This week on social media, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints bore testimony of the resurrected Savior and His love using the hashtag #GreaterLove.
Also, the Primary general presidency has continued sharing study, reflection and activity ideas for families and children to commemorate the Savior’s death and Resurrection, as well as the events leading up to it. See more resources to experience Holy Week here.
“As we celebrate this sacred Easter season, let us remember the profound love and sacrifice of our Savior, Jesus Christ,” posted President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency.
In his April 17 social media post, President Eyring taught that the Savior’s Resurrection brings “hope, renewal and the promise of eternal life.”
He said, “Through His triumph over death, we are given the assurance that we too can overcome our trials and find everlasting joy.” President Eyring then expressed his desire for all to find peace in following the Savior’s teachings and example.
Reading from Matthew 27 in a video posted April 13, President Jeffrey R. Holland, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, quoted the Savior’s cry from the cross, as recorded in verse 46: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
That is as low as it ever gets, President Holland testified. “The force of that verse is the force of the ultimate expression of Christ’s gift for us.”
President Holland invited viewers to join him on the Church’s YouTube channel where he shared further insights from his study of the last week of the Savior’s mortal life.
On April 15, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles listed several events that took place in the days leading to the Savior’s death and Resurrection. He taught that, unlike His triumphal entry on Palm Sunday, many of those events happened “quietly, privately, even unnoticed by most people.”
The Savior had a quiet Last Supper with His apostles, Elder Uchtorf recounted, and He hung on a cross, feeling forsaken by the Father for a moment as He suffered a “cruel and humiliating execution.”
Elder Uchtdorf continued: “As you intentionally make time and room in your life for quiet, small, simple but deeply spiritual moments — just as Jesus did — you will discover that the Lord knows you. He knows your heart. He knows your name.”
In an effort to help families cultivate a more Christ-centered Easter season, the Primary general presidency has continued posting Easter scriptures, reflection prompts and activity ideas tailored specifically for children on each of their personal accounts and the Primary Worldwide account.
“When has Jesus helped you find comfort during difficult times?” the Primary general presidency invited their friends and followers to consider in an April 12 social media post. Accompanying the reflection prompt was a brief description of the anguish the Savior’s followers must have felt following His death, as well as the hope forged by His Resurrection.
The post also included a recipe to make “Easter cookies,” where each step and ingredient symbolically represented a part of the Easter story. Other posts invited families to visit a cemetery or make unleavened bread.
On Saturday, April 19, Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles posted an image portraying the empty tomb that the Savior rose from following His Resurrection.
Elder Bednar included the scripture, “He is not here: for he is risen” (Matthew 28:6).
Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles bore his testimony of the living “Savior and Redeemer of the world” in a post on April 18.
He said that while Latter-day Saints rejoice in the “supernal significance” of Christ’s Atonement, “our focus has always been on the resurrected Lord.”
“We celebrate His victory over death,” he wrote. “His acquiescence to the will of His Father won the supernal victory over death and is the transcendent event in the history of mankind.”
Because Jesus was resurrected, said Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, He “cannot have been only a carpenter, a teacher, a rabbi or a prophet.”
Jesus had to have been a God, he continued. In his April 18 social media post, Elder Christofferson invited all to consider the significance of Christ’s Resurrection in “resolving once and for all the true identity of Jesus of Nazareth and the great philosophical contests and questions of life.”
He said, “The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the proof that He, in fact, possesses power to redeem all who will come unto Him — redeem them from sorrow, injustice, regret, sin and even death.”
“This Easter, I testify of the complete and absolute truth of the Savior’s incomparable atoning sacrifice and His glorious Resurrection,” posted Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on social media April 17.
Elder Andersen taught that Christ’s mortal life was “filled with miracles,” the greatest of all being His Resurrection. “If that be admitted, other miracles cease to be improbable,” he wrote, quoting the Bible Dictionary entry for “Miracles.”
He then testified that because the Savior lives today, all “can and should expect miracles” to occur in their own lives, including the hope of their own resurrection one day.
Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles wrote on social media April 18 that just as the living Christ appeared to Mary Magdalene at the garden tomb and called her by name (John 20:16), He “calls to each of us individually, inviting us to turn to Him.”
He also said that just as Mary wept at the empty sepulchre, “there may be times we weep in hope for a miracle to heal a loved one, to reverse an unjust act or to soften the heart of a bitter or disillusioned soul.”
