Relief Society · Elders Quorum · 25 minutes
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf · Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles · Sunday Morning Session
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Mix and match to create one 25-minute interactive lesson. Swap any activity for an option below.
This class in one line
This class is about how our own personal 'encounter at the empty tomb', whatever form it takes, changes us and compels us to share our witness of the living Christ.
Skip rehearsing the full Easter narrative; class members know it. Move quickly to the two invitations (come and see / go and tell) and spend most of your time on personal witness and sharing.
Before Sunday
Sunday's lesson: What changed Mary at the tomb?
This Sunday we're discussing President Uchtdorf's Easter talk, 'Encounter at the Empty Tomb.' He points out that Mary and her companions didn't go to the tomb expecting a miracle, they went because of love, even in grief and uncertainty. President Uchtdorf says we must each have our own encounter with the empty tomb and then share that witness with others. Before Sunday, think about a moment when you felt, in some personal way, that Jesus Christ is not dead but living and active in your life.
Pick one opening
Think of a time when you kept showing up for the Savior, attending church, praying, serving, even when things were dark or your questions weren't answered. What kept you going? Take a moment, then share with the person next to you or with the class.
Think of a time when you kept showing up for the Savior, attending church, praying, serving, even when things were dark or your questions weren't answered. What kept you going? Take a moment, then share with the person next to you or with the class.
President Uchtdorf opens his talk by trying to imagine what Mary felt walking to the tomb that morning, the grief, the helplessness, the unanswered question of how the man who raised the dead could have died. Then he pauses and simply says, 'I can't.' They didn't come expecting a miracle. They came because of love. And that walk changed the world forever.
Teach this first
President Uchtdorf teaches that the message of the empty tomb is not just a historical fact, it is a living reality. Jesus Christ is not confined to the past or to scripture; He lives today, actively guiding and comforting those who seek Him. Each of us must come to know this for ourselves through our own spiritual experiences, and that knowledge, like it did for Mary, will transform us.
President Uchtdorf: 'The Savior has entrusted each of us personally with sacred spiritual experiences and knowledge. Because of those experiences, we can see for ourselves the meaning of the empty tomb: that Jesus Christ lives and is actively blessing all who seek Him.'
Ask the class
If time remains
The two invitations given at the empty tomb, 'come and see' and 'go and tell', are given to us as well. President Uchtdorf teaches that living the message of the risen Christ, through consistent and humble acts of service and discipleship, can witness of Him more powerfully than words alone.
Ask the class
Counsel together
Last 3–5 minutes
This week, spend five quiet minutes writing down, even just a few phrases, one experience you have had that witnesses to you that Jesus Christ is living. Consider sharing it with one person before next Sunday.
President Uchtdorf promises that as we encounter Christ and take upon ourselves His name, 'the Light of Christ will begin to bloom within us' and bring 'a mighty change in our hearts and a disposition to do good continually.'
Your witness: Share, in your own words, what your personal encounter with the living Christ has meant to you, not a polished story, just the honest difference it has made.