by Liz Johnson

(Liz Johnson is the mother of four and resides in Northern Indiana.  She has a BA in International Development and is two postage stamps away from being a certified doula. This post is adapted from an Easter talk she gave in Sacrament meeting.)

Whenever I think of Christ being lifted off the cross, His mortal work on the Earth finished, and being prepared for burial and entombment, I can’t help but think of His loyal followers and how they may have felt at the crucifixion of their Lord.  This man – whose life had been prophesied for generations and whose birth was foretold by prophets of old was there – in flesh and blood! He had walked with them, healed the sick, made the blind to see, raised a man so dead that “he stinketh”[1] back to life.  He had performed miracles of all varieties, spent time with all classes of society, and bestowed forgiveness on even the most vile of sinners.  This mortal son of Deity, whose power seemed to defy all reason and all rank, had been brought before the civic justice of the day, wrongfully convicted, tortured, and then put to death right in front of his loyal followers.  How devastating must it have been to see a man so powerful in the ways of God be so defeated and victimized by mere mortals?

Was there even any hope to be had?  We know that his followers had been taught of the resurrection – Martha proclaimed her faith that her brother, Lazarus, would rise again in the resurrection not long before Christ’s crucifixion.  They had witnessed the miracles throughout His life and had expressed unwavering faith in His power and glory.  But who could save their Lord?  The man who had saved the beggar, the adulterer, the leper, and the friend – who would save Him now?  With His crucifixion, they had no Lord to call upon to come raise Him from the dead as Lazarus was raised.  Could their faith have endured on this, the blackest of all Fridays?

And then, seemingly to add insult to injury, when Mary Magdalene came upon His garden tomb early Sunday morning, she found His grave vacant, apparently vandalized and plundered by those who had despised her Lord.  I can only imagine the bitter feelings she might have felt – was it not enough that they had taken Him, pounded nails into His hands & feet, plunged a sword into His side, and crucified Him with common thieves?  They couldn’t let Him rest in peace, but had to desecrate not just His life, but His resting place as well?

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(I highly recommend teachers either buy or download Words of Wisdom: A Collection of Quotes for LDS Women to supplement this lesson. The book has many wonderful quotes by LDS women leaders about Jesus, and using some of them throughout will enhance the lesson.  Another word of advice to you teachers out there: get on Amazon and buy some Chieko Okazaki books. She invariably has something insightful to say on almost any topic. Aloha is one of my favorites. You can find copies for $.01 plus shipping. And finally, please read this post about George Albert Smith’s battle with debilitating depression. Bringing in some points about his struggle with depression might be very important for women in your ward to hear.)

Introduction:

If your building has internet access, consider showing a two minute clip of George Albert Smith sharing his testimony of Jesus. His preaching has an energy which would be fun for the class to see.  Also, consider showing the first 45 seconds of this George Albert Smith video, which starts out with him preaching and shows his sense of humor. It also highlights one of the best George Albert Smith quotes I’ve heard: “I would not be an enemy to any living soul.”(Cited in Bryant S. Hinckley, “Greatness in Men: Superintendent George Albert Smith,” Improvement Era, Mar. 1932, p. 295.)

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by Kelly Ann

Here are my thoughts on the various sections – mostly questions to lead class discussion as this topic is something people generally know more about.  I would focus on different sections and/or questions depending on the class as it is a lot of material.  I hope the teachers find this useful and please share your ideas below in the comment section.

“Chapter 11: The Life of Christ,” Gospel Principles, (2009),50–58

The Life of Christ Was Predicted Long before His Birth

What are some of the prophecies about Jesus Christ?  (Isaiah 53:3–5, 7; Mosiah 3:5–8).  How do the prophecies differ between the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon?  Why was it so important for the life of Christ be predicted long before his birth?  What would have happened if Christ had not fulfilled the prophecies?

He Was the Only Begotten of the Father

Why is it important that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? What qualities did he inherit from each of his parents?  What role did his mother play in his life?

He Led a Perfect Life

What can we learn from the Savior’s life?  What can we learn from his childhood? How did he mature?  (Luke 2:40; D&C 93:12–14).  How was he received? (Luke 2:47).  What was his relationship like with his father?  (John 8:28–29).  How did he start his mission?  Why was he baptized?  What can we learn from his sojourn in the wilderness?  What can we learn from his temptations by the devil? (Matthew 4:1–11).  Why is it important that he did not sin? (Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:21–22).  Which accounts from the Savior’s life are especially meaningful to you?

He Taught Us How to Love and Serve One Another

How did the Savior teach us to love God and how to love and serve one another?  How can we apply his miraculous acts of service to our lives? (Matthew 14:14–21) How can we meet both people’s physical and spiritual needs as he did?  In what ways is service obligatory?  How did Christ serve those who did not respect him? (Luke 23:34).  How can we love those who sin against us?  In what ways can we show the Lord that we love Him?

He Organized the Only True Church

What was the purpose of the early church?  Why did Christ ordain Apostles?  What was the role of women in the early church?

He Redeemed Us from Our Sins and Saved Us from Death

How did Jesus Christ suffer for our sins?  What is the significance of the garden of Gethsemane?  Why did he have to do it alone?   (Matthew 26:39).  Why do you think no one witnessed the atonement but many witnessed the crucifixion?  What can we learn from people’s accounts of Christ’s suffering on the cross?  How do you think his disciples felt to discover the empty tomb?  How did he bless the people in the Old World and the Americas afterwards?

His Sacrifice Showed His Love for His Father and for Us

What can we learn from the Savior’s sacrifice?  How do we internalize the pain and sacrifice that he made?  What does his life and death mean to you?  How can we show our love to God?

