For most of us, the years 2020 and 2021 were unlike any that we have previously experienced. Unexpected and unwanted shelter-at-home orders, social distancing requirements, and mask mandates related to the COVID-19 pandemic sharply curtailed our customary lifestyles and helped create a widespread feeling of being endlessly entombed by circumstances beyond our control. Speaking in the opening session of the April 2020 general conference, President Russell M. Nelson acknowledged the uncomfortable restrictions related to the virus but also recognized that “life’s personal trials stretch far beyond [the] pandemic.” Current and future trials could be the result of “an accident, a natural disaster, or an unexpected personal heartache.”[1] Because there have been, are, and will be days where “we have special need of heaven’s help” and because we “need to be able to look forward to some respite, to something pleasant and renewing and hopeful, whether that blessing be near at hand or still some distance ahead,”[2] this volume includes essays that focus on the power of Jesus Christ’s deliverance. In their different ways, each author invites us to “hope for our deliverance” in Christ (Alma 58:11).

In Hebrew, Yeshua (or Jesus in Greek) means “savior” or “deliverer.” The English word Messiah originates from the Hebrew Meshiach, meaning “anointed.” The Greek equivalent for Messiah is Christos, and it too means “one who is anointed of God.” When these names are combined, the term Jesus Christ means “an anointed deliverer”, an identity he boldly claimed at the start of his formal ministry. Teaching from an Isaiah scroll in a synagogue in Galilee, Jesus declared, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18–19), and then said, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:21).[3] As the Great Deliverer, Jesus can rescue us from “everything that threatens to diminish or destroy” our lives or our joy.[4] Sometimes his deliverance takes longer than we would like, but for those who put their trust in him, Christ’s promises of deliverance are sure (see Mosiah 24:16–17; 25:10; 27:16; 29:20).

In the first essay of this volume, Marie K. Hafen explores the question “When Does Easter Morning Come?” She uses specific anecdotes to illustrate how to turn to Christ, focus on hope, and gain power to remain afloat during dark or difficult times. In the second essay, Virginia Hinckley Pearce Cowley testifies of the ways that the Easter story inspires her to celebrate life and to be confident that Christ’s promises of deliverance will be fulfilled. Following Sister Cowley, Tyler J. Griffin discusses ten important moments in Christ’s mortal experience that helped define his character and built his capacity to endure the agony of the infinite Atonement of Jesus Christ. He believes that knowing how Jesus lived for us can empower us to strive to live for him no matter what opposition we face. John Hilton III’s essay describes the way Christ’s Crucifixion is generally perceived by Latter-day Saints. He proposes four ways that we can more effectively study the Crucifixion in order to obtain strength during times of opposition. In the fifth essay, I address moments of disillusionment and show how the Easter story affirms that disillusionment is not a tragic end but an important beginning for those who will apply divinely inspired principles of recovery. The good news is that we can successfully close the gaps between our beliefs and the truth. And finally, Jennifer Reeder discusses many of the specific burdens of mortality, especially physical illness. She teaches and testifies of Christ and shows that because of his atoning sacrifice, there is no earthly sorrow that heaven cannot heal.[5]

It is my hope that the experience, wisdom, and testimonies of these authors will strengthen your resolve to remain faithfully committed to the Great Deliverer—no matter what your personal challenges may be—and that, like the Book of Mormon prophet Nephi, you will also be able to confidently and firmly declare “the Lord is able to deliver us” (1 Nephi 4:3).

Jan J. Martin

Provo, Utah

Notes

Many thanks go to Hank Smith, Alonzo Gaskill, Jeanine Ehat, Devan Jensen, and many others who helped arrange and produce the Easter Conferences for 2021 and 2022. I also appreciate Emily V. Rogers for the beautiful design and Mikaela Wilkins for proofreading the book.

[1] Russell M. Nelson, “Opening Message,” Ensign, May 2020, 6.

[2] Jeffrey R. Holland, “An High Priest of Good Things to Come,” Ensign, November 1999, 36.

[3] Old Testament Student Manual: 1 Kings–Malachi (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2003), 67.

[4] Kyle S. McKay, “The Immediate Goodness of God,” Ensign, May 2019, 107.

[5] Thomas Moore, “Come, Ye Disconsolate,” Sacred Songs (1816).