Easter

Easter

The Joyous Message of Easter

When a loved one dies, it is natural for us to feel “the sting of death,” which can include grief, sorrow, or pain (1 Corinthians 15:56). However, one of the glorious messages of Easter is that the Savior was resurrected and overcame death for all Heavenly Father’s children. He will “wipe away all tears from [our] eyes” (Revelation 21:4).

This lesson can help students feel the joy made possible by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Possible Learning Activities

Sorrow at the death of a loved one

As some of your students may have experienced the death of a loved one, seek ways to teach this lesson with sensitivity and compassion. For example, ensure you do not minimize students’ experiences with loss and death.

Consider beginning class by displaying an image of the Savior’s crucifixion and burial. Ask the following question and list students’ responses on the board.

• What feelings and emotions do you notice in these images?

You could then display an image of someone in our day grieving the death of a loved one. Then ask the following question:

• Why do you think it’s natural for us to experience these feelings and emotions when someone we love dies?

Ponder the following questions:

• When have you or someone you know experienced these feelings or emotions because of the death of a loved one?

• How might the death of a loved one be even more difficult if you did not have knowledge of Jesus Christ?

Write Easter on the board. Underneath this word, write the italicized phrase in the statement below.

Today we will study the Easter message, which President Dallin H. Oaks called “the most glorious of all messages to mankind” (Facebook, Jan. 2, 2025, facebook.com/dallinh.oaks).

As you study today, look for reasons why Easter is the most glorious message to mankind, especially when we experience the death of a loved one or any other type of pain, sorrow, or suffering. Seek revelation from the Holy Ghost as you look for these reasons. He can testify to you of the joy of this glorious message.

“Your sorrow shall be turned into joy”

Shortly before the Savior’s suffering in Gethsemane, He gathered with His Apostles for the Last Supper. During this final gathering, He spoke to them about events that would occur in a few days.

Read John 16:16–19, looking for what Jesus taught His disciples.

• Why do you think His disciples were confused?

Read John 16:20–22, looking for what Jesus taught to help His disciples understand His words.

You may need to explain that the phrase woman in travail (verse 21) refers to a woman in childbirth.

• Why did Jesus say His disciples will “weep and lament” and “be sorrowful” (John 16:20)?

• Why did He say their “heart[s] shall rejoice” (John 16:22)?

  Help students understand that Jesus referred to sorrowing because of His death and rejoicing because of His Resurrection.

• What do you learn from these verses about Jesus Christ and His power?

Invite students to mark phrases in their scriptures that teach the following truth: Because of His Resurrection, Jesus Christ can turn our sorrow into joy.

If needed, you could explain that resurrection refers to the reuniting of the spirit with the body in an immortal state. This is a free gift to all of Heavenly Father’s children through the mercy and power of Jesus Christ (see Topics and Questions, “Resurrection,” Gospel Library).

Then write the incomplete phrase below on the board.

Write the following incomplete phrase in your study journal:

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ brings me joy because …

Throughout the remainder of the lesson, look for reasons why Jesus’s Resurrection can bring you joy, even when loved ones die. List what you find underneath the phrase.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ

Visualizing the account of the Savior’s Resurrection can help students have a personal experience with the scriptures. (For more information on the scripture study skill of visualizing the scriptures, see “Visualizing the Scriptures” in the Scripture Study Skills Teacher Manual.) The following activity is one way you can help students practice this skill.

Consider playing sacred music while students complete this activity individually.

On the Sunday morning following the Crucifixion, Mary Magdalene, one of Jesus’s faithful disciples, discovered that the tomb where Jesus’s body had been laid to rest was empty.

Read the following passages, trying to visualize this first Easter morning. Try to imagine what Mary and other disciples might have felt when they experienced what they did.

John 20:11–18 (Mary Magdalene’s experience)

John 20:19–20 (The disciples’ experience)

Before students share their answers to the following questions, consider giving them time to either ponder or write their answers in their study journals.

• How do you think you would have felt if you were Mary or one of the disciples at these moments?

• How can visualizing these accounts of the Savior’s Resurrection help us today when we feel sorrow?

Consider showing a video depiction of this event, such as “The Good News” (2:18), available on Gospel Library. Invite students to look for ways they could finish the incomplete phrase in their study journals.

The joyous message of Easter

To help students identify additional ways the Savior and His Resurrection can help us feel joy, consider inviting them to do one of the following activities:

Activity 1: Read the following statement from Elder S. Mark Palmer of the Seventy. Look for ways Jesus Christ can help us feel joy because of His Resurrection. List what you find underneath the incomplete phrase in your journal.

