My Personal Witness of Jesus Christ

My Witness of Jesus Christ

 I testify that Jesus Christ lives. I know for myself that He overcame physical death and that He now has a glorified body of flesh and bone that is enlivened by His Spirit. His body is long and lean with deep muscular lines. He has wide shoulders, a tapered back, and the hands of a workman who is experienced in the creation of all things. His hair is whiter than the purest snow, and His face is ruddy, flushed with life, and at times, He is even clean-shaven. His countenance is brighter than the sun at noonday, and the presence of His body is like a refiner’s fire and a fuller’s soap.

When the Resurrected Lord enters the room, you are unable to remain on your feet.  Instead, you fall to your knees because His presence is so overwhelming. Your whole body feels like it is on fire, your organs feel like they are melting away, and your conscience, if repentant, is purged of guilt. You are immediately drawn to His eyes when you look at His face. His eyes are like the hottest part of a flame of fire: blue. 
Peering into His eyes, you know that He knows your every thought, deed, and intention. However, the comfort of His smile lets you know that He is simply searching to know how He can best succor you in that moment- not to make you feel ashamed. In short, His face will give you beauty for your ashes, and comfort for your fear.

When the Lord teaches you, He has the ability to teach you a concept in such a way that the principle is immediately woven into the fibers of your being, and after He finishes you are able to apply the new principle perfectly-- He is that good.

Love is the Savior’s chief characteristic. His expression of love to us is a complete expression of love. He expresses His love to us spiritually, mentally, whole-heartedly, and physically. I think that most people are surprised to observe that the Savior is very physical when He expresses love. When He receives you, He gathers you up into a very intimate embrace. The embrace