Welcome back to the course Seeking Jesus. My name is John Hilton. Today we're going to discuss a topic that is close to my heart, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
Let me introduce this topic with a video I recently made. One hot summer afternoon, I was on a hill overlooking the border between Syria and Israel. As I walked down the hill with my friend and fellow religion professor Matt Gray, he asked me, where do you think the emphasis church members place on Gethsemane comes from? We had been discussing Christ's atonement. and his question made me realize that whenever I gave a lesson on this topic, I focused on Gethsemane and said little about Christ's crucifixion.
In fact, I tended to avoid thinking a lot about the Savior's death when pondering his atoning sacrifice. I didn't know it then, but Matt's question would launch me on a process of discovery that would forever change how I think and feel about Christ's atonement. The reality is, Gethsemane and Calvary are both important parts of the Savior's atonement. Each is significant for our salvation.
However, several scholars have pointed out that church members seem to place more significance on Gethsemane. For example, Robert Millet wrote,"...it is probably the case that if 100 Protestants were asked where the atonement of Christ took place, those 100 persons would answer, at Golgotha, on the cross."It is also no doubt true that if 100 Latter-day Saints were asked the same question, a large percentage would respond, in Gethsemane, in the Garden. Some surveys suggest that Millet was right.
Professor Anthony Swett and I asked 752 church members the following question. Where would you say Christ's atonement mostly took place? A.
In the Garden of Gethsemane or B. On the cross at Calvary? 88% of people responded, in the Garden of Gethsemane, and only 12% said, on the cross at Calvary.
You might be thinking to yourself, John, you forced people into a false choice. You should have given them a third option of Christ atoned equally for our sins in Gethsemane and Calvary. Good point.
So, Anthony and I separately surveyed an additional 792 members on where Christ mostly atoned for our sins, asking the same question we had before. Even with a third option of equally in Gethsemane and Calvary, a majority—58%—of people still chose Gethsemane only. These surveys indicate that many Latter-day Saints place a heavy emphasis on Gethsemane as the main place Christ suffered for our sins. Although the specific location of where Christ's atonement occurred may seem trivial to some, more than a few antagonists have written critically about the Church, claiming our beliefs about Gethsemane mean that we de-emphasize Christ's crucifixion and are therefore not true Christians.
Indeed, in a conversation with Robert Millett, who has spent 30 years in interfaith work, he lamented the fact that because we teach of the redemptive nature of the Savior's suffering in Gethsemane, many Christians have concluded that Latter-day Saints do not actually believe that Jesus suffered and died on the cross for our sins. It is possible that some Latter-day Saints focus so much on the saving power of Gethsemane, they fail to sufficiently recognize Calvary as a place where Christ also atoned for our sins. The scriptures and our church leaders describe the atoning importance of both Gethsemane and Calvary. Surprisingly, though, while some members focus more on Gethsemane, Christ's crucifixion is more frequently emphasized in both the scriptures and the words of our prophets. While at least two powerful passages of Scripture explicitly teach Christ suffered for our sins in Gethsemane, more than 50 verses specifically link Christ's death with our salvation.
If you'd like more details about these scriptural passages and other things that I'll share, please click the link in the description. But to be brief, in his speeches and writings, Joseph Smith mentioned Gethsemane only one time, using it as an example of Christ submitting his will to his fathers. On more than 30 occasions, Joseph Smith referenced Christ's crucifixion, several of which were to describe its saving power. Moreover, across thousands of talks from church leaders between 1850 and the year 2020, for every one reference to the saving power of Gethsemane, there are more than five references to the atoning power of Christ's death. In considering Christ's suffering in Gethsemane and on the cross, what is most significant to me is the Savior's personal emphasis on Calvary.
On one occasion, he speaks powerfully of what transpired in Gethsemane. In contrast, Christ personally refers to his death more than 20 times. In other words, he himself emphasizes his crucifixion.
What we say when we introduce ourselves indicates what's important to us. For example, if I were to say, Hi, I'm John and I'm a snowboarder, that says something about what I value. I've noticed a pattern in how the Savior introduces himself.
