{"id":73165,"date":"2019-04-20T13:46:33","date_gmt":"2019-04-20T19:46:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=73165"},"modified":"2019-04-20T13:46:33","modified_gmt":"2019-04-20T19:46:33","slug":"the-gospel-truly-brings-us-joyful-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/04\/the-gospel-truly-brings-us-joyful-news.html","title":{"rendered":"The Gospel truly brings us joyful news"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

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\"Anastasis\"<\/a>
An icon of the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Wikimedia Commons public domain)
In this image, Christ is pulling Adam (on the left) and Eve (on the right) from their tombs. Beneath his feet, Satan lies bound and you can see the broken doors of the gates of Hell (and parts of the shattered lock mechanism of those gates).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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We at the Interpreter Foundation began the practice a few years ago of publishing personal essays or personal messages at Christmas and at Easter, from various authors.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe First Easter\u201d<\/a> (S. Kent Brown)<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe Crucifixion\u00a0as a Mockery, Witness,\u00a0and Warning of the Judgment\u201d<\/a> (George L. Mitton)<\/p>\n

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Here are the prior Easter messages that the Interpreter Foundation has published:<\/p>\n

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\u201cEasters: The Eternal Atoning Sacrifice Testifies of the Everlasting Redeeming Savior\u201d<\/a>\u00a0 (Alan C. Ashton)<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe Healing and Exalting Powers of Christ Weave Together at Easter\u201d<\/a>\u00a0(Ann Madsen)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy Did You Choose Me?\u201d<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0(Joseph Grenny)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThree Streams of Gratitude for Jesus\u201d<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0(Mitt Romney)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

We who are associated with the Interpreter Foundation wish you an absolutely wonderful and faith-promoting Easter weekend, filled with love and joy.<\/p>\n

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***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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I myself published the Easter column below in the Deseret News<\/em> for 5 April 2012:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of the most memorable experiences of my mission in Switzerland came when the aunt of the Basel Ward mission leader died. Though not a member of the LDS Church<\/a>, she had asked her nephew to speak at her funeral.<\/span><\/p>\n

A young returned missionary, he arranged for a quartet of elders to sing at the service, held in the cemetery chapel. I never served in Basel, but I was included in the quartet. That\u2019s why I was there.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The chapel was large, drafty and cold, with a high ceiling. Its grim stone walls were draped in black cloth.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first speaker at the service was a clergyman \u2014 a cemetery chaplain, I suppose. Through no fault of his own, of course, he didn\u2019t know the woman who had died, but his repeated references to \u201cunsere liebe Verstorbene\u201d (\u201cour dear deceased one\u201d) did little to warm the chapel up or to personalize the proceedings. After reading an initial reference to our friend\u2019s aunt, I don\u2019t believe that he mentioned her name again.<\/span><\/p>\n

Far worse, though, was the substance of his sermon, which, I presume, he had delivered at many such events. As I\u2019ve always recalled it, he spent most of his time describing how the \u201cchill hand of death\u201d had \u201creached out and plucked our dear deceased one from among us.\u201d There was, to the best of my memory, nothing at all about resurrection or everlasting life, nothing about hope for the future. It was deeply depressing.<\/span><\/p>\n

We were up next. The nephew had requested that we sing \u201cO My Father,\u201d and, perhaps rather impishly, wanted to emphasize the words about a mother in heaven. So, on that verse, three of us hummed while my companion recited the lyrics.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, it was the turn of the Basel mission leader to speak.<\/span><\/p>\n

He smiled. He was humorous. He shared amusing anecdotes about his aunt. He described the happy reunion that, finally delivered from pain and illness, she was enjoying with departed friends and relatives. He bore joyful testimony of eternal life and resurrection. I don\u2019t remember whether or not he quoted the precise verse, but he certainly assured his (largely non-Mormon) audience that \u201cthat same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy\u201d (D&C 130:2).<\/span><\/p>\n

When he concluded, we four missionaries weren\u2019t alone in responding with a hearty \u201camen.\u201d Several of the non-Mormon Swiss did, too.<\/span><\/p>\n

The contrast between the two sermons and their different approaches to the question of death couldn\u2019t have been more stark. And it was obvious that the clergyman knew it: He was strikingly unfriendly afterward.<\/span><\/p>\n

I relate this story, though, not to attack a pastor of another faith (whose name, if I ever knew it, I\u2019ve long forgotten), nor even to criticize his particular theology. I recount it in order to highlight the joyous and powerful news of the gospel, illustrated and made possible by the events of Easter.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Gospel of John records Mary Magdalene\u2019s meeting with the newly risen Savior near his garden tomb: \u201cJesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father\u201d (20:17).<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve heard lessons, sermons and class comments seeking to explain why Mary was forbidden to touch the resurrected Lord.<\/span><\/p>\n

But she wasn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The King James Bible misrepresents the original Greek, which actually has Christ telling Mary, \u201cDon\u2019t cling to me,\u201d or, as the Joseph Smith Translation puts it, \u201cHold me not.\u201d And, in fact, the Greek verb implies that she was already clinging to him; in Greek, the Savior doesn\u2019t tell her not to hold on to him but to stop doing so.<\/span><\/p>\n

Filled with sheer, overwhelming happiness, Mary had thrown her arms around the Master in an exuberant embrace. But he needed to leave. That\u2019s all. Nothing mysterious, but something very wonderful nonetheless: \u201cWeeping may endure for a night,\u201d says the Psalmist (30:5), \u201cbut joy cometh in the morning.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cO death,\u201d wrote the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:55, \u201cwhere is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the glorious message of Easter: Death doesn\u2019t win. It doesn\u2019t have the final say.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes,\u201d testified John the Revelator, \u201cand there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away\u201d (Revelation 21:4).<\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 We at the Interpreter Foundation began the practice a few years ago of publishing personal essays or personal messages at Christmas and at Easter, from various authors. \u00a0 \u201cThe First Easter\u201d (S. Kent Brown) \u00a0 \u201cThe Crucifixion\u00a0as a Mockery, Witness,\u00a0and Warning of the Judgment\u201d (George L. Mitton) \u00a0 Here are the prior Easter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Gospel truly brings us joyful news<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    We at the Interpreter Foundation began the practice a few years ago of publishing personal essays or personal messages at Christmas and at\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/04\/the-gospel-truly-brings-us-joyful-news.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta 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