The key to the Father’s plan of salvation is the Atonement of Jesus Christ (see 3 Nephi 27:1–20). We need to understand the effects of the Atonement in our individual lives, we need to teach them to our members, and, so far as possible, we should teach them to men and women everywhere.

There are three essential powers of the Atonement of Jesus Christ: the assurance of immortality, the opportunity for eternal life, and the strength we can receive to sustain us through the many challenges of mortality. In each of these, His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, is the central figure.

President Thomas S. Monson explained this first essential power:

The book of Job poses the universal question, “If a man die, shall he live again?” (Job 14:14). The question of resurrection from the dead is a central subject of scripture, ancient and modern. The Resurrection is a pillar of our faith. It adds meaning to our doctrine, motivation to our behavior, and hope for our future.

The universal resurrection became a reality with the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (see Matthew 27:52–53). On the third day after His death and burial, Jesus came forth out of the tomb. He appeared to several men and women, and then to the assembled Apostles. Three of the Gospels describe this event. Luke is the most complete:

The Savior gave the Apostles a second witness. Thomas, one of the Twelve, had not been with them when Jesus came. He insisted that he would not believe unless he could see and feel for himself. John records:

Despite these biblical witnesses, many who call themselves Christians reject or confess serious doubts about the reality of the Resurrection. As if to anticipate and counter such doubts, the Bible records many appearances of the risen Christ. In some of these He appeared to a single individual, such as to Mary Magdalene at the sepulchre. In others He appeared to large or small groups, such as when “he was seen of [more than] five hundred brethren at once” (1 Corinthians 15:6).

The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ records the experience of hundreds who saw the risen Lord in person and touched Him, feeling the prints of the nails in His hands and feet and thrusting their hands into His side. The Savior invited a multitude to have this experience “one by one” (3 Nephi 11:15) so that they could know that He was “the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and [had] been slain for the sins of the world” (3 Nephi 11:14).

During the course of His personal ministry among these faithful people, the resurrected Christ healed the sick and also “took their little children, one by one, and blessed them” (3 Nephi 17:21). This tender episode was witnessed by about 2,500 men, women, and children (see 3 Nephi 17:25).

The possibility that a mortal who has died will be brought forth and live again in a resurrected body has awakened hope and stirred controversy through much of recorded history. Relying on clear scriptural teachings, Latter-day Saints join in affirming that Christ has “broken the bands of death” (Mosiah 16:7) and that “death is swallowed up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:54; see also Mosiah 15:8; 16:7–8; Alma 22:14; Mormon 7:5). Because we believe the Bible and Book of Mormon descriptions of the literal Resurrection of Jesus Christ, we also readily accept the numerous scriptural teachings that a similar resurrection will come to all mortals who have ever lived upon this earth (see 1 Corinthians 15:22; 2 Nephi 9:22; Helaman 14:17; Mormon 9:13; Doctrine and Covenants 29:26; 76:39, 42–44). As Jesus taught, “Because I live, ye shall live also” (John 14:19). And His Apostle taught that “the dead shall be raised incorruptible” and “this mortal shall have put on immortality” (1 Corinthians 15:52, 54).

The literal and universal nature of the Resurrection is vividly described in the Book of Mormon. The prophet Amulek taught:

For God’s children, resurrection means that aging, deterioration, and decay will be done away. “This mortal shall put on immortality” (Mosiah 16:10), and “the spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form” (Alma 11:43).

Resurrection also makes possible another reuniting—the reuniting of families. We live together in love, so we weep when a loved one dies (see Doctrine and Covenants 42:45). But like Mary Magdalene, we can have our tears of sorrow turn into tears of joy as we anticipate the future from the perspective of an eternal family.

Many living witnesses can testify to the literal fulfillment of these scriptural assurances of the Resurrection. Many, including some in my own extended family, have seen a departed loved one in vision or personal appearance and have witnessed their restoration in “proper and perfect frame” in the prime of life. Whether these were manifestations of persons already resurrected or of righteous spirits awaiting an assured resurrection, the reality and nature of the resurrection of mortals is evident. What a comfort to know that all who have been disadvantaged in life from birth defects, from mortal injuries, from disease, or from the natural deterioration of old age will be resurrected in “proper and perfect frame.”

I wonder if we fully appreciate the enormous significance of our belief in a literal, universal resurrection. The assurance of immortality is fundamental to our faith. The Prophet Joseph Smith declared:

Of all things in that glorious ministry, why did the Prophet Joseph Smith use the testimony of the Savior’s death, burial, and Resurrection as the fundamental principle of our religion, saying that “all other things ... are only appendages to it”? The answer is found in the fact that the Savior’s Resurrection is central to what the prophets have called “the great and eternal plan of deliverance from death” (2 Nephi 11:5).

