THE RESURRECTION

(Taken primarily from an Education Week talk given by former BYU Dean of Religious Education, Dr. Robert J. Matthews entitled, Resurrection and the Spirit World in August of 2007 – Also taken from another talk by the same author, entitled, Resurrection, The Ultimate Triumph)

“The term resurrection comes from two words: the prefix re-, meaning “to repeat’ or ‘do again’, and surgere, meaning ‘to rise’, as with a strong impulse or surge. A resurrection is to be brought back to life; to have a resurge of life or power.” (Robert J. Matthews, Gospel Scholars Series: Selected Writings of Robert J. Matthews, pg. 505-506)

‘Of all the victories in human history, none is so great, none so universal in its effect, none so everlasting in its consequences as the victory of the crucified Lord who came forth in the resurrection that first Easter morning.’ (Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, Dec 1992, pg. 2)

‘Resurrection: The Ultimate Triumph’ is a phrase borrowed from President Howard W. Hunter, who said: ‘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. Without the Resurrection, the gospel of Jesus Christ becomes a litany of wise sayings and seemingly unexplainable miracles…’

During World War II, a young man whom I knew was killed in battle in the South Pacific. I was in his parents’ home shortly thereafter and observed their deep sorrow. Although this was a Latter-day Saint family, the father stated that if his son had died on land and received a burial he would expect to see him again, but (since) he was blown apart in the sea and no doubt eaten by fish, the father said he had no hope or expectation of the young man ever being resurrected.

I was only sixteen and relatively unfamiliar with the scriptures or the teachings of the Brethren, yet a feeling came over me that what the father said was not doctrinally correct. I didn’t say anything, but I knew within me that the plan of God was better than that and could not be frustrated.

I have not seen the family since that day, but their pain was more severe than it would have been if they had had a stronger faith and testimony of Christ’s victory over death. With what we know about the law of restoration, the ordinances of the priesthood, and of Jesus’ ultimate triumph over death, we know assuredly that not only will the young man be resurrected with his own body, whole and complete, but we can contemplate that his once-reluctant father, who ached under the sting of death, might even be the very one to exercise this priesthood ordinance.

There are awful limitations placed upon the devil and his angels. Because they rejected the Father’s plan, they will never have a body. The consequence of their choice is that they are damned or stopped in their progress. Not having a body means not having a lot of other things too: never a fullness of joy; never become like God; never have a posterity.

Next, disembodied spirits in the next life will eventually long to be reunited with the body [D&C 138:50]. That is, they'll long for a resurrected body. Not for the worn out, tired, weakened mortal body.

When will our pre-earth memory be restored to us? I think it's a general feeling among our people that your pre-mortal life memory is restored to you as soon as you die. But in the absence of a categorical statement of when our pre-mortal memory will be activated, I don't expect it will occur before our resurrection.

There would probably be no need for it to occur to the general run of mankind before the resurrection and the final judgment. We are all moving toward the world of spirits. The spirit world is an extension of our earth life.

Our ancestors and departed family and friends who are already there know that we will join them eventually. They are aware of us - they probably pray for us.

Now some questions. When we go, will we remember our mortal life? Does this church exist there? And if so, does it have the same name that it has here?

How could the answers be otherwise than yes, yes, and yes to these questions. Now the resurrection of the dead - the re-embodied state. We now come to the last segment of man's journey, the resurrection from the dead. Resurrection is mankind's final condition; permanent and all-inclusive.

No man woman or child will be left behind; in fact, it applies to all forms of life. ... I will now touch upon a few essential features of the resurrection that have been revealed in the scriptures and the teachings of the prophets. Resurrection is necessary because of the fall of Adam. The resurrection of mankind is made possible only because of the atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

He alone has the power to overcome the effects of the fall of Adam, which brought death of the body and also death of the spirit. Now death of the body I call the cemetery death.
Death of the spirit doesn't mean the spirit dies, but it means to be separated from the presence of God. Death actually means separation.

It was in that far distant past that our spirits learned the value of flesh and bones, and yearned for such a body, that we could become like God. We have been working toward that ultimate goal ever since. The glory of the resurrection of Jesus Christ as our great example has been in our hearts in every phase of our existence, from pre-mortal to mortal and will be in the post-mortal and onward, right up to the moment of our resurrection.

... Now a personal comment about resurrection. It is my conviction that all human beings are created in the express image of the bodies of our Heavenly Parents. Our spirit body and our physical body resemble each other and each has the corresponding parts, features, organs, and likeness that the other has. These are also the features of the bodies of our Heavenly Parents.

Resurrected bodies have size, shape, weight, and they occupy space. They have every limb, joint, hair, and body parts that are natural to the physical body. And they enjoy never ending youth without sickness or pain. They eat, drink, digest food, and have bodily warmth. They have spirit fluid in their veins instead of red blood, and they do not require sleep. ...

Everything that has a spirit, everything that has had breath, and everything that has died on this earth shall be resurrected. It is all because of Jesus Christ: He said, "I am the resurrection."