When he visited the Nephites, he said, I have been slain for the sins of the world. When he appeared to Joseph Smith in the First Vision, he said, I was crucified for the world. He introduces himself similarly on multiple occasions in the Doctrine and Covenants with statements like, I am Jesus Christ who was crucified for the sins of the world. He's also said that at his second coming, he will declare, I am Jesus that was crucified. How Christ identifies himself clearly indicates that his crucifixion is important to him.
Before continuing, let me be very clear. The events that took place in Gethsemane are a significant part of the Savior's atonement. I am certainly not recommending we de-emphasize them. Indeed, we should pay more attention to every facet of Christ's life, ministry, and atonement. I'm merely suggesting that some of us could pay more attention to Calvary than we have in the past.
President James E. Faust taught,"...any increase in our understanding of Christ's atoning sacrifice draws us closer to him."Better understanding any aspect of Christ's atonement, including his crucifixion, can deepen our relationship with the Savior. Speaking from personal experience, studying Christ's death is changing my life. As we contemplate the Easter season, may we remember these words from Elder Marion D. Hanks. Good Friday had to happen in order that Easter and its glorious events could come. Without Good Friday, there would be no Easter.
Rather than feeling sorrow for his sufferings, we can remember that the Savior testified, My Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross. Jesus Christ personally defined his greatest act of love as his death for us. He is both the living and the loving Christ.
As I've shared the fact that the Scriptures, Joseph Smith, other church leaders, and the Savior himself emphasize Christ's crucifixion, I'm sometimes asked different questions. One of the most common ones is, if the Scriptures and church leaders emphasize Calvary, why is it that many Latter-day Saints tend to emphasize Gethsemane? This question is hard to answer with precision, but let me offer a couple of thoughts.
One possible explanation is that three different church leaders taught that Christ's sufferings in Gethsemane were not necessarily the same as the sufferings of the Latter-day Saints. were more significant than his death at Calvary. Between 1944 and 1982, there were a total of nine statements made by three church leaders that specifically de-emphasized Calvary relative to Gethsemane.
These statements were made by Joseph Fielding Smith, Bruce R. McConkie, and Marian G. Romney. For example, Elder McConkie wrote,"...it is to the cross of Christ that most Christians look when centering their attention on the infinite and eternal atonement. And certainly the sacrifice of our Lord was not to be seen as a sacrifice of the Lord, but as a sacrifice of was completed when he was lifted up by men. But in reality, the pain and suffering, the triumph and grandeur of the atonement took place primarily in Gethsemane. These statements, although very rare in comparison to those about the saving importance of Calvary, became influential in church curriculum and other materials. For instance, the 1979 Gospel Doctrine Manual, as well as seminary and institute curriculum in the 1980s, Quote the statement that I just shared from Elder McConkie to suggest that what happened in Gethsemane was more significant than what took place on the cross. While such statements had an impact on how some of us were taught, they are not in harmony with the collective teachings of church leaders past and present, and they do not appear in current church manuals. As Elder D. Todd Christofferson taught, not every statement made by a church leader, past or present, necessarily constitutes doctrine. It is commonly understood in the church that a statement made by one leader on a single occasion often represents a personal, though well-considered, opinion not meant to be official or binding for the whole church. To be clear, these few, outside-of-the-mainstream comments comparing Gethsemane to Calvary should not define our doctrinal understanding of the importance of Christ's crucifixion. A second possible reason for the emphasis on Gethsemane is doctrinal misunderstanding. Some church members have thought that Christ atoned for our sins and overcame spiritual death in Gethsemane and then, separately, conquered physical death on the cross. Elder Gerald Lund called that a doctrinal error. He wrote,"...nowhere in the Scriptures do we find indications that the cross alone overcame physical death or that the garden alone overcame spiritual death."Another doctrinal misunderstanding that you'll sometimes hear people say is, Many people were crucified, so there's nothing special about Christ dying on a cross. What's special is Gethsemane. That statement ignores the fact that dozens of scriptures teach that Jesus died for our sins. What Christ experienced on the cross is completely different from any other victim of crucifixion. Here's what President Russell M. Nelson taught. In the Garden of Gethsemane, our Savior took upon himself every pain, every sin, and all of the anguish and suffering. ever experienced by you and me and by everyone that has ever or will ever live. Under the weight of that excruciating burden, he bled from every pore. I think if we stopped there, many of us would say, yes, that's what I know about Gethsemane. Notice President Nelson's very next sentence. All of this suffering was intensified as he was cruelly crucified on Calvary's cross. Whatever you picture Christ experiencing in Gethsemane, President Nelson says that it was intensified on the cross. A third possible reason for the emphasis members place on Gethsemane is our natural