Grant Romney Clawson, The Second Coming. © Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

While major world religions share many similar beliefs, Christianity sets itself apart from all others with the doctrine of the Resurrection. No other major religion asserts that a human being will receive a perfected body in the afterlife. In fact, some religious pundits opine that the doctrine of the Resurrection is the fulcrum upon which all of the Christian belief system rests—that Christianity rises or falls based on the reality of the Resurrection. Christian religious leaders of all walks have commented on the importance of the Resurrection, but perhaps none as forcefully as President Howard W. Hunter when he declared, “The doctrine of the Resurrection is the single most fundamental and crucial doctrine in the Christian religion. It cannot be overemphasized, nor can it be disregarded.” Then in a warning tone he mentioned the consequences of disavowing or overlooking the Resurrection. “Without the Resurrection, the gospel of Jesus Christ becomes a litany of wise sayings and unexplainable miracles.”[1]

Charles Wesley, the great Methodist hymn writer, composed these inspired words expressing the majesty of the Resurrection:

Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!

Earth and heaven in chorus say, Alleluia!

Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!

Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply, Alleluia!

Love's redeeming work is done, Alleluia!

Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!

Death in vain forbids him rise, Alleluia!

Christ has opened paradise, Alleluia![2]

Accordingly, this volume and these Easter conferences are organized to enhance our celebration of the miracle of Easter. The essays published in this volume represent the papers presented at the annual Brigham Young University Easter Conferences in 2016 and 2017. In this volume, you will find the personal witnesses and testimonies of faithful disciples who have devoted their lives to understanding the majesty and mission of the Savior. May their careful, heartfelt, and inspired words take root in your heart and bring you to a deeper, more personal conviction of the central role Jesus Christ and his Resurrection have in the ete

Notes

[1] Howard W. Hunter, “An Apostle’s Witness of the Resurrection,” Ensign, May 1986, 16–17.

[2] Charles Wesley, “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today,” The United Methodist Hymnal, no. 302.