Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Welcome to the weekly Deep Dive podcast on the Add On Education Network. The podcast where we explore the weekly Come follow me discussions and try to add a little insight and unique perspective.
[00:00:13] I am your host, Jason Lloyd, and if you haven't noticed by the lack of music and the drop in quality, I am not here with my friend and the show's producer, Nate Pifer.
[00:00:24] He is sick. He's been battling Covid here for the past week and any thoughts or prayers that you can offer in his direction would be much appreciated. He's been in and out of the hospital and his family's been struggling with it for a little bit now. Hopefully they're on the men's and we have him back in the show soon. But first and foremost, we got to make sure he's healthy and doing well.
[00:00:48] This episode is going to be a little bit different from some of the other episodes that we've had. Not just because Nate's not here and not just because the quality is a little bit not as great, but because the Come follow me discussion this week is on Easter.
[00:01:01] Usually in Come Follow Me they give us a few sections and Doctrine and Covenants to look over to study and digest and discuss with each other and talk about what we learn. But this episode is a little bit different in that it is about Easter. It is a special Easter message, and there is not a specific section or specific thing that we have to read. And this grants me a little bit more flexibility, freedom to kind of look at this and just express what I feel and what I think and my perspectives on Easter.
[00:01:33] And for me, it's hard to think about Easter and not associate it with Passover.
[00:01:42] Passover is the oldest religious tradition that is observed here in the world today. It dates back to closely 4,000 years, and it got its start back in with Israel. Just to give you a little bit of history, God had made some covenants with Abraham that he would raise a nation up out of his seed and that their numbers would be as numerous of the sands of the sea, if you will. Right. And he made some specific covenants to Abraham about his seed.
[00:02:18] Abraham had a son named Isaac, and then Isaac had a son named Jacob. Jacob's name was changed to Israel. Jacob had 12 sons and they were growing in wealth and prosperity and starting to, you know, they have their own clan. But as that clan grows and starts to become established, it's almost the birth of a new nation, if you will, the birth of Israel. And Israel is named after Jacob. All those that follow his descendants are called by that name.
[00:02:51] But as you remember, one of Jacob's sons was sold into Egypt by his other brothers. It ended up being a good thing for them. As famine hit the land and they needed food, they went back to Egypt, and Joseph was able to sell food to the family and provide for them and bring them in from where they were so that they were able to survive the famine.
[00:03:14] But in exchange for that, you fast forward a couple hundred years and Israel really starts to lose its identity as a nation. It's almost kind of dying.
[00:03:24] They stop worshiping God the way that they had. They stopped following the traditions of their fathers. And they are slaves in this land and they are losing their identity and they are physically in bondage. And God raises up a prophet by the name of Moses to take Israel, bring them out of the land of Egypt and re establish them and the land of Canaan to fulfill the promise that he had made to Abraham.
[00:03:50] This little nation, if you will, was right on the verge of dying. And you can almost view this as a death that the famine had killed them. They had died, they had sold Joseph into slavery, they had gone into Egypt and they had lost their identity as a people.
[00:04:07] Passover is going to be a resurrection of this people, a founding of this covenant people, Israel, and bringing them back from the dead, if you will. So almost look at this Egypt coming down into the spirit world, this death, and then being brought back up into the land of Canaan, and these promises restored almost as a resurrection and restoration.
[00:04:30] And Passover is the one event upon which this hinges, this key point in time. So Moses had asked Pharaoh for permission to bring Israel out to go worship God according to how they believed. And Pharaoh had rejected his request and told him no. What followed was a series of plagues and miracles and discussions that went back and forth. And then finally Passover. The Lord instructed his people to prepare a special feast.
[00:05:02] And this is the day before Passover. And Passover gets its name because in the night, the angel of death went through and slew all the firstborn in the land.
[00:05:14] But those who followed God, those who were called Israel, who listened to the prophet, who listened to God's voice, the angel of death passed over their houses and didn't slay them. So Passover was saving them from a physical death. But because this was also the straw that broke the camel's back, or that tipped Pharaoh past his tipping point, this was also the culminating event that led to Pharaoh letting the people go and the people escaping out of Egypt and going to establish themselves in a new land.
[00:05:51] So they were liberated from death and the captives were set free. A physical death and a spiritual death.
[00:06:00] So before this night happened, before the sun set, so before Passover, before the angel of death passed over them, God commanded Israel to take a lamb, an unblemished, so in other words, a perfect lamb, and to kill this lamb, sacrifice this lamb and take the blood of the lamb and use it to stain the posts of their door, to mark it, to stain the wood, saying, this is is the house where we follow the prophet, where we followed what the Lord asked us to do, and we are redeemed or purchased through the blood of this lamb. This blood of this lamb will pay the price so that our children won't die, so we won't die. We will be saved from death by the death of this lamb.
