“1 Corinthians 15:20–22,” Liahona, Dec. 2012, 56
Line upon Line
1 Corinthians 15:20–22
In these verses the Apostle Paul declares that Christ’s Resurrection means that all shall rise again.
He Lives, by Simon Dewey
20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
Now Is Christ Risen from the Dead
“No words in Christendom mean more to me than those spoken by the angel to the weeping Mary Magdalene and the other Mary as they approached the tomb to care for the body of their Lord: ‘Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen’ (Luke 24:5–6).
“With this pronouncement, those who have lived and died, those who now live and one day will die, and those yet to be born and yet to die had just been rescued.
“As the result of Christ’s victory over the grave, we shall all be resurrected. This is the redemption of the soul.”
President Thomas S. Monson, “He Is Not Here but Is Risen,” Liahona and Ensign, Apr. 2011, 4.
Firstfruits of Them That Slept
Firstfruits—the fruits, vegetables, and grains that ripen earliest in the harvest.
Under the law of Moses, the firstfruits were offered as a holy sacrifice to the Lord to show gratitude and devotion. Since the firstfruits are a sign that the harvest has begun and many more crops are yet to come, the Apostle Paul is saying that Jesus Christ was the first from among the dead (“them that slept”) to rise again and that many more will yet be resurrected.
As in Adam All Die
Because Adam and Eve fell, all humankind must endure physical death (see 2 Nephi 9:6; Moses 6:48).
In Christ Shall All Be Made Alive
“I wonder if we fully appreciate the enormous significance of our belief in a literal, universal resurrection. The assurance of immortality is fundamental to our faith. …
“In our eternal journey, the resurrection is the mighty milepost that signifies the end of mortality and the beginning of immortality. … We also know, from modern revelation, that without the reuniting of our spirits and our bodies in the resurrection we could not receive a ‘fulness of joy’ (D&C 93:33–34).”
Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Resurrection,” Liahona, July 2000, 17–18; Ensign, May 2000, 15.