__________

And here’s Caroline’s suggestion from a couple days ago…

What is your favorite Jesus story in the New Testament and why? I would then talk about my favorite story – that of the bent over woman in Luke whom Jesus sees suffering, reaches out toward with love and compassion, and cures, saying, “Woman you are freed!” despite the disapproval of the others because it was the Sabbath. I love that phrase, “Woman you are freed!” because it’s so appropriate for this new religious movement that sees every human being as worthy of love, attention, and concern, no matter their race, sex, or class.  By the end of the story, she is standing up straight, raising her eyes to God and prophesying, and the synagogue leader is cast down and shamed.

Please share your ideas. Which sections of the lesson stood out to you? What are the most inspiring ideas and stories and discussions you’d like to share and have during your lesson?

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by Stella

Believing Christians often conceive of Jesus as static. Jesus was born divine in a stable in Bethlehem and remained that way for the rest of his life. While I feel that the LDS doctrine goes a bit farther than most religions, I still find myself trapped into thinking of Jesus in a very one-dimensional way. I have a hard time believing that he never “sinned,” at least, by standards of my old definition of the word. Now, I tend reflect deeper what “sin” actually means for me, free from religious input. Did Jesus never hit his siblings? Did Jesus never argue with his father? Did Jesus skip school occasionally? Did Jesus swear? Did Jesus get a crush on a girl and have thoughts about her that he might need to confess to his Bishop? Did Jesus ever feel competitive? Did Jesus ever let his ego get in the way? And if he didn’t, well, then, how can he understand me when I do all of these things? And if he did, well, can he REALLY be sinless? Was Jesus able to repent?

A static Jesus tends to serve religion because you can’t REALLY equate him with true human experience (like all the little things mentioned above). He has to be unique—the one and only Son of God—that is what makes him special, isn’t it? But, in my mind, it creates a gap that seems impossible to cross.

Think about it, “for over two thousand years millions of people have worshipped Christ with out really being transformed. With the exception of a handful of saints, Christianity has not turned believers into the ‘light of the world’ even though Jesus clearly intended the Kingdom of God to descend to earth in his lifetime. Like Buddha and every other enlightened person, Jesus wanted his followers to become enlightened too.”

Jesus was the product of transformation, and he wanted others to be transformed also. Lately, I’ve been reading books on Jesus written by non-Christians. In the most recent one, Jesus, a Story of Enlightenment by Deepak Chopra (where the quotes come from), I have thought about Jesus in a way that I never have thought about him before. What if he wasn’t really born of a virgin birth, what if his birth and life were just like mine–only he started to understand deeply his own divinity—which is JUST like mine? What if he heard prophecies of a Messiah and decided to step up and fulfill those prophecies—not because he was any different or more divine than I am, but because he was willing to act. What if his life choices and teachings were simply a reflection of the power of enlightenment, conviction of who he is, and faith in his own ability? What if everything that Jesus taught and was, I can learn and be—not in heaven, but RIGHT NOW? What if he was just a man—a man who tapped into some higher part of himself that WE ALL HAVE? Somehow, these ideas seems to spur me to action more than the idea that he was part divinity, perfect, unchanging, and always clear about who and what he was. These thoughts make me drawn to his life path as something more conceivable for me to achieve right now. What if millions of people connected to these aspects of Jesus’s path on a deeper level (instead of the concentrating on all the miracles surrounding his calling)?

“What, then, is the path that Jesus laid out? Parts of it are already familiar. Jesus told his disciples to pray. He asked them to trust God. They were to rely on faith to accomplish miracles. Their attitude toward the world was to be one of peace and love. Millions of Christians still attempt to live by these precepts, yet something crucial must be missing, because we don’t witness a large-scale transformation of human nature among Christians. Like the rest of us, they seem just as tempted to be unloving, violent, selfish, and narrow-minded, the difference being that they are tempted to use their religion to justify their behavior. (In that, they aren’t alone—every organized religion creates an ethos that covers human flaws with self-righteous rhetoric).”

There must be more to the path that Jesus outlined. There must be more to his life mission as a man on this earth. There must be a greater world transformation that can happen. There must be some part of a static Jesus that just isn’t resonating with the Christian population as it was meant to. How can we view and follow Jesus in a way that will actually bring about the Kingdom of Heaven on earth? What do you think it is?

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by Caroline

Recently I’ve discovered Julian of Norwich, a 14th century female mystic and theologian. I love her optimistic view of a loving, compassionate God and her radical ideas about universal salvation.

And I particularly love the way she talks about Jesus as mother. Listen to this:

“The human mother will suckle her child with her own milk, but our beloved Mother, Jesus, feeds us with himself, and with most tender courtesy, does it by means of the Blessed Sacrament, the precious food of all true life…. The human mother may put her child tenderly to her breast, but our tender Mother Jesus simply leads us into his blessed breast through his open side, and there gives us a glimpse of the Godhead and heavenly joy, the inner certainty of eternal bliss.” *

Julian also describes Jesus as our mother in whom “we grow and develop,” and our mother in mercy and grace who “reforms and restores us.”

This liberated mixing of male and female are exhilarating to me. By describing Jesus with female traits, she both exalts women and emphasizes Jesus’ ability to transcend typical gender boundaries.

Does Jesus transcend gender when you think about him? Do you question whether a male Jesus can understand concerns and sorrows that are particularly female? Are you comfortable thinking of him in mothering imagery?

*quotes taken from Eleanor Mclaughlin’s essay, “The Christian Past: Does it Hold a Future for Women?”

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