Inspired by the Savior’s words recorded in John 15:13, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been inviting its members and friends of the faith to focus on and experience Christ’s “greater love” this Easter season.
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends,” the Savior taught His disciples in the days leading up to the end of His mortal life.
Aligned with this focus, the Church and members of the First Presidency have made a series of publications, encouraging others to join them in sharing their testimonies of the Savior and the blessings of His Resurrection using the hashtag #GreaterLove. The Church has also provided a variety of study tools, resources and activities to help families experience Christ’s greater love.
What Church leaders have said about Christ’s greater love
“When we talk of the greater love of Jesus Christ for each of us, I testify that Jesus Christ’s Resurrection is the ultimate expression of that love,” wrote Church President Russell M. Nelson in a March 16 social media post.
President Nelson taught that while the Savior’s Atonement includes His suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane and His death on the cross at Calvary, it was at the Garden Tomb that His atoning work was “fully realized and His victory over sin and death became truly complete.”
“Both of these great sacrifices would be incomplete without the crowning act of His glorious Resurrection,” President Nelson testified, adding that the Savior’s Resurrection was the “ultimate triumph, the ultimate miracle, wrought of foreordination, indescribable agony and divine power from on high.”
Similarly noting the significance of Christ’s Resurrection in a video published to YouTube Feb. 16, President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, urged listeners to celebrate the living Savior’s Resurrection by studying His teachings and cultivating Christ-centered Easter traditions within their families and communities.
He said, “Let us prepare for an Easter celebration of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, culminating in His Resurrection — the most glorious event in history.”
President Oaks’ video message was the first of the Church’s Easter 2025 publications. In it he also recognized the “widespread difference of opinion” regarding the meaning of resurrection, literal or symbolic, and declared: “For Latter-day Saints, the Resurrection means that all who have ever lived will be resurrected, and the resurrection is literal.”
President Oaks further testified of this truth in a March 16 social media post, where he listed “clear evidence of Jesus Christ’s literal Resurrection” as recorded in the New Testament.
Adding his own witness of the living Christ, President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency, spoke of the peace, hope and comfort found by gaining a testimony of the Savior’s Resurrection.
Of all of life’s tests, none hurts more than the death of a loved one or the misery of sin, President Eyring acknowledged in a March 20 social media post. Yet, he wrote, “our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, has provided a way for all of God’s children to be delivered from death and washed clean from the sorrows of sin.”
The reality of Christ’s Atonement and Resurrection, he continued, is “a source of hope and determination.”
In an April 1 social media post, President Eyring further taught that while the hardest part of facing a loved one’s death is learning to process the sorrow and grief that can “persist like a chronic ache,” the Savior holds a perfect understanding of each individual’s grief.
“He knows your heart,” he said. “So He can know which of the many things you can do will be best for you as you invite the Holy Ghost to comfort and bless you.”
Speaking to Latter-day Saints worldwide through their 2025 First Presidency Easter Message published March 18, the First Presidency testified of Christ’s Resurrection as a “gift” of rest and healing for all of God’s children.
“We testify that Jesus Christ gives rest to those who are ‘heavy laden,’” they declared (Matthew 11:28). Together, they invited all to “come unto Jesus ‘that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly’” (John 10:10).
How families and individuals can learn about Holy Week
To help members and friends of the faith follow the First Presidency’s invitation to draw nearer to the Savior and experience His greater love this Easter season, the Church has published a variety of study tools, resources and activities on Easter.ChurchofJesusChrist.org. The website and its contents are available in 11 languages, according to Church Newsroom.
“As we seek to feel His greater love this season,” the Church’s Easter website reads, “we will experience a greater measure of the joy, gratitude and peace that come from knowing that Jesus Christ lives.”
Among the study tools the Church has shared is a Holy Week study guide with scriptures, invitations and reflection journal prompts to promote daily learning experiences.
Holy Week refers to the last week of the Savior’s mortal life, and while there’s no exact knowledge of what He did on each day that week, the guide states Jesus shared “some of the most powerful teachings about love in all of scripture” during that week. Thus, the guide focuses on helping users find ways to feel Christ’s love and share it with others. It also links to downloadable Holy Week reflection journals for children and adults.
Additional study suggestions and scriptures about Holy Week are available on the Church’s Gospel Library.
As for other resources, the Church has curated Easter music and video playlists on its YouTube channel. The Easter music playlist — also available on Spotify and the Church Music Library — highlights themes of Christ’s love and grace through musical arrangements of songs such as “I Stand All Amazed” and “I Feel My Savior’s Love.” The Church’s Easter video playlists contain testimonies of the apostles, witnesses of the living Christ and Bible videos depicting the Savior’s life.
For children, the Church has provided a few craft and activity ideas on its Easter resources page, and the Primary general presidency is sharing other ideas on its Primary Worldwide social media account.
“We join with faithful followers of the Savior in celebrating the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ,” the First Presidency stated in its Easter message. “May you find hope, healing and happiness as you draw nearer to the Savior of the world this Easter season.”
The Church invites all to attend special sacrament meeting services in local Church congregations worldwide on Easter Sunday, April 20, as well as watch a special episode of “Music and the Spoken Word,” which will air that same day with the theme of “Greater Love.”
