I. According to President Benson, to have any measure of appreciation and gratitude for what [Jesus Christ] accomplished in our behalf, we must remember these vital truths:
Jesus came to earth to do our Father’s will.
He came with a foreknowledge that He would bear the burden of the sins of us all.
5. Ether 3:14The atoning mission of Jesus Christ was no self-assumption. True, He had offered Himself when the call was made in the heavens; true, He has been accepted, and in due time came to earth to carry into effect the terms of that acceptance; but He was chosen by One greater than Himself. The burden of His confession of authority was ever to the effect that He operated under the direction of the Father, as witness these words: “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.”s “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.”t “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” - Elder James E. Talmage, Jesus the Christ, (2006), Chapter 3: The Need of a Redeemer
He knew he would be lifted up on the cross.
He was born to be the Savior and Redeemer of all mankind.
He was able to accomplish His mission because He was the Son of God and He possessed the power of God.
12. Acts 13:3313. Mosiah 15:2-314. Matt. 3:1715. 3 Ne. 9:15"What other man has lived with power to withstand death, over whom death could not prevail except through his own submission? Yet Jesus Christ could not be slain until His “hour had come,” and that, the hour in which He voluntarily surrendered His life, and permitted His own decease through an act of will. Born of a mortal mother He inherited the capacity to die; begotten by an immortal Sire He possessed as a heritage the power to withstand death indefinitely. He literally gave up His life; to this effect is His own affirmation: “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.”q And further: “For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself.”r Only such a One could conquer death; in none but Jesus the Christ was realized this requisite condition of a Redeemer of the world.” - Elder James E. Talmage, Jesus the Christ, (2006), Chapter 3: The Need of a Redeemer
He was willing to accomplish His mission because He loves us.
16. 2 Ne. 2:6-717. D&C 19:16-1918. John 3:16"That holy, unselfish act of voluntarily taking on Himself the sins of all other men is the Atonement. How Onecould bear the sins for all is beyond the comprehension of mortal man. But this I know: He did take on Himself the sins of all and did so out of His infinite love for each of us….In spite of that excruciating ordeal, He took the cup and drank. He suffered the pains of all men so we would not have to suffer. He endured the humiliation and insults of His persecutors without complaint or retaliation. He bore the flogging and then the ignominy of the brutal execution—the cross.11In Gethsemane and on Calvary, [Jesus] worked out the infinite and eternal atonement. It was the greatest single act of love in recorded history…We may never understand nor comprehend in mortality how He accomplished what He did, but we must not fail to understand why He did what He did. Everything He did was prompted by His unselfish, infinite love for us.13” - Teachings of President Ezra Taft Benson, Lesson 6
Jesus Christ came forth from the tomb, and He lives today as a resurrected being.
“These simple words - ‘he is not here, but is risen’ - have become the most profound in all literature…they are the triumphant response to the query facing every man, woman, and child who was ever born to earth.” - President Gordon B. Hinckley, He Is Not Here, But is Risen, April 1999“In our hour of deepest sorrow, we can receive profound peace from the words of the angel that first Easter morning: ‘He is not here: for he is risen.’” - President Thomas S. Monson, He Is Risen!, April 2010He alone had the power of resurrection. And so on the third day following His burial, He came forth from the tomb alive and showed Himself to many. … As one of [His] special witnesses so called in this day, I testify to you that He lives. He lives with a resurrected body. There is no truth or fact of which I am more assured or more confident than the truth of the literal resurrection of our Lord. - Teachings of President Ezra Taft Benson, Chapter 6
II. What does knowledge of the Atonement and Resurrection mean for each of us as individual women?
A. We can repent and be freed from our sins.19. Alma 5:4820. Alma 22:1421. Alma 36:17-21B. We too can be resurrected and become like Christ, dwelling in the presence of Heavenly Father.22. Mormon 9:1323. 1 John 5:5C. We are never alone. We have a companion in our challenges and trials who knows how we feel and can succor us personally.24. Mosiah 14:4-725. D&C 68:6
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].” - Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “None Were With Him,” April 2009
D. We are loved — wholly, infinitely, and unfailingly.26. 1 Ne. 21:1627. 1 John 4:1028. Romans 8:35, 37It is my prayer that as we strive to learn more about our Savior and his love for us, we will have the faith to follow Him and do the things that will allow us to be with Him and Heavenly Father once more.29. Galatians 2:2030. Moroni 9:25
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