He Is Risen

Center your faith on the risen Jesus Christ

Elder Rasband teaches that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ stands at the center of the doctrine of the Church and of the testimonies of prophets and apostles. The Savior’s death, burial, and rising again are foundational truths that define Christian faith and hope.

His Resurrection and His Atonement are the most powerful, far-reaching, and sacred events in all human history.

Jesus Christ and His Resurrection are at the very core of the doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven.

As an Apostle called of Jesus Christ, I bear my testimony to all the world of that truth.

• The Resurrection and Atonement are the central events of the plan of salvation.
• The doctrine of the Church is centered on Jesus Christ and His Resurrection.
• Prophets and apostles consistently testify that Christ died, was buried, and rose again.
• A personal witness of the risen Christ is essential to discipleship.

• When have you felt your testimony of Jesus Christ become more central in your life?
• What experiences have helped you know that the Savior truly lives?
• How has Easter or General Conference strengthened your faith in the Resurrection?
• When have the words of a prophet or apostle deepened your witness of Christ?

Trust the Savior’s Resurrection to overcome death

The talk emphasizes that Jesus Christ broke the bands of death for all mankind. Because of His Resurrection, every child of God will rise again, making this doctrine a source of hope, meaning, and assurance for the future.

After three days in a borrowed tomb, Jesus Christ broke the bands of death imposed by the Fall.

With His Resurrection, He secured salvation from physical death for us, all of God’s children throughout the ages.

Every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ.

The resurrection is a pillar of our faith. It adds meaning to our doctrine, motivation to our behavior, and hope for our future.

• Christ’s Resurrection overcame the universal effects of physical death.
• The gift of resurrection extends to all of God’s children.
• Eventually all will acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord.
• The doctrine of resurrection gives meaning, motivation, and hope.

• How has the doctrine of resurrection brought comfort during grief or loss?
• When have you felt hope because you know death is not the end?
• How has belief in life after death influenced your choices or priorities?
• What personal experience has taught you that the Savior’s promises are real?

Recognize the many witnesses of the risen Lord

Elder Rasband gathers witnesses from the New Testament and the Book of Mormon to show that the resurrected Christ was seen, heard, and touched. These sacred accounts strengthen faith that Jesus Christ truly rose with a glorified body.

When Mary and other faithful women approached the Garden Tomb to care for the body of their Lord, they found two angels, who announced, "He is not here, but is risen."

The resurrected Jesus Christ first appeared to Mary and with tenderness spoke her name.

He appeared to His Apostles, saying, "Handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have."

The risen Lord, "Endless and Eternal," appeared to hundreds in the Holy Land.

Accounts in the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ also bear witness of Him resurrected.

• The Resurrection is supported by multiple scriptural witnesses.
• Mary, the Apostles, disciples on the road to Emmaus, and many others saw the risen Lord.
• The Book of Mormon adds another powerful witness of the resurrected Christ.
• The Savior’s resurrected body was tangible and real.

• Which witness of the Resurrection in scripture speaks most powerfully to you, and why?
• When has reading the New Testament or Book of Mormon strengthened your testimony of the living Christ?
• Have you had a moment when a scripture account felt especially personal or real to you?
• How could you share your witness of the Resurrection through a favorite scripture story?

See the Savior reaching out with healing hands

A major image in the talk is the Savior stretching forth His hand. Elder Rasband connects the resurrected Lord’s invitation in Bountiful with Christ’s earthly ministry of rescuing, healing, serving, and strengthening, showing that He still reaches out to us today.

And "he stretched forth his hand." I love the image of Him stretching forth His hand.

That outstretched hand was well known in His earthly ministry.

His hand rescued Peter as he began to sink in the choppy waves of the Sea of Galilee.

His hand motioned for the crippled man at the Pool of Bethesda to "rise … and walk."

His hands washed the feet of His disciples, and His hands "took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it," initiating the sacrament "in remembrance of" Him.

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: … for I am thy God: … I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

That promise is for all of us.

• The image of Christ’s outstretched hand teaches His personal love and power.
• The Savior rescues those who are sinking spiritually or emotionally.
• He heals affliction and invites us to rise.
• He serves humbly and invites remembrance through the sacrament.
• His promise to uphold His people still applies today.

• When have you felt the Savior ‘reach out’ to help you in a difficult time?
• Have you experienced rescue, healing, or strength through prayer, priesthood blessings, or the sacrament?
• When has the Lord upheld you when you felt weak or afraid?
• Can you share a time when someone became the Savior’s hands in your life?