[00:06:43] And that is not all. They are supposed to prepare the meat of the lamb, and they are supposed to be very careful. When they did that, they didn't break a single bone of the lamb's body.
[00:06:55] Also, they were supposed to serve the lamb with bitter herbs.
[00:07:01] And because this happened and because they observed this, again, as we said, they were liberated. They were saved from physical death. They were saved from spiritual death. This idea, the sense of captivity. Now Fast forward almost 2,000 years, and they are still observing this holiday. Christ was born. And it is not a coincidence that the first people to see him and to welcome him into the world were shepherds, because he was the Lamb of God that was coming to offer his life up as a sacrifice to save those who would follow his voice, to follow his prophets from physical death and from spiritual death.
[00:07:51] And when he had grown up and he was being sacrificed, it was during this Passover tradition that his death took place.
[00:08:07] John lets us know that when he talks about it, he says that the Jews were worried because they said that the time of preparation was drawing close.
[00:08:17] And it wasn't just normal preparation, but John says, for tomorrow was a high day. And so not just a normal Sabbath. A lot of times we think, okay, so the Sabbath was drawing close, and they didn't want to do work on the Sabbath. They didn't want to have these bodies there on the cross and have to take them off and feel right about killing someone on a holy day. They. It is not just that it was a regular holy day or a regular Sabbath, but John says it was a high day. It was a high Sabbath.
[00:08:48] There were seven high Sabbaths, and Passover was one of them. And this corresponds to Passover, as we've read about the meal and Getting things ready. This was the time of year when they were preparing for Passover.
[00:09:03] So as they were getting nervous about this and knowing that the sun was going to set soon and they still had to kill a lamb and still had to partake of this meal and still had to stain the posts of their door with blood, it is fascinating to me that they did not realize that right before their eyes on the cross, they had already slain the Lamb and they had already stained the posts of the cross with his blood.
[00:09:38] For all those who would take up their cross and follow him.
[00:09:42] Christ was scourged before he was sacrificed. Scourged means that he was whipped with bones and fragments in the whip all across his back that tore the flesh. And then he was placed on his back on the cross where he bled. And his blood flowed into the wood and stained it, not just from the scourging, but the crown of thorns that he wore on his head that was pressed onto his head. If you have ever had a head wound or a child that has cut their head, you know they bleed.
[00:10:17] They bleed profusely.
[00:10:20] And if that wasn't enough, they nailed his hands and feet to the cross, piercing them and driving his blood into the wood.
[00:10:34] What happened when they thought that he was thirsty upon the cross, and they looked up and said that he thirsted.
[00:10:42] And so they dipped a sponge in bitterness and gall and gave him that to drink.
[00:10:50] A lamb served with bitter herbs.
[00:10:55] And as the hour was drawing near and they were preparing this lamb and they needed to go home and get everything done and ready before the nightfall so that the angel of Death would pass over their home so they could observe this holiday.
[00:11:11] They went out and they broke the bones of the men, they broke their legs of the men that were crucified with the Savior to speed up their death.
[00:11:23] But when they got to Jesus, he was already dead. And they didn't break his bones, fulfilling the same prophecy that not a single bone would be broken, that you were supposed to prepare the lamb and not break its bones. It was supposed to be a pure and perfect lamb. You're supposed to serve it with bitter herbs, and you're supposed to take the blood and stain the posts of wood at your door.
[00:11:50] They had just prepared the Passover meal on the very day at the very hour it was supposed to be prepared.
[00:12:00] And the purpose of the meal?
[00:12:03] To save them from death and hell. Physical and spiritual bondage.
[00:12:10] Christ died and three days later overcame death, resurrecting, giving us Easter.
[00:12:20] To me, it is just powerful.
[00:12:23] I love looking at it. And Understanding, to me, Passover is all the context for Easter and gives us that bright hope. To me it is important that we have a testimony that Christ did indeed overcome death and that was his purpose.
[00:12:43] So when he rises, we have several witnesses to this.
[00:12:48] First, when Mary goes to the empty tomb and later finds the Lord and he asks her, who do you seek? And she realizes that this is the Savior and he goes and appears to the apostles and he appears to others. And we have all of these witnesses in the New Testament that Christ rose.
[00:13:07] And then we have the account of the Book of Mormon. When Jesus Christ came down to the Nephite nation and he appeared to all of those gathered at Bountiful and they went and worked all that night so that they would be ready the next day and gathered as big as a crowd as they could. And they were able to touch his hands and put their, their hands into his side and feel his wounds. And he gave them bread and had them break it and participate in the sacrament. And he taught them for several days. And they were a witness testifying that Christ had overcome death, that he had beaten the grave and provided a way to save us from captivity.