Yet sometimes the Lord’s rest and miracles will come in ways unthought of, he continued. “Peace amid confusion or sorrow is a miracle. Jesus offers this promise to each of us, the same as He did for Mary that Resurrection day.”
In a social post on April 16, Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared a video of himself standing at the graveside of his great-great-grandfather, Edward Stevenson.
Elder Stevenson said he felt inspired to visit the cemetery and honor his ancestors after some friends told him it is one of their Easter traditions because it allows them to ponder the universal resurrection made possible through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
“This Easter season,” Elder Stevenson continued, “I bear testimony of Jesus Christ, … of His literal Resurrection and that which allows the resurrection of all of us.”
Using only one sheet of paper and a pair of scissors, Sister Andrea Muñoz Spannaus, second counselor in the Young Women general presidency, showed others how to make a simple presentation of the Easter story through a video tutorial posted April 17.
Sister Spannaus explained that one of her missionary companions taught her how to make this presentation when they served in the Argentina Resistencia Mission.
She wrote, “Throughout the Easter season, we would visit families in the ward and teach them the purpose of Christ’s Atonement in this wonderful way.” Sister Spannaus encouraged viewers to “celebrate Christ” by giving it a try.
On April 14, Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles wrote about an experience he and his wife, Sister Ruth Renlund, had escorting a group of clergy through the Paris France Temple during its open house in 2017.
“Do you believe that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ was literal?” Elder Renlund recalled the group asking as they admired a painting of the resurrected Savior. He and his wife replied yes, emphatically, he explained.
“Not only was the Resurrection literal for Jesus Christ, but it will be literal for everyone who has ever lived or will live on the earth,” he testified.
Also, on April 16, Elder Renlund shared some of what he learned after attending the unveiling of a statue depicting President Eyring’s father who was a “world-renowned professor of chemistry” and left Princeton University to teach at the University of Utah.
“Everything that we experience, the Savior understands,” testified Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in a April 16 social media post.
Elder Gong explained this understanding is possible because Christ came to succor all mankind “according to the flesh.”
“That’s what Easter is and it’s why Easter is important,” he said. “I think the Lord is saying, ‘Wherever you are, whatever your circumstance, I want you to feel My love.’”
Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles witnessed to his friends and followers on social media on April 15 that “Jesus Christ truly rose from the dead and lives today.”
“Through Him and His infinite Atonement,” he wrote, “our Savior provided us the way to overcome death, both physically and spiritually.”
Elder Soares further testified that through the Savior’s life, suffering, death and Resurrection, He removed “every impediment to our rejoicing and finding peace on this earth.”
In an April 16 social media post, Sister Tamara A. Runia, first counselor in the Young Women general presidency, related an experience she had watching a “big bug” fly into sacrament meeting one Sunday while she and her husband served as leaders of the Australia Sydney Mission.
“As the sacrament was blessed and passed, the bug fell onto its back in the middle of the floor,” she wrote. “No one could ignore it. It was huge.”
Sister Runia explained she soon identified herself with the bug, watching it helplessly trying to flip itself over.
She continued by teaching that as humans, all individuals have moments where they find themselves struggling, unable to make things right on their own. Yet, she said, “that’s why we need the sacrament. That’s why we need the Savior. He sets us back on our feet so we can keep going.”
Elder Patrick Kearon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared how it was a blessing to be in New Zealand for the dedication of the Auckland New Zealand Temple on Palm Sunday — as Holy Week began.
“May we seek and find the Savior as we celebrate this special week — and throughout our lives as we attend the house of the Lord," he wrote in the April 18 post.
On April 17, Brother Bradley R. Wilcox, first counselor in the Young Men general presidency, posted a video in which he shared how he and his family commemorate Holy Week and focus on the Savior throughout the Easter season.
He said that, inspired by Elder Stevenson’s invitation at April 2023 general conference, he and his family added studying 3 Nephi 11 to their Easter traditions.
“Now, I can’t imagine Easter without 3 Nephi,” he shared. In his caption, Brother Wilcox further explained that this Easter, he is focusing on the Savior’s example of ministering one by one as recorded in 3 Nephi 11:14.
This article has been updated to include additional posts about Easter that were published following the article’s original publishing date.
