'Greater love': Apostle says resurrection is literal and universal, calls for Easter emphasis

SALT LAKE CITY — The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is "the most glorious event in history" and should be matched by emphasis on the celebration of Easter, a Latter-day Saint apostle said Sunday in a new video issued on social media.

"Redemption through Jesus Christ is the central message of the prophets of all ages. The books of the New Testament teach that our Savior's suffering and his bloodshed atone for our sins, and that his resurrection assures that all who have ever lived on this earth will also be resurrected," said President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The video was posted on Instagram, YouTube, X and Facebook.

In his four-and-a-half-minute video message, President Oaks said Christ's Resurrection was literal and universal.

Christ's "resurrection assures that all who have ever lived on this earth will also be resurrected," he said. And, "For Latter-day Saints, the resurrection means that all who have ever lived will be resurrected."

Latter-day Saint leaders have been encouraging a deeper emphasis on Easter for several years. President Oaks said that Christmas and Easter are the two largest public celebrations of Jesus Christ and his ministry, but that Christmas is increasingly commercialized.

Sunday's message dropped two months before Easter, which falls on April 20 this year.

"Let us prepare for an Easter celebration of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, culminating in his resurrection, the most glorious event in history," President Oaks said.

Additionally, the church announced Sunday that its 2025 Easter theme is "Greater Love," a phrase from John 15:13: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

The church is inviting all Christians to share their beliefs of Jesus Christ and the blessings of his Resurrection using the #GreaterLove hashtag.

President Oaks signaled this emphasis on Easter in a social media post on Jan. 2, when he invited people to spend the following three months looking forward to Easter, which he called "the most glorious of all messages to mankind."

Apostles will issue more messages about Easter and the church will host concerts and other Easter celebrations leading up to the holiday, according to a news release. On Easter Sunday, a special episode of "Music and the Spoken Word" will focus on the theme of "Greater Love."

The Church of Jesus Christ alters its worship services twice a year. The church observes Easter with a special worship schedule shared only with Christmas — a one-hour sacrament meeting focused especially on Jesus Christ.

The church also said it will:

• Publish a Holy Week study guide on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
• Issue Easter music and video playlists on the Church's YouTube, Strive to Be and Gospel Stream channels.

The church issued a a Bible-focused Holy Week study guide last year for the first time to support the celebration of a Christ-centered Easter.

Other church leaders have been emphasizing Easter, too.

Church President Russell M. Nelson called Christ the "epitome of forgiveness" in a 2022 Easter social media post and issued an invitation to the church's general conference that spring to end a personal conflict before Easter.

"Could there be a more fitting act of gratitude to Jesus Christ for his Atonement? If forgiveness presently seems impossible, plead for power through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ to help you," he said. "As you do so, I promise personal peace and a burst of spiritual momentum."

Other examples include:

• "I observe a growing effort among Latter-day Saints toward a more Christ-centered Easter. This includes a greater and more thoughtful recognition of Palm Sunday and Good Friday as practiced by some of our Christian cousins. We might also adopt appropriate Christ-centered Easter traditions found in the cultures and practices of countries worldwide." — Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in an April 2023 general conference talk
• The first Easter Sunday "is the day that changed everything. On that day, my life changed. Your life changed. The destiny of all God's children changed. On that blessed day, the Savior of mankind, who had taken upon himself the chains of sin and death that held us captive, burst those chains and set us free." — Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve on Easter 2015
• "Today we celebrate the gift of victory over every fall we have ever experienced, every sorrow we have ever known, every discouragement we have ever had, every fear we have ever faced, to say nothing of our resurrection from death and forgiveness for our sins. That victory is available to us because of events that transpired on a weekend like this more than two millennia ago in Jerusalem." — President Jeffrey R. Holland, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, on Easter 2015
• "Today is Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week, marking the Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, his suffering in Gethsemane and death on the cross just days later, and his glorious Resurrection on Easter Sunday. Let us resolve never to forget what Christ endured to redeem us. And let us never lose the overwhelming joy we will feel once again on Easter as we contemplate his victory over the grave and the gift of universal resurrection." — Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said in 2023
• "The sacred events between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday are the story of hosanna and hallelujah. Hosanna is our plea for God to save us. Hallelujah expresses our praise to the Lord for the hope of salvation and exaltation. In hosanna and hallelujah we recognize the living Jesus Christ as the heart of Easter and latter-day restoration." — Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said in April 2020

In February 2020, President Nelson asked church members to invite their friends to Easter worship services.

In 2021, when meetings were virtual, President Nelson invited people to a new spiritual quest to focus on Christ during the week leading up to Easter.

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