tendency to focus on what is different or unique. When Robert Millett was about to leave on his mission, he asked his father, what does it mean to be saved by grace? His dad responded, we don't believe in that. When asked further why we didn't believe in that, Millett's father said, because that's what the Baptists believe. Of course, we do believe in the saving grace of Christ, but this humorous incident illustrates how we sometimes focus on differences rather than similarities. We have some unique knowledge in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints about what happened in Gethsemane. Perhaps because so many other Christians have emphasized Christ on the cross, and we have the unique knowledge from the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants about Christ's sufferings in Gethsemane, some of us have highlighted Gethsemane over the cross. Finally, and perhaps most significantly, the lack of crucifixion iconography in the church is a key reason why many Latter-day Saints don't focus on Christ's crucifixion to the extent that the scriptures and church leaders do. In the fifth class of this Seeking Jesus course, we talked extensively about the history of the image of the cross in the church, and you can find more resources on that topic on the course website. It's important to remember that there's a big difference between the cross as a symbol, the meaning of which can vary over time and place, and the unchanging doctrinal reality that Jesus Christ was crucified for our sins. It's possible that how we have treated the symbol has, for some, overshadowed this doctrine. A friend once told me, I understand Christ died for my sins, but I don't really like to think about his death. I prefer to remember the living Christ. Church leaders have focused on the living Christ, and it certainly is the living Christ who we worship. We cannot emphasize enough the importance that Jesus Christ lives today. We also worship a loving Christ, and the scriptures repeatedly teach that both Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ manifested their love for us through the Savior's death. We believe. in the loving Christ. I love these words written by a 19th century Latter-day Saint in the Woman's Exponent. And when we doubt his love, could we but turn to Calvary's cross where love doth purest burn. Let's now go with Jesus to Golgotha to feel of the Savior's love. At the foot of the cross, the soldiers gambled for Christ's clothing. This is a moment in the scriptures that we often brush by. But I read a quote from President Dallin H. Oaks that changed the way that I've thought about this moment. He said, During a tragic afternoon on Calvary, a handful of soldiers waited at the foot of a cross. The most important event in all eternity was taking place on the cross above their heads. Oblivious to that fact, they occupied themselves, casting lots to divide the earthly property of the dying Son of God. We might think, how could these soldiers be missing the power of this moment? But could we also say, Lord, is it I? Every week, we can remember this exact same moment. In a sense, we are at the foot of the cross. Are we distracted by trivial things during the sacrament? Thinking about the soldiers at the cross has made it a lot harder for me to pull out my phone during sacrament meeting because I want to be present at the cross with Jesus. Let's briefly discuss what crucifixion entailed. Josephus described crucifixion as being the most pitiable of deaths. Perhaps for some of us, we don't want to know the details of crucifixion because it's painful. At the same time, consider what Elder Callister said, The difficulty of understanding what Christ experienced does not absolve the need, nor should it diminish our desire to know what is knowable. Christ's atonement is infinite. We're never going to be able to understand even a tiny portion of it, but we can still learn what we can. We may hope that Jesus Christ understands our pain, Is it too much to ask for us to learn a little bit about his pain? The YouTube channel, Messages of Christ, has produced an amazing video called, What Was Crucifixion Like? I recommend it to learn more about the details of Roman crucifixion. For now, I'll just highlight two things. This first one is interesting because only one set of remains has been found of a person who was crucified in Palestine prior to AD 70. We know that this person was crucified because the nail was still found in his heel bone. The placement of the nail suggests that in this case, the individual's feet were nailed on either side of a vertical pole, as seen in this illustration. That's different from what we often see in crucifixion images. It's true that Romans use different ways of crucifying people, so this doesn't mean it's the only way of crucifixion, but I think it's an interesting detail to contemplate. Let's now look at an aspect of crucifixion that can be uncomfortable. Images and accounts from the ancient world suggest that people were crucified either naked or wearing only a small loincloth. Of the three existing artistic depictions of crucifixion created prior to 300 AD, two portrayed the crucifixion victims as naked. Although difficult to discuss, these details have helped some heal from extremely challenging circumstances. knowing that Christ understands what it means to be a victim of abuse. Consider this story told by a Christian, Corrie Ten Boom. She was captured by Nazis after helping Jews. In her book, The Hiding Place, she talks about how one of the hardest parts of being in the concentration camp was that the Nazis made the prisoners strip every Friday for the recurrent humiliation of what they called a medical inspection. One Friday, as Corrie stood behind her frail and dying sister