement. While His suffering in the garden brought upon Him the emotional and spiritual agony of the sins and pains of the world for our spiritual salvation, even to the point of sweating as it were great drops of blood, His suffering on the cross brought upon the physical pain and death that would be necessary for our physical salvation, which would be complete at His resurrection. We worship and honor Him for His great suffering both in the garden and on the cross. We simply choose to worship the Living Christ! He lives! He is all-powerful and overcame all of those things in great glory! And He did it for us! For this reason we have steeples on our buildings which point heavenward. Thank you again for your kindness and faith.
Becky, While I do not practice the Mormon Religion per se, I do have the greatest respect for its followers and the wonderful structure and support that has been created through its members. The greatest testimony to a belief it living through example.
My son and I are self-employed in the construction trade as electricians. I am always flattered when someone asked us if we were LDS. I take it as a compliment for the way we conduct ourselves on the job sites.
There is a lot of excitement over the new Temple in Gilbert.
Thank you for you comments.