Holy Week: The Tomb

Image of the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem

The Biblical record tells of what happened to the body of Christ after the Crucifixion. The most relevant details from that night come from Matthew 27.

57 When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathæa, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple:

58 He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.

59 And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,

60 And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.

61 And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.

62 Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,

63 Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.

64 Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.

65 Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can.

66 So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.

The disciples of Jesus sought to make the burial of Jesus as dignified as possible. Joseph of Arimathea donated his own tomb, newly dug, to hold the body. From John 19:39, we learn that Nicodemus brought myrrh and aloes for the preparation of Jesus's body. His body was hurriedly wrapped and laid to rest because the Sabbath was nigh. The full Jewish customs for burial gave way to their haste, as indicated by the fact that the women closest to him would later try to bring additional spices for anointing the body. By then, they were unable to enter the tomb because it was sealed. To break a Roman seal was against the law, the punishment for which was death. These women, in their grief, devotion, and courage, disregarded that threat.

The Gospels don't reveal where the spirit of Christ would've been in this moment, what he was doing, or who he was with. Peter spoke to these questions in 1 Peter 3:18-120 and 4:6, but not in the kind of detail that we now possess. For Latter-day Saints, these questions were answered more fully on the 4th of October, 1918. This was the date when President Joseph F. Smith revealed section 138 of the  Doctrine and Covenants for the first time. 

25 I marveled, for I understood that the Savior spent about three years in his ministry among the Jews and those of the house of Israel, endeavoring to teach them the everlasting gospel and call them unto repentance;

26 And yet, notwithstanding his mighty works, and miracles, and proclamation of the truth, in great power and authority, there were but few who hearkened to his voice, and rejoiced in his presence, and received salvation at his hands.

27 But his ministry among those who were dead was limited to the brief time intervening between the crucifixion and his resurrection;

28 And I wondered at the words of Peter—wherein he said that the Son of God preached unto the spirits in prison, who sometime were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah—and how it was possible for him to preach to those spirits and perform the necessary labor among them in so short a time.

29 And as I wondered, my eyes were opened, and my understanding quickened, and I perceived that the Lord went not in person among the wicked and the disobedient who had rejected the truth, to teach them;

30 But behold, from among the righteous, he organized his forces and appointed messengers, clothed with power and authority, and commissioned them to go forth and carry the light of the gospel to them that were in darkness, even to all the spirits of men; and thus was the gospel preached to the dead.

We didn't have the details of how Jesus Christ organized the spirits in Spirit Paradise and Spirit Prison to teach/be taught the gospel so their souls could be redeemed until section 138 was revealed. The whole mechanism of performing vicarious ordinances on behalf of the dead in temples relies on the work Jesus Christ did in the Spirit World in the brief space of time between his death and resurrection.

It's here that we learn that those who assist Jesus with this work among the dead are called "the noble and great ones." Those who are redeemed go on to redeem others, including our own family members who receive their vicarious ordinances in the temple. They are also among the noble and great ones.

This is what it means for Jesus to have conquered death. It's not just because he possessed to power to bring himself and others back from the dead. It's because he organized the ability to minister to the dead and to reclaim their souls from hell. They may have died without receiving the gospel of Jesus Christ, but that doesn't automatically damn their souls to hell. Those with the power to redeem the dead, granted by Jesus Christ, can give those spirits another chance to accept his gospel.

Why do Latter-day Saints have temples? What are they for? For redeeming the dead with vicarious ordinances we perform for those in our own families who have died. We do for them what they cannot do for themselves. And our ability to do that was put into place when Jesus was in the tomb. His body was there, but his spirit was not. And thanks to him, the world is forever changed because of it.

Of Course Not Everyone is Straight in Heaven!

One popular theory in the Church regarding homosexuality is that those who experience it will have those desires healed/cured/removed during the resurrection. This idea has been repeated on all levels of the Church, at every level of leadership. It's worth deconstructing for several reasons, not the least of which because of the harm it does to the LGBTQ+ community and the doctrinal inconsistencies with our own scriptural canon.

I'm bringing this up because I've spent the better part of today deconstructing this idea, as part of my project to revise the Topical. Because LGBTQ+ members, their families, and friends encounter this position so much, our community is remiss when we don't address it.

Let's look at the mental and theological framework surrounding the idea that we can "pray the gay away."

1. Homosexuality as an attraction is not a sin. It requires no repentance. 
2. Homosexuality is a deviation from "the Plan" of God. It must be resolved. 
3. Jesus Christ has the power to "fix" homosexuality.
4. Jesus Christ has the desire to "fix" homosexuality. 
5. He will express that desire and power through the resurrection--presumably because homosexuality is part of some physical dysfunction within the body that Christ needs to "heal."

Examining each one of these points in isolation, they each fall apart under closer scrutiny because the house of we're trying to build for our LGBTQ friends and family members cannot stand. So let's take them apart.

Homosexuality as an attraction is not a sin. It requires no repentance.  

