Gary E. Stevenson - And We Talk of Christ
Elder Stevenson instructed -
"We are followers of Jesus Christ, and we seek to both receive and share His light. Implicit in the name of the Church is our theology of “Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.” Through ancient and living prophets, our Heavenly Father has commanded us to “hear Him!” and to “come unto Christ.” “We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, [and] we prophesy of Christ.”
We teach that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and during His earthly ministry, Jesus taught His gospel and established His Church.
We testify that at the end of His life, Jesus atoned for our sins when He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, was crucified on the cross, and then was resurrected.
We rejoice that because of the Savior’s atoning sacrifice, we can be forgiven and cleansed of our sins as we repent. This brings us peace and hope while making it possible for us to return to God’s presence and receive a fulness of joy.
We prophesy that because of Jesus’s Resurrection, death is not the end but an important step forward. “We will all be resurrected after we die. This means that each person’s spirit and body will be reunited and live forever.”"
"Recent First Presidency encouragement to look “forward to Easter and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ—the most glorious of all messages to mankind” highlights the magnitude of this season. While there appears to be a growing trend among various Christian theologians to view the Resurrection in figurative and symbolic terms, we affirm our doctrine that “the Resurrection means that all who have ever lived will be resurrected, and the Resurrection is literal.” “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” Jesus Christ broke the bands of death for every living soul.
We truly stand all amazed at the grace Jesus offers us. We embrace His words that “greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
C. S. Lewis stated that “to preach Christianity meant [to the Apostles] primarily to preach the Resurrection. … The Resurrection is the central theme in every Christian sermon reported in the Acts. The Resurrection, and its consequences, were the ‘gospel’ or good news which the Christians brought.”
I proclaim that “there is a resurrection, … the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ.”"
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