[00:13:49] And the Scriptures tell us by the mouth of two or three witnesses, all truth shall be established. And not only do we have the record of the Book of Mormon and the record of the Bible, but we have a modern day record.
[00:14:00] And it is no coincidence that when Christ suddenly appeared at his temple with Elijah was the same day as Jews the world over were preparing their Passover meal.
[00:14:18] And something interesting about Passover is that the Jews prepare a place because they know that Elijah will return and they leave a place for him in case he comes. And the New Testament tells us that there were many widows in Israel who were starving, but unto none of them did Elijah visit, but unto this Canaanite woman, this outsider, and the whole house of Israel preparing the Passover feast in the early days of the restoration of the Gospel. And into none of them did he appear but unto the Gentile nation and to Joseph Smith and the Kirtland Temple, bringing the Gospel back to the Gentiles and teaching them that the last might be first, because the first will be last and the last will be first. First Christ came to the Jews and He taught them. And when a Gentile woman begged for him to teach, and he said that the dogs don't get food, and she says, well, yeah, but at least they get the crumbs that fall on the floor. And he blesses her for her faith and he teaches her and at first it was just for the house of Israel. But later the preaching is opened up and the Gentiles receive the gospel until the Gentiles are converted. And then we have this whole worldwide Christ Christianity that just grows and explodes.
[00:15:36] But in the end, the Lord tells us, the first shall be last and the last shall be first. And unto the Gentiles, to none of the house of Israel that were sitting there, that were starving for food in an apostate state, in a famine, did the Lord appear. But with Elijah comes to the Gentiles and brings them the gospel, that they might take it to the house of Israel afterwards.
[00:15:59] And it all happened on Passover.
[00:16:02] And not only do we have the witnesses, Joseph Smith said, and this is the testimony last of all, which we bear, that he lives. And he shares that testimony so profoundly in Doctrine and Covenants, Section 76.
[00:16:14] But then 12 special witnesses are called, and special witnesses to what? Special witnesses to the resurrection of the Lord.
[00:16:23] And not only do we have 12 special witnesses in the form of apostles that witness to the resurrection of Christ, but by my count, we've had 112 apostles in this dispensation who have been special witnesses to the resurrection of Christ.
[00:16:41] These testimonies are amazing.
[00:16:46] But it's not just that. It's all things testify of Christ.
[00:16:51] When we look at the times and the seasons and we see the fall coming on and the trees die and the winter come in and dearth and death fill the land, you can't grow food in the snow, at least in many parts of the earth. Winter is not a time for growing. It's a time where you have saved up for when the earth is dead. But what happens to the earth? It is renewed, it is restored, it is brought back to life. And just as. As this cycle happens on an annual basis, but we see it play out again on a daily basis.
[00:17:23] Each day the sun rises and brings birth to the day and bathes it in light. And at the end, darkness falls and the day dies and a new day is born.
[00:17:34] And this cycle of death and resurrection plays out before our eyes in time. And we see it even through weeks, as weeks repeat themselves and months and these cycles. And this idea that there is a renewing, a restoration that we will be born again, that we will live again, all points to Christ, that he would die, rise from the grave and save us from death and hell.
[00:18:04] And to see a religious holiday that is observed over 4,000 years, or close to 4,000 years of history today, still preserving the details of the day that he would die the hour that he would die, the means by which he would die, even down to the insult of feeding him bitterness on the cross, testifying that he was the lamb of God that was coming to save us all.
[00:18:42] And the very stars in heaven testify to Christ as we saw this new star that came when he was born. And this one was kind of interesting to me as we're adding witnesses to the resurrection of Christ, as we're building up into this crescendo of Easter and what Easter means, I find it fascinating, and maybe for a minute you'll just permit me to paint here with broad strokes on this one. When I look at Greek mythology and Greeks understanding of the stars and the heavens, and where did the Greeks get it from? According to astrophysicists and modern scientists today, the Greeks gained their understanding from the Egyptians, who gained it from the Chaldeans, the Babylonians. And if you go and you look at the pearl of great price, you see a picture of Abraham sitting on the Egyptian throne, teaching them about astronomy. And Abraham was a Chaldean, a Babylonian who taught the Egyptians astronomy according to the pearl of great price, which matches what our modern astronomers tell us about where this Greek understanding of the heavens and the signs and the constellations come from. And in Greek mythology, you have a character named Chiron. And Chiron was half bull and half man.
[00:20:02] And it's fascinating to me that he's half bull and half man, because bull was a symbol of God. And that might seem strange to you, but hear me out.