Betsy, The thought came to her. He hung naked on the cross. She whispered to Betsy standing in front of her, they took his clothes too, and she didn't feel ashamed anymore. I wonder if sometimes in our efforts to sugarcoat painful moments, including the Savior's crucifixion, we do a disservice to those who have gone through extreme pain. We perhaps prevent them from connecting with the Savior who really understands what they have experienced. I'm not suggesting that if you're a primary teacher, you show the children Mel Gibson's The Passion of Christ, but there is a power in understanding what we can know about the Savior's crucifixion and connecting and sitting with the pain the Savior experienced, knowing that He connects and sits with the pain that we experience. I hope that in the Savior's pain, we can see His love. In 1935, Latter-day Saint Grace Jacobson published the following poem in the Relief Society magazine. that helps us see the connection between the Savior's suffering and his love. She wrote, See the cross and bleeding feet. Hear the cry of pain and anguish. Hear the message tender sweet. Hear him calling, gently calling, all mankind to him above. For he gave his life a ransom from the depths of perfect love. For a moment, let's join the women who were present at the cross. Turn with me to Mark chapter 15 verse 40. We read, There were also women looking on from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger, and Joseph and Salome, who also when he was in Galilee followed him and ministered unto him, and many other women which came up with him unto Jerusalem. John also tells us that Mary the mother of Jesus and other women were standing at the foot of the cross. It's interesting that no male disciples are explicitly named as being present at the cross of Christ. Clearly, some male followers were present, but they aren't named. In contrast, several women are named, and many other unnamed women were there as well. These aren't just people that Christ met last week, they've known him for a long time. They supported him in Galilee, they've traveled around Galilee with him, and now they've come with him to the cross. And of course, the person who's been with Jesus the longest is his mother. When Christ was an infant, he was brought into the temple by Mary and Joseph. A man named Simeon gave a prayer to the Lord, and he said, a prophecy to Mary. This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and a sword will pierce your own soul too. Although a sword did not literally pierce Mary's body, think about her heart breaking as she stands eye to eye just a few feet away from Jesus on the cross. I love this medieval poem about Mary. The sorrowing mother stood weeping by the cross while her son hung there, her grieving soul sad. and sorrowing was pierced by a sword. What person would not weep seeing the Mother of Christ in such torment? Who would be incapable of sorrowing with her? For the sins of his people, she sees Jesus in torment and subjected to scourging. She sees her sweet child, dying abandoned, as he gave forth his spirit. Sister Elaine Jack, former General Relief Society President, taught, At this most dramatic moment of all time, There was the mother, Mary. She couldn't soothe his pain this time, but she could stand by his side. Is there someone in your life that's suffering? Maybe it's your mom, your dad, your brother, a sister, a child, a relative, a close friend. They're suffering and there's nothing you can do. Sometimes that's the worst pain. You would rather be in pain yourself than the pain that they're going through. In these moments, I think it's powerful to stand with the women at the cross. to feel their tears and to know that they felt sorrow when someone they loved was suffering. There was nothing they could do, but they still stayed near him. That doesn't make your suffering or my suffering any easier, but it's powerful to know that we're not alone and that we're sitting with our scriptural forebears in that suffering. Take a moment, think to yourself, how could pondering on Mary and the other women at the cross strengthen you? One meaningful way to approach Christ's crucifixion is to consider the seven statements that the Savior made from the cross. I recently co-authored an article about what church leaders have taught on these seven statements. Collectively, these seven statements have been referred to or quoted in general conferences more than 300 times. You can see that one of the most frequently quoted has been Christ's statement, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Collectively, these seven statements show us the healing, human, and divine Jesus. While it's hard to pinpoint the exact order of these statements, if we use an approximate order, the first three show us a Savior who reaches out to others with healing and mercy. In the fourth and fifth statements, we see a human Jesus who understands our mortal experiences. The final statements highlight Christ's divinity. Christ's first statement is, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. We could ask ourselves, who is the they in that sentence? The Joseph Smith translation says that Jesus spoke this concerning the Roman soldiers who crucified him. It's powerful to consider that Jesus is forgiving his crucifiers in that very moment. President Kimball provided an even more expansive view of who the they refers to. He said Christ did not wait till his crucifiers, the high priests, scribes, elders, and Pharisees, should have a change of heart but forgave them while they were yet covered with his life's blood."What a compelling example of forgiveness. For the context on Christ's second statement, let's read Luke 23 39. One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, are you not the Messiah?