The first point really should be more salient to people. If there is no sin in being attracted to the opposite sex, how can it possibly follow that acting on that desire is wrong? Especially in light of what Christ said in Matt. 5:27-28:

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:

But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Sexual transgressions do not take place when we do something wrong. They happen the moment we even have the desire. If we've reached a logical place where our leadership advocates that homosexual attraction is not a sin, it should follow that acting on it isn't either. The idea that a desire can be separated from the sin is inconsistent with what Christ taught at the Serman on the Mount.

If the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is prepared to teach that same-sex desire isn't sinful, it's because we're ready to accept that acting on it isn't sinful either.

Homosexuality is a deviation from "the Plan" of God?  

Second point: if homosexuality needs to be resolved by Christ as part of his plan, there should be evidence somewhere in the scriptures that he believes this. This is especially true for Latter-day Saints because we have an open scriptural canon. If anyone should have evidence of God's explicitly stated, scriptural condemnation of homosexuality, it should be us.

What we find instead is that our expanded scriptural canon doesn't ever address homosexuality. Not in the Book of Mormon. Not in the Doctrine and Covenants. Not the Pearl of Great Price. And it's not because addressing social and cultural issues directly is outside of their purview. In fact: here's a list of issues those scriptures did address/condemn directly, as a demonstration:

• Cannibalism
• Human sacrifice
• Slavery
• Sexism
• Overthrowing governments
• Unjust laws that hold people on unequal ground in society
• The Nephite monetary system of coinage
  

The closest thing we have, in terms of modern revelation that condemns homosexuality, is the Family Proclamation of 1995. And given that we haven't voted on that as a church, it isn't part of the scriptural canon. It's not scripture. It's inappropriate to call it scripture because it hasn't undergone the process to become scripture. And my personal feeling as to why it has never undergone that process is because it would never pass.

So where did the idea that the scriptures condemn homosexuality come from? From outside of our community in the fraught exercise of Biblical translation. And what's more, it wasn't presented as a scriptural interpretation for the first time until the production of the the Revised Standard Version of the Bible by Protestants in 1946. The idea that the Bible condemns homosexuality by name or with that specific intent is not ancient in origin.

In fact, the people who saw the introduction of that idea into Christianity are still living and actively dismantling the harm from that mistake today.

 

The unique message of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the world is we don't take our cues on scriptural interpretation from the rest of Christianity. I have no loyalty to this interpretation of scripture because it didn't originate in my community, doesn't exist in any of our scriptures, and is best understood through the lens of apostasy creeping into the Church from those with agendas to cause harm to our people for their own political gains.

Jesus Christ has the power and desire to fix Homosexuality?

These last three points all converge together, so let's just dive in. If Jesus Christ has the power and desire to fix homosexuality, there should also be no sign of any scriptural evidence that contradicts that assertion. Under no circumstances should we see God being as open armed to as many people as possible, complete with mission statements committing himself to being way more inclusive than we're prepared to be.

Note these verses in 2 Ne. 26:24-28:

He layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him.

Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying: Depart from me? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he saith: Come unto me all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey, without money and without price.

Hath he commanded any that they should depart out of the synagogues, or out of the houses of worship? Behold, I say unto you, Nay.

All men are privileged the one like unto the other, and none are forbidden. 

Then of course there's John 13:35:

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

And who could forget James 1:5, the scripture that we present to the world as the core, defining ideological pillar of our faith:

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

I could keep going, but suffice it to say: we could put forth into the world that God endorses us when we read these scriptures with an unspoken caveat that the LGBTQ+ community isn't included, asserting that they don't get to claim the same belonging and acceptance in the community as straight members do.

Or, in the more likely scenario, we can accept that some in our community have a reading comprehension problem with the world "all."

In conversations I've had with other Latter-day Saints on this subject who are possessive of their ability to withhold support from the LGBTQ+ community, I've noticed a certain fondness of appealing to the Law of Moses. I can't help but ask myself what that has to do with anything when the demands of the law were answered through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It's not as if God delivered the unmistakable message to Peter and the entire Christian world that "what God hath cleansed, that call not thou common." (see Acts 10:15)

 

Jesus will "fix" Queerness through the Resurrection?

Let's get to the main point of this thread. Is Jesus Christ going to fix same-sex attraction in the resurrection? Do we have a doctrinal ground to stand on when we assert this is going to happen?

The answer, as it turns out, is no. Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world. And even he doesn't get to use the Resurrection to fundamentally alter someone's identity or divine outcome. And let's dig into this idea here because there are two ways of looking at it:

• Homosexuality as a physical mortal flaw attached to the body, and 
• Homosexuality as an intrinsic part of someone's identity. You might say, someone with a queer soul.

Now, anyone who has ever bothered to listen to queer members of the Church would know that "queer body, straight soul" is not consistent with their experience. I've chosen to take those folks at their word because as the ones with the lived experience, they're going to be the ones with the rights to that revelation. But even if someone disagrees with the idea of queer souls being a thing, let's dig into scriptures to see what they say about eternal identity formation.