[00:20:14] What happened when Moses went up into the mountain and the people pressed Aaron and asked them to build an idol. It wasn't just an idol to worship anyone. It was an idol for them to worship Jehovah, the Lord.
[00:20:30] And they made it into a bowl because that was a symbol of God.
[00:20:37] So the bowl of Jacob was Jehovah. And in Hebrew, if you read the Old Testament in Hebrew oftentimes where it says the God of Jacob, if you were to translate that and go back to the Hebrew instead of God, it says the bowl of Jacob.
[00:20:55] So although idolatry wasn't correct, and although they were mistaken to be making this idol, this idea that the bull represented God. And then you go back to this Chiron, this half bull, half man, half God, half man.
[00:21:12] And he was a healer, and he was a teacher, and he was immortal.
[00:21:22] Now let me take you to another character in Greek mythology. If you look at Prometheus, right, Prometheus bound.
[00:21:31] And what was the problem with Prometheus? What happened with him? Why was he bound? Do you guys know who Prometheus was? So Prometheus stole knowledge from the gods, right? He stole knowledge from the gods and gave it to men. And because he stole knowledge and gave it to the men, he was bound and had to suffer a terrible fate, right?
[00:21:57] The bird would come down and eat out his liver. And then every day he'd have to repeat it over and over and over again, this bad fate, because he was doomed, because he had stolen knowledge from the gods and given it to man.
[00:22:13] Now, I want you to think for a minute about this from a perspective of Adam. Adam, the first man who took from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, as Satan said that if you partake of that fruit, you might become as God. It's the tree of knowledge. And taking the knowledge of the gods and giving it to mankind. Then because of that, Adam fell and he was cast off and he was cursed. And Christ comes to atone for that.
[00:22:41] So Chiron ends up getting pierced by a poison spear and he could live forever. But what he does is he gives up his mortality to save Prometheus, to pay the price of the sin of Prometheus, he gives up his mortality and he dies. And because he did that, the gods took Chiron and brought him into.
[00:23:08] Into heaven and made him a God.
[00:23:11] And I know it's not 100% match here, and it's not perfect, but this idea, this story. If you look at the constellations, there's one constellation called Centaurus.
[00:23:23] And Centaurus, if you look at what that means, words, Taurus is bull, you know, toro bowl. And then cent or Kent means pierced.
[00:23:34] So Kent Taros is the bowl that was pierced for he was wounded for our transgressions, he was pierced for our iniquities.
[00:23:45] And in the constellation Centaurus, right between his legs, underneath the belly of the bull, is a cross.
[00:23:55] So the bull in the heavens is lifted up on the cross, half bull, half man. And the cool thing about it is this constellation is situated in such a way that in the northern hemisphere, every spring, the head of the bowl rises up into the sky so you can see the top of the constellation. And then every fall falls down below and dies.
[00:24:24] And then every spring comes back. And in the southern hemisphere, your seasons are opposite so that the same thing is happening where the head of the bowl is disappearing during the wintertime and comes back during the springtime.
[00:24:44] All things testify of Christ and his divine role. That he would be crucified to save man, that he rose again, that he lives, and that he saves us from death and hell.
[00:25:00] And while there might be witnesses everywhere in nature that we look in stories and mythology in our day to day, or though that we have three witnesses in the New Testament, in the Book of Mormon, in the modern day prophets and the teachings, that we have perhaps none of those witnesses, in fact, surely none of those witnesses are as important as the individual personal witness that we can receive, that God invites us.
[00:25:33] Ask and you shall receive. Knock and it shall be opened unto you.
[00:25:39] Come near to me and I will come near to you.
[00:25:45] As we seek him out, we can receive that witness that indeed he is not dead, that he did rise again after three days.
[00:26:00] And not only is he not dead, but he said, come, follow me.
[00:26:08] Not just come, follow me in the idea that we walk where he walked or talk where he talked, but come follow me through death and hell and I will resurrect you and redeem you from the dead.
[00:26:26] And that's the testimony and the witness that I have and that I've received.
[00:26:32] Thank you for joining me for the special Easter message from the weekly deep dive.
[00:26:38] Next week we will be talking about Doctrine and covenants, sections 30, I believe, through 36. It will talk about some of the missionaries that were called in this dispensation in their early missions to the Lamanites and a few other things. Hopefully we get Nate Peifer coming back, we can have a little bit better discussion and we will get our music playing again.
[00:26:58] But thank you again. I hope you have a wonderful week. I hope you enjoy conference coming up and I hope that you have a very special Easter and that as you look at Easter, you reflect on the things that Christ did to pay the price that we might be saved from both death and hell.
[00:27:15] Until next time. See ya.
