Gerrit W. Gong · Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
1As this Easter Sabbath general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints draws to a close, we, like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, long for our Savior to abide with us, for ’tis Eastertide.
2The Gospel of Luke tells us, “Two [disciples] went that same day”—Easter day—“to a village called Emmaus, … from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs” (about seven miles or 12 kilometers). Emmaus means “hot springs,” a place of healing.
3Imagine we are walking to Emmaus. A stranger joins us. He sees we are sad. We tell Him, “Jesus of Nazareth, … a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,” has been crucified. And “to day is the third day since these things were done.”
4As we walk, the stranger opens the scriptures and expounds all things concerning Jesus Christ. Our hearts burn within us. As we draw close to the village, we ask our new companion, “Abide with us: for it is toward evening.”
5Our friend eats with us. He takes bread, blesses it, breaks, and gives to us. Our eyes are opened. We know Him—the resurrected Jesus Christ. Though we did not recognize Him before, He has been walking with us all along.
6The Gospel of Mark testifies Jesus appeared three times on that Easter Day but was not recognized at first.
7“He appeared first to Mary Magdalene,” who initially supposed Jesus to be the gardener.
8Next, Jesus appeared “unto two of them, as they walked.” These two disciples on the road to Emmaus ultimately knew Him in the “breaking of bread.”
9Third, Jesus “appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat.” “Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith[,] … Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.” To show He was not a spirit, Jesus ate “a piece of … broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.”
10Jesus Christ walking with His disciples on the road to Emmaus reveals a covenant pattern. Sometimes on our dusty roads to Emmaus, we feel alone, misunderstood, burdened, unseen. But as He “talk[s] with us by the way,” His words in scripture can cause our hearts to burn. As He breaks and blesses the sacramental bread, His ordinances and covenants can help us know Him. As we walk by faith with Him, abiding in Him, and He in us, we come to know He lives. His Easter promises are real.
11Each Sabbath we invite all to come worship Jesus Christ in the community of His restored Church. In the sacramental ordinance, we covenant that we are willing to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ, always remember Him, and keep His commandments. He promises we can always have His Spirit to be with us. As we witness and remember Jesus each week, we abide and walk with Him.
12Just as the disciples on the road to Emmaus ask Jesus to abide with them, Jesus Christ promises to abide with us. In the Gospel of John, chapters 14 and 15, Jesus teaches His disciples and us how He can remain, belong, walk with us. His faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death.
13When we have a question, problem, or joy, Jesus Christ says, “I am your answer—your way, your truth, your life.”
14To abide with us, in John 14 Jesus promises us the First and Second Comforters. The First Comforter Jesus speaks of is the Holy Ghost.
15“And I will pray [unto] the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.”
16“The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father [shall] send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance.”
17The Second Comforter Jesus speaks of is Himself. Jesus promises, “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”
18For “he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”
19Indeed, “if a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”
20Abide and abode. In John 15, Jesus Christ also teaches He is the vine and God our Father is the husbandman. A branch “cannot bear fruit of itself.” We without the Lord can do nothing. But “he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit,” and “your fruit should remain.” Jesus says, “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain [or abide] in you, and that your joy might be full.”
21We began this general conference with solemn assembly. Solemn assemblies mark significant Church milestones or events, such as the sustaining of a new Church President. Whether a solemn assembly occurs earlier or later, by sacred pattern and precedent, we symbolically demonstrate united commitment and support.
22Solemn assembly dates to ancient Israel, including at King Solomon’s dedication of the temple. In this dispensation a historic solemn assembly was held on March 27, 1836, after the Kirtland Temple was completed.
23At this conference, in solemn assembly, we witnessed and sustained President Dallin H. Oaks as the Lord’s prophet and our prophet, with President Henry B. Eyring and President D. Todd Christofferson as our First Presidency, and Elder Gérald Caussé and Elder Clark G. Gilbert as members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
24As we “seek … first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness,” we follow Jesus Christ and the Lord’s prophet willingly, obediently, joyfully. We are richly blessed as we do so.
25We are grateful President Dallin H. Oaks will be our concluding speaker. When I was a new freshman at Brigham Young University and President Oaks was the new president of Brigham Young University, we spoke together on a panel for parents and prospective students. As I waited nervously for the program to begin, President Oaks leaned over to assure me. With a warm smile, he said he was wearing a red tie because he was celebrating his 40th birthday and was feeling old. To me, as a new freshman, 40 did seem pretty old!
26President Oaks then told me a story. I still remember the principle. Opening a large chest filled with coins, a grandfather invited his grandchildren to collect all the coins they could. Excited, the grandchildren gathered handfuls of the more plentiful but less valuable coins, such as pennies, nickels, and dimes. However, one granddaughter carefully chose only a few coins. Her grandfather asked why. She replied, “Grandpa, all my coins are gold pieces.”
27A man loved and tutored by the Lord, President Dallin H. Oaks has exemplified “good, better, best” all his life. He chooses the best spiritual part. He teaches by precept and example how to follow our Savior.
28Jesus Christ’s Atonement changes everything. It brings literal resurrection. It can enable our return to the presence of God and the eternal uniting of families. We can heal, reconcile, abide in covenant belonging. With Nephi of old, our souls delight in the covenants the Lord has made, “in his grace, and in his justice, and power, and mercy in the great and eternal plan of deliverance from death.”
29This is my Easter witness:
30“Jesus Christ … died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven.”
31“I know … my Redeemer lives,” and “while he lives, I’ll sing[,] … my Prophet, Priest, and King.”
32As we walk our dusty roads to Emmaus, He will be with us. If you see someone walking alone and sad, will you please walk with them? No one sits alone, and no one should walk their road to Emmaus alone or unseen. Let us see and walk together in His love so He can abide with and in us, and we in Him, at this Eastertide and each day, I pray in the sacred and holy name of Jesus Christ, amen.