ONE BY ONE

THE PROMISE OF JESUS CHRIST

Near the end of the Book of Mormon, Moroni shares his father’s words about faith, hope, and charity. While teaching about hope, Mormon asks, “And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise.”^[1] Our hope comes through Jesus Christ and is made possible according to a promise.

“God’s whole purpose—His work and His glory—is to enable each of us to enjoy all His blessings.”^[2] The greatest of these blessings is “immortality and eternal life”^[3] made possible because Christ fulfilled His promise to be our Savior.

WHAT IS THE PROMISE?

God promised a Savior when He presented the plan of salvation to all of us. Because we had faith in Christ according to that promise, we followed God’s plan and came to earth anticipating that Christ would fulfill His mission as our Savior. We continue to express that faith in Christ by, once again, choosing God’s plan while here on earth. The promise of a Savior is clarified and deepened with each covenant we make, allowing our faith in Christ to grow, mature, and expand.

THE PROMISE OF A SAVIOR IS FULFILLED ONE-BY-ONE

Following Christ’s mortal ministry, He appeared to many in the Americas. These were people who had demonstrated their faithfulness under intense pressure and trials. After declaring His divinity, He invited them to have an individual experience affirming their faith in Him as their Savior, fulfilling the promise given when the plan was presented.

“Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.

And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come.

And when they had all gone forth and had witnessed for themselves, they did cry out with one accord, saying: Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him.”^[4]

There are three meaningful lessons from these verses.

• Sure witness—The promise of a Savior includes a sure witness of His divine role. Appropriately, we describe faith as belief in action that precedes a sure witness. Yet, as we study accounts of those who have received a sure witness, we learn that faith does not end when they “did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands.” Faith in Jesus Christ transcends the depth of our knowledge, whether that be our first expressions of belief or sure witness that comes with Him ministering to us physically, just as He did to these people.

• One by one – The promise of a Savior is given and fulfilled one by one. Of course, we are collectively blessed by the infinite reach of Christ’s atonement, but God intends that Christ’s ministry also be individual, deeply personal, and spiritually intimate. We don’t know how long this one-by-one ministry took for the people in this account, but it didn’t matter. Christ witnessed His divinity as their Savior individually, no matter how long it took. While we wait for our opportunity to have a similar experience, we symbolically receive this blessing through ordinances such as the sacrament and in the temple.

• Hosanna – The promise of a Savior is met with our worshipful plea for God to save us. Acknowledging Christ as our Savior gives us a clear picture of our dependence on him. There is no plan without His willingness to save us. Our praise and worship are driven by gratitude for His atonement and our plea for grace through Him. Just as the people cried out “Hosanna” in recognition of their Savior, our own lives can become expressions of worship as we see His promises fulfilled in us, individually, one by one.

HOPE THROUGH THE POWER OF HIS RESURRECTION

“He is not here, for he is risen.”^[5] This angelic declaration to Mary is one of the most hopeful phrases in scripture. It reminds us that physical death is not permanent; we each have hope to live again through the power of Christ’s resurrection.

Sometimes, people describe resurrection as free. I prefer to describe it as a gift, with Christ as the giver and us as the receiver. Christ paid the price to make resurrection possible. It was not free to Him. We, as receivers, used our agency to choose the gift - a choice made in our premortal life.

In the Book of Mormon, Amulek reminds us of this universal nature of the resurrection. “Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but every thing shall be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body.”^[6]

The promise of the resurrection is given to all who live on earth, without exception, because we chose to follow Christ in our premortal life. The scriptures refer to this as those who “kept their first estate.”^[7][8] Those who did not keep their first estate were cast out of God’s presence with Lucifer and will not receive resurrection.

As we reflect on Christ's resurrection, our hope in the promise of our resurrection is renewed. We witness the daily renewal of the sun rising from the dark night, the weekly renewal through the sacrament, and the yearly renewal as spring emerges from the darkness of winter. Each reminder symbolizes Christ’s resurrection, the promise of a Savior, and the hope that death will not be the end. Just as His resurrection offers hope over physical death, His atoning blood offers hope over spiritual death. Together, they complete the promise of a Savior.

HOPE THROUGH THE ATONEMENT OF CHRIST

We are still choosing to overcome sin through Christ's atonement. Regardless, the promise of eternal life is still very inclusive, meaning all of God’s children who have lived or will live on this earth will have the opportunity to accept Jesus Christ as the Redeemer. Our faith in the promise of a Savior still fuels our hope through Christ's atonement.

The prophet Ether expounded on this hope when he said, “Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.”^[9] This is what it looks like when we have hope through the atonement of Christ. We are anchored. We are sure and steadfast. We go about our lives doing good and glorifying God.

HIS INVITATION

The promise of Jesus Christ is not an abstract concept; it is a personal invitation to accept our Savior. His resurrection assures us that death is not the end. His atonement offers hope in overcoming sin. And His ministry, both then and now, is deeply personal. One by one, He invites, comforts, and assures that we are known and loved. Our hope is not merely in what He did but in what He continues to do in our lives. That is the promise of our Heavenly Father’s plan.

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^[1] Moroni 7:41, Book of Mormon, churchofjesuschrist.org

^[2] Perry, Tom L., The Plan of Salvation, churchofjesuschrist.org

^[3] Moses 1:39, Pearl of Great Price, churchofjesuschrist.org

^[4] 3 Nephi 11: 14-17, Book of Mormon, churchofjesuschrist.org

^[5] Matthew 28:6, New Testament, churchofjesuschrist.org

^[6] Alma 11:44, Book of Mormon, churchofjesuschrist.org

^[7] Jude 1:6, New Testament, churchofjesuschrist.org

^[8] Abraham 3:26, Pearl of Great Price, churchofjesuschrist.org

^[9] Ether 12:4, Book of Mormon, churchofjesuschrist.org

Artwork by Simon Dewey, churchofjesuschrist.org