Come unto Christ and know Him for yourself

The Savior invited the people in Bountiful to come forward individually and witness His resurrected body. Elder Rasband highlights that this personal invitation leads to sure knowledge and testimony of Jesus Christ.

Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.

The multitude of 2,500 souls "went forth, … and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he."

This scene of Him resurrected, reaching out with hands once nailed to a cross, touches me deeply.

• Jesus Christ invites individuals to come to Him personally.
• He wants us to know Him as the crucified and risen Redeemer.
• True testimony grows through personal spiritual experience.
• Those who know of a surety naturally bear record of Him.

• When have you felt invited to come closer to Jesus Christ?
• What experiences have helped you gain a more personal testimony of the Savior?
• How have you come to know ‘of a surety’ that He is real?
• When have you felt prompted to bear record of Christ to others?

Trust the Savior to bless children and families

The talk highlights the Savior’s love for little children and connects that love to Elder Rasband’s family experience with his grandson Paxton. Through this sacred example, he teaches that Christ knows, blesses, and ultimately restores those with afflictions and special needs.

He invited "their little children" to be brought to Him and took them "one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them."

Some years ago at a general conference, I spoke of our grandson Paxton, who was born with a very rare chromosomal deletion.

His parents would have carried him to the Savior when He called for all "afflicted in any manner" to come that He might heal them.

But little Paxton’s hands reached out to ours and to our Savior with love and affection.

He brought immense joy to our family.

Associating with Paxton, our whole family gained an increased, deep, and abiding trust in the Lord.

• The Savior loves and blesses children individually.
• He is mindful of those who are afflicted in any manner.
• Families with loved ones who have special needs can find joy and trust in the Lord.
• Difficult family experiences can deepen faith and reliance on Jesus Christ.

• How have children helped you feel closer to the Savior?
• What family experience has increased your trust in the Lord?
• Have you seen the Lord’s love in caring for someone with illness, disability, or special needs?
• When has a difficult circumstance brought unexpected joy or spiritual growth to your family?

Find peace and joy in the promise of a perfect resurrection

Elder Rasband bears witness that through the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, all who come unto Him will be reunited in perfect, whole bodies. This doctrine brings peace in sorrow and joy in anticipation of eternal reunion.

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

Because I live, ye shall live also.

I know Paxton’s tender "spirit and [his] body shall be reunited again in … perfect form."

By the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, his joy will be in not only a resurrected body but one that is resurrected whole and perfect.

All who live or ever have lived who come unto Christ and live His gospel will feel joy beyond any earthly expression as we reunite, resurrected, with our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ and with our parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, and ancestors.

May we be at peace, brothers and sisters, for the Lord has promised, "Where I am, there ye may be also."

• The Resurrection turns sorrow into lasting hope.
• Because Christ lives, all will live again.
• Resurrected bodies will be restored to perfect form.
• Faithful disciples can look forward to joyful reunions with loved ones and with God.
• The Lord’s promises bring peace in the present.

• How has the promise of resurrection brought peace after the death of a loved one?
• When have you felt joy in the midst of sorrow because of the Savior?
• What does the promise of a perfect resurrection mean to you personally or to your family?
• How has the hope of eternal reunion influenced the way you live today?

Testify of the risen Lord by the way you live

The talk concludes with an invitation to live as witnesses of Jesus Christ. Elder Rasband urges members to believe the Lord’s promises, rejoice in His Resurrection, and show their testimony through their devotion, conduct, and love.

May we believe the Lord’s words in Isaiah: "I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands."

May we testify of Him by the way we live and what we love.

May we feel to our very souls these stirring words: "He is risen! He is risen! Tell it out with joyful voice" and "let the whole wide earth rejoice."

As a special witness of the name of Jesus Christ—the King of glory, the Messiah triumphant, the Bright and Morning Star, and on this Easter morn, the Resurrection and the Life—I bear my witness of Him in reverence and in gratitude.

• The Lord remembers and values each of His children.
• A testimony of Christ should shape how we live and what we love.
• Disciples should rejoice openly in the Resurrection.
• Bearing witness of Jesus Christ is both verbal and visible in daily life.

• How do you try to show your testimony of Jesus Christ through daily living?
• When have you felt the Lord remembered you personally?
• What choices or priorities in your life reflect what you love most?
• How could you more openly and joyfully testify that ‘He is risen’?