Christ the Lord is Risen Today

"Christ the Lord is Risen Today"

This song is usually sung at Easter time, but I felt like it is such a beautiful declaration of how Jesus Christ's Atonement and resurrection give us access to redemption from our sins and victory over the grave! This is a lot of what I thought of as I read this week in Alma 22. I feel like the entire Gospel is so wonderfully summarized in these few verses. It gives me the why of everything we do in the Church of Jesus Christ. "...God created man after his own image and...God gave him commandments, and...because of transgression, man had fallen. "And Aaron did expound unto him the scriptures from the creation of Adam, laying the fall of man before him, and their carnal state and also the plan of Redemption which was prepared from the foundation of the world, through Christ, or all whosoever would believe on his name. "And since man had fallen he could not merit anything himself; but the sufferings and death of Christ atone for their sins, through faith and repentance, and so forth; and that he breaketh the bands of death, that the grave shall have no victory, and that the sting of death should be swallowed up in the hopes of glory." ~Alma 22:12–14 ( https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/alma/22?id=p12-p14&lang=eng#p12 ) Wow! So beautiful! So simple! I love it! I'd invite you to read the next few verses and take the questions of the King personally, as if your own. Then read Aaron's response and see how the Spirit speaks to you personally. What are we willing to let go of in our lives to help us come closer to Christ? I know Jesus Christ lives. He is resurrected and is guiding His work in our lives every day! Let's open our hearts and invite him into our life and see the beautiful miracles that come! Jillene Smith