The glorious message of Easter morning is central to all Christianity. Jesus Christ has risen from the dead, and because of this, we too will live again after we die. This knowledge gives meaning and purpose to our lives. If we go forward in faith, we will be forever changed, as were the Apostles of old. We, like them, will be able to endure any hardship with faith in Jesus Christ. This faith also gives us hope for a time when our “sorrow shall be turned into joy” [John 16:20]. (“Our Sorrow Shall Be Turned into Joy,” Liahona, May 2021, 88 [time code 2:40 to 3:21])

Activity 2: Read the lyrics in a favorite Easter hymn about the Savior, such as “I Know that My Redeemer Lives” (Hymns, no. 136) or “He is Risen!” (Hymns, no. 199). Look for one or two phrases that help you feel joy because of the Savior’s Resurrection. List what you find underneath the incomplete phrase in your journal.

Invite students to share ways they completed the phrase in their journal. Consider completing the phrase on the board with students’ responses. You could invite students to share why they chose to complete the phrase using the words they did.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ brings me joy

• How has knowing that Jesus Christ was resurrected helped you or your family feel joy?

• How has this knowledge affected (or how could it affect) the way you celebrate Easter?

It may be necessary to explain that although our feelings of sorrow can be turned into joy in this life, we will not receive a fulness of joy until after we and our loved ones are resurrected (see Doctrine and Covenants 93:33–34).

Look at the ways you completed the phrase “The Resurrection of Jesus Christ brings me joy because …”. Circle one or two of these ways that are especially meaningful to you.

Invite willing students to share what they circled and why they circled it.

If time is available, you could sing one of the students’ favorite hymns about the Savior and His Resurrection.

Consider closing the lesson by sharing your own testimony of the Savior and how He brings you joy because of His Resurrection.

Additional Resources

Why is it important to celebrate Easter?

President Dallin H. Oaks taught:

Let us prepare for an Easter celebration of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, culminating in His Resurrection—the most glorious event in history. And this causes us to contemplate our own future resurrection. No matter what others believe or do, we should celebrate the Resurrection of our living Savior by studying His teachings and helping establish Easter traditions in our society as a whole, especially within our own families. We challenge you to do so. (“He Is Risen! | A Special 2025 Easter Season Message from the First Presidency” (video), YouTube [time code 2:56 to 3:38])

Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles testified:

Easter allows us to honor both the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the literal and joyous Resurrection of Him. Our hearts are heavy as we imagine the Savior’s suffering in the garden and upon Calvary, but our hearts rejoice as we envision the empty tomb and the heavenly decree “He is risen!” [Matthew 28:6]. (“And We Talk of Christ,” Liahona, May 2025, 58 [time code 10:48 to 11:09])

Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles testified:

This is Easter in Jesus Christ: He answers the longings of our hearts and the questions of our souls [Psalm 107:9]. He wipes away our tears [Isaiah 25:8], except our tears of joy. (“Eternity’s Great Gifts: Jesus Christ’s Atonement, Resurrection, Restoration,” Liahona, May 2025, 97)

Supplemental Learning Activities

Alternative beginning

To begin the lesson, you could write the word Easter on the board. Ask students what they think about when they hear this word.

Then share the following statement from Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:

We have been challenged to “celebrate the Resurrection of our living Savior by studying His teachings and helping to establish Easter traditions in our society as a whole, especially within our own families” [Dallin H. Oaks, “He Is Risen! A Special 2025 Easter Season Message from the First Presidency” (video), Gospel Library]. In short, we have been encouraged to move to a higher and holier Easter.

I love continuing revelation concerning Easter and am gratified for your many efforts to make Easter a sacred and holy occasion. (“And We Talk of Christ,” Liahona, May 2025, 57–58 [time code 7:15 to 7:49])

Then ask the following questions:

• Why do you think we have been invited to celebrate Easter in a higher and holier way?

• What have you or your family done “to make Easter a sacred and holy occasion”? What difference has it made?

You could then invite students to look for what they learn today that helps us recognize the spiritual significance of Easter.

Easter videos

There are several effective Easter videos you may choose to show your students to help them recognize the joy we can feel because of the Savior’s Resurrection. At the end of the lesson, you could show any of the videos from the Church’s Easter video collection, such as the following:

“Greater Love | Easter 2025” (1:29)

“Because of Him: An Easter Message” (2:40)

“Because He Lives” (2:28)

As students watch the video(s), you could invite them to look for messages that help them feel joy because of Jesus’s Resurrection.

Holy Week study guide

The Church has produced several tools to help individuals draw closer to Jesus Christ during the Easter season, including the Holy Week Study Guide. You could print out the study guide activities and place them in several locations throughout the classroom. Each student could rotate to each activity and make a goal to follow through with one or more of the invitations. You could ask any of the reflection questions during the next class session.

Depiction of sorrowing and joy because of Jesus’s death and Resurrection

To help students visualize the sorrow Jesus’s disciples may have experienced at His death, you could show the video “Finding Faith in Christ” (30:12) from time code 20:10 to 22:53, available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org. You could show this video in place of the images at the beginning of the lesson.

To help students visualize the joy that His disciples experienced at His Resurrection, you could show “Finding Faith in Christ” (30:12) from time code 24:04 to 24:50. You could show this clip after students read the account in John 20:11–18.