When we understand the vital position of the Resurrection in the “plan of redemption” that governs our eternal journey (Alma 12:25), we see why the Apostle Paul taught, “If there be no resurrection of the dead, then ... is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain” (1 Corinthians 15:13–14). We also see why the Apostle Peter referred to the fact that God the Father, in His abundant mercy, “hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3; see also 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18).

The “lively hope” we are given by the Resurrection is our conviction that death is not the conclusion of our identity but merely a necessary step in the destined transition from mortality to immortality. This hope changes the whole perspective of mortal life. The assurance of resurrection and immortality affects how we look on the physical challenges of mortality, how we live our mortal lives, and how we relate to those around us.

The assurance of resurrection gives us the strength and perspective to endure the mortal challenges faced by each of us and by those we love, such things as the physical, mental, or emotional deficiencies we bring with us at birth or acquire during mortal life. Because of the Resurrection, we know that these mortal deficiencies are only temporary!

The assurance of resurrection also gives us a powerful incentive to keep the commandments of God during our mortal lives. Resurrection is much more than merely reuniting a spirit to a body held captive by the grave. We know from the Book of Mormon that the Resurrection is a restoration that brings back “carnal for carnal” and “good for that which is good” (Alma 41:13; see also Alma 41:2–4 and Helaman 14:31). The prophet Amulek taught, “That same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world” (Alma 34:34). As a result, when persons leave this life and go on to the next, “they who are righteous shall be righteous still” (2 Nephi 9:16), and “whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life ... will rise with us in the resurrection” (Doctrine and Covenants 130:18).

The principle of restoration also means that persons who are not righteous in mortal life will not rise up righteous in the Resurrection (see 2 Nephi 9:16; 1 Corinthians 15:35–44; Doctrine and Covenants 88:27–32). Moreover, unless our mortal sins have been cleansed and blotted out by repentance and forgiveness (see Alma 5:21; 2 Nephi 9:45–46; Doctrine and Covenants 58:42), we will be resurrected with a “bright recollection” (Alma 11:43) and a “perfect knowledge of all our guilt, and our uncleanness” (2 Nephi 9:14; see also Alma 5:18). The seriousness of that reality is emphasized by the many scriptures suggesting that the Resurrection is followed immediately by the Final Judgment (see 2 Nephi 9:15, 22; Mosiah 26:25; Alma 11:43–44; 42:23; Mormon 7:6; 9:13–14). Truly, “this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God” (Alma 34:32).

The assurance that the Resurrection will include an opportunity to be with our family members—husband, wife, parents, brothers and sisters, children, and grandchildren—is a powerful encouragement for us to fulfill our family responsibilities in mortality. It helps us live together in love in this life in anticipation of joyful reunions and associations in the next.

Our sure knowledge of a resurrection to immortality also gives us the courage to face our own death—even a death that we might call premature. Thus, the people of Ammon in the Book of Mormon “never did look upon death with any degree of terror, for their hope and views of Christ and the resurrection; therefore, death was swallowed up to them by the victory of Christ over it” (Alma 27:28).

The assurance of immortality also helps us bear the mortal separations involved in the death of our loved ones. Every one of us has wept at a death, grieved through a funeral, or stood in pain at a graveside. I am surely one who has. We should all praise God for the assured Resurrection that makes our mortal separations temporary and gives us the hope and strength to carry on.

We are living in a glorious season of temple building. This is also a consequence of our faith in the Resurrection. I was once privileged to accompany President Gordon B. Hinckley to the dedication of a new temple. In that sacred setting I heard him say:

This prophetic teaching enlarged my understanding. Our temples are living, working testimonies to our faith in the reality of the Resurrection. They provide the sacred settings where living proxies can perform all of the necessary ordinances of mortal life in behalf of those who live in the world of the spirits. None of this would be meaningful if we did not have the assurance of universal immortality and the opportunity for eternal life because of the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Read more in Learning the Great Fundamentals by Dallin H. Oaks. Available at Deseret Book and deseretbook.com.

Build and strengthen your testimony

Jesus Christ, the priesthood of God, and the plan of salvation—these three topics are foundational to the gospel and to the lives of Christian disciples. And few, if any, are better suited to write about them than Dallin H. Oaks. The discussions found in this book can give us eternal perspective that provides what many Latter-day Saints ultimately desire—hope for the future, courage to face the challenges of mortality, and motivation to walk the gospel path and become true followers of Jesus Christ.

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Notes
The content of this article was drawn from the following sources: Dallin H. Oaks, “Resurrection,” Ensign, May 2000; Dallin H. Oaks, “Strengthening Faith in Heavenly Father and in Jesus Christ and His Atonement,” General Authority training, September 30, 2015; Dallin H. Oaks, “What Has Our Savior Done for Us?,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2021.

1. Thomas S. Monson, “He Is Risen!” Ensign, May 2010.
2. Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith (1976), 121.