"That same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world." Alma 34:34

In context, this verse is talking about sin. Can Christ actively prevent us from the consequences of our actions viathe resurrection, as it relates to sin? Answer: No. But the language here, I think, reaches beyond just sin. It speaks to eternal identity formation in every context, including the one we're talking about.

Go with me also to Alma 40:23:

The soul shall be restored to the body, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost; but all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame.

And Alma 41:2:

I say unto thee, my son, that the plan of restoration is requisite with the justice of God; for it is requisite that all things should be restored to their proper order. Behold, it is requisite and just, according to the power and resurrection of Christ, that the soul of man should be restored to its body, and that every part of the body should be restored to itself.

Is it possible to read these verses and believe God gets to tamper with the fundamental parts of our identity, the sum total of who we were born as and what we decided to make of ourselves--whether as a consequence of biology or identity?

If we're reading these verses honestly, I think it's clear that it doesn't matter how you choose to interpret when and how homosexuality becomes a part of a person's lived experience. Whether it's a biological force or of someone's eternal identity, Jesus cannot and does not cancel out who we are in favor of making into who he wants us to be instead.

Read those verses in Alma 41 again. If God was in the business of  overhauling people's personalities as part of the resurrection, why are we using the word "restore" here?

The role of Christ in the resurrection and the judgment is going to be to perfecting whatever version of myself I hand over to him. He is going to work with whatever raw materials I gave him. Which only seems fair, seeing as that's what I've been doing with all the lived experiences he has given to me.

We don't get to completely redefine everything we know about Resurrection in order to erase queerness from the Kingdom of God. We certainly don't get to do that to perpetuate unacceptable attitudes and behaviors towards our LGBTQ friends, neighbors, and family members today. And if we insist on continuing in that line of thinking, we need to remember one thing: Jesus isn't going to magically fix that about us before we go into our final interview. He will restore that crusty attitude right back to us, where it belongs.

We each need to think about the person we want to be when we meet Jesus again. What do I want him to restore to me from my life here on earth? Now is the time I have to decide who I want to be. The last thing I want him to ask me in that day is "Why were you so comfortable with the suffering of others?"

Because I'll tell you what. I can't think of a single good answer to that question.

Testimony

Bearing testimony of our Savior is the privilege of my life and the calling of my generation. This blog would be of little or no use to anyone if it ever deviated too far from the miracles and majesty of Jesus Christ. Because of that, I want to deal directly with the topic of Christ now, and share the heart of his gospel message.

After Christ performed the powerful miracle of the Atonement and was crucified, we read in John 19: 30 that after he had finished everything he had set out to do in his mortality, "he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost." Leaving this world in perfect submission, He gave his life and his power, bore the burden of our sin and mortality... surrounded by the vilest of hellions and in the face of complete and total despair, Christ performed a perfect sacrifice by offering everything He had ever earned as a payment for our salvation and exaltation.

Why? Because He loves us with a perfect love. He loves all life, and believes fundamentally and fiercely that life should continue--that our lives should continue. He believes each and every one of us have purpose, meaning, and something of infinite worth to contribute to the kingdom of God. In short, He believes in the divinity that is within all of us, and because He has seen what that divinity can become, He doesn't want us to settle for anything less than the perfect joy of our Father in Heaven.


We read in Ether 12: 7 the following:

For it was by faith that Christ showed himself unto our fathers, after he had risen from the dead; and he showed not himself unto them until after they had faith in him; wherefore, it must needs be that some had faith in him, for he showed himself not unto the world. 

Akin to that though is this portion from 2 Nephi 2: 8:

...there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise.

These scriptures tell us that after the Resurrection, Christ no longer had to appear to anyone who did not have faith in Him. As Zion's builders, we have to understand this crucial information to rise to our fullest potential in these latter days.

If we want to perform our latter-day mission to build Zion and have Christ return and claim her unto Himself, we must be a body of people who believes completely and lovingly in His Resurrection. In the Church, it's easy to focus so much on the Atonement that we forget that it would have been incomplete without the Resurrection. But we must grow beyond this lack of understanding.

Think about it. If Christ had offered to cleanse our lives without ever taking up His life again, we'd still be damned. Death would still hold us captive, halting the plan between birth and rebirth. Our earth could never be exalted and heaven could never come to us. The dead might be redeemed, but they'd never be resurrected. If they were never resurrected, they could never inherit the kingdom and glory of the Father, becoming heirs of salvation with Christ. Zion would never truly come forth, would never fully put on her beautiful garments of priesthood power. (D&C 113: 7-8) We as latter-day servants would not be able to finish the work we were assigned--to build Zion--if it wasn't for the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The house of Israel must be redeemed, and we will bring the gospel to them through our testimonies of Jesus Christ as His ordained servants. Our faith in His Atonement and Resurrection will make it possible for us to regain His presence. In a world that seems to believe more and more fully each day that only seeing is believing, we must remember the power of faith--for this is the only way to appreciate the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

May we more fully become valiant saints of that testimony together, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.