Save yourself and us. But the other rebuked him saying, do you not fear God seeing you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly.
for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong. Then he said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus replied, Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.
I don't know what your experience has been, but for many years when I read this verse, it was almost like there was an asterisk saying, there's no such thing as deathbed repentance and you have to be baptized to get to heaven. So, what Jesus really means is, you're going to spirit prison. But that kind of puts a box around Jesus, doesn't it?
If you don't know this person's story, maybe he had already been baptized. Do you remember Alma the Younger? He cried out with almost the exact same words as the thief. He said, Oh Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me.
Alma had done a lot of bad stuff, and Jesus had mercy on him. Why could he not have mercy on this thief at the cross? Here's what Joseph Smith said, There's nothing in the original word in Greek from which this was taken that signifies paradise. But it was, this day thou shalt be with me in the world of spirits. And then Joseph Smith paraphrases what Jesus says, this day thou shalt be with me in the world of spirits.
Then I will teach you all about it and answer your inquiries. In other words, Joseph Smith is teaching that Christ personally would attend to this thief that day in the world of spirits. I've never seen a painting of this moment. And as you know, I have no artistic talent, so I won't be the one to produce it. but I hope you will.
Can you picture this moment of Jesus and the thief he hung next to when they're together in the spirit world and Jesus Christ is personally teaching him? According to Luke, Jesus began his public ministry at a synagogue in Nazareth, stating that he would proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. How appropriate that he ends his mortal ministry by proclaiming freedom. to one who is physically bound on a cross and spiritually bound by sin.
To me, this is a reminder that we don't need to put a box around Jesus and limit His grace. As Emily Freeman poignantly said, Jesus met the thief where He was, and Jesus is going to meet you and me where we are. In his third statement, Jesus addresses his mother and the beloved disciple, who many believe to be John. Jesus says to his mother, Woman, here is your son. And then says to John, Here is your mother.
Sister Anne C. Pingree taught, Even while suffering terrible agony on the cross, Jesus thought of his mother and her needs. This is a beautiful example of a healing Savior who reaches outward. There's another way we can think about this statement on the cross. If Jesus says to John, Here is your mother, what does that say about John's relationship with Jesus?
John will now be Jesus'brother. I love this insight from Professor Eric Huntsman who says, As John was brought more closely into the family of Christ, so we too are brought into a deeper relationship with our Lord by what happened on the cross. The next statement is, I am thirsty. This is the least quoted saying from the cross in General Conference, but I love President Nelson's insight. He said, To a doctor of medicine, this is a very meaningful expression.
Doctors know that when a patient goes into shock because of blood loss, invariably that patient, if still conscious, with parched and shriveled lips, cries for water. Even though the Father and the Son knew well in advance what was to be experienced, the actuality of it brought indescribable agony. I'm sure that Christ experienced anguishing thirst on the cross, which gives him a powerful window into the physical pains we have. Now, if you're a careful observer, you might be thinking to yourself, John tends to focus on the divine Jesus.
So why would he record Jesus saying, I am thirsty? Well, if you look at John chapter 19 verse 28, it says, After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said, In order to fulfill the scripture, I am thirsty. John may be less concerned about the human experience of thirst that Jesus, as a crucifixion victim, surely was having, but he's emphasizing Jesus has finished everything, and saying this specific phrase fulfills Scripture.
With this frame, John helps us see Christ's divinity and desire to fulfill his Father's will. There's another interesting connection to thirst in John. Consider some passages we've explored in previous videos.
