I believe in the literal resurrection of Jesus Christ. That his spirit was reunited with his body on the 3 day and that He is a glorified and Living Being now. I love the account of Mary seeing the resurrected Christ at the empty garden tomb.
John 20:3-18
3Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre.
4So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.
5And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.
6Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,
7And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.
8Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.
9For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.
10Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.
11¶But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,
12And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
13And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.
14And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
15Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
16Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
17Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
18Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.
I had two patients this week that helped remind me of the gift of the resurrection that we celebrate today.
One is a women in her 80's with Alzheimer's. She seems rather depressed and knows her memory is poor. She was humming and singing songs from "Oklahoma" for the first half of our treatment session. I asked her if she liked hymns. She said yes, but she couldn't remember any of them. I asked her if she knew "Come Thou Fount"? She sure did, we stumbled our way through singing the first two verses. Then I had an idea, I went and grabbed my iPhone. I have the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's version of it, along with a few other hymns. So while she did exercises, I played a few songs. I have heard of music therapy, and I hear it does wonders in patients with dementia, but I don't know how to effectively use it. I do know however that she was alert and calm, and her eyes were bright. At the end she said to me- "Thank you for sharing with me good Christian music." I thought to myself, one day this old frail woman will have a perfectly functioning brain and body because of the gift of the Resurrection.
My second experience was with a sweet lady, also in her 80's who has been a patient of mine in the past. Her husband was also a patient of mine. As I saw her in the waiting room for a new evaluation, I went to say hello. I asked her how Mr. C was doing since was not with her. Tears came to her eyes and she said she called us two weeks ago to let us know he passed away. She told me briefly how he had gotten sick fast. She said, "He was holding my hand, and then he left me." My heart ached for this new widow. They had been married 66 years. In this case I thought to myself, he may have left her, but he is not gone, and one day he to will have a perfect body.
I am so grateful for a job that helps me see the doctrines I believe in so strongly come to life.
To close my Easter thoughts, I share a quote by Elder Jeffrey R Holland, an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ in this dispensation of time.
"...Against all odds and with none to help or uphold Him, Jesus of Nazareth, the living Son of the living God, restored physical life where death had held sway and brought joyful, spiritual redemption out of sin, hellish darkness, and despair. With faith in the God He knew was there, He could say in triumph, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” 19 Brothers and sisters, one of the great consolations of this Easter season is that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so. His solitary journey brought great company for our little version of that path—the merciful care of our Father in Heaven, the unfailing companionship of this Beloved Son, the consummate gift of the Holy Ghost, angels in heaven, family members on both sides of the veil, prophets and apostles, teachers, leaders, friends. All of these and more have been given as companions for our mortal journey because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the Restoration of His gospel. Trumpeted from the summit of Calvary is the truth that we will never be left alone nor unaided, even if sometimes we may feel that we are. Truly the Redeemer of us all said: “I will not leave you comfortless: [My Father and] I will come to you
[and abide with you].”
(April 2009, "None Were With Him")
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