To the woman at the well, Jesus said, Those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. At the Bread of Life discourse, Jesus said, Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. And at the Feast of Tabernacles, in the context of the water-drying ceremony, Jesus taught, Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink.
Perhaps John is showing us that Jesus, through his thirst, is quenching our spiritual thirst. In Matthew and Mark, Christ says, only one phrase from the cross. This is important to emphasize because if you watch a video of Christ being crucified, usually there will be other statements after this one.
But in Matthew and Mark, this is it. And of all the seven statements, it's the most human Jesus. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? In his greatest distress, Christ was left to bear the full brunt of the sins of the world without the accompanying help of his Father.
He felt completely abandoned and alone. Many of us will feel at times like we are abandoned and alone. When this happens, we must follow Christ's example on Calvary and keep on going.
You've probably heard of Mother Teresa. It's hard to imagine a saintlier person than her. She spent her life helping the poorest of the poor.
As a young adult, she had some powerful experiences with the Lord. But in the final 50 years of her life, Mother Teresa often felt disconnected from God. She wrote, In time, James Martin wrote, She began to see this searing experience as an invitation to unite herself more closely with Jesus and his abandonment on the cross, and with the poor who also feel abandoned. In continuing with her ministry to the poor, she made a radical act of fidelity based on a relationship she still believed in.
Even if she could not sense God's presence, she trusted that earlier experience. In other words, she had faith. There will be times when you feel God has abandoned you. Remember that Jesus kept moving forward, kept doing His Father's will, even when He felt forsaken. That helped Mother Teresa and her not just weeks or months of feeling abandoned, but decades.
Elder Christofferson said, Each of us, whenever that sense may come upon us, need to stop and think. Jesus Christ died for me. Jesus Christ thought me worthy of his blood. And he loves me. He has hopes for me, and he can make a difference in my life.
His grace can transform me. Christ said, I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you.
The Savior's final two statements from the cross show his divinity. Jesus said, it is finished. Earlier in his ministry, Jesus taught that his purpose was to obey the will of the one who sent me and to finish the work he gave me to do. In spite of earth and hell combining against him, being thirsty and forsaken, and in agonizing pain, Christ completed the work his Father had sent him to accomplish. Just as he did not abandon his Father's work, we can be confident he will not abandon us.
In Luke, the Savior's final statement is, Father, into your hands. I commend my spirit. I want to highlight two different words here.
First, the word father. In Luke, the very first words we hear Jesus speak are when he's 12 years old at the temple. His parents said, why did you leave us? And Jesus says, didn't you know I needed to be about my father's business?
Then, the very last words he says in mortality in Luke are also about his Father. This shows us that from beginning to end, Christ focused on doing his Father's will. Another key word in this statement is I.
This personal pronoun indicates the Savior's personal agency. He willingly gave up his life. In this statement, we see Christ choosing to give himself completely to God.
Do we do the same? As we collectively think about Christ's seven statements from the cross in terms of a healing, a human, and a divine Jesus, some of us might wonder, which is the real Jesus? Is it the suffering one, the healing one, the powerful one? And the point is that they all are. Christ is 100% the suffering Jesus, 100% the healing Messiah, and 100% the all-powerful Christ.
I love what Raymond Brown, a Catholic scholar, wrote, When these different passion narratives are read side by side, one should not be upset by the contrast or ask which view of Jesus is more correct—the Markan Jesus who plumbs the depths of abandonment only to be vindicated, the Lucan Jesus who worries about others and gently dispenses forgiveness, or the Johannine Jesus who reigns victoriously from the cross in control of all that happens. All three are given to us by the inspiring Spirit, and no one of them exhausts the meaning of Jesus. I hope in our conversation today you felt connected with the human, the healing, and divine Jesus.
I testify to you that the things we've talked about today are real. Jesus truly died for our sins. And he died not to make us feel bad, but to make us feel good, to draw us closer to him.
I pray that that's happened today. I hope we will remember that the Savior began his definition of his gospel by saying, my father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross. And after that I had been lifted up upon the cross that I might draw all people unto me."The Savior personally defined his greatest act of love as his death for us. He is both the living and the loving Christ. Thanks for staying until the very end. I want to make sure that you know there are pre-class readings for each of these videos in the course, as well as additional resources like PowerPoints and quiz questions to explore. Click the link in the description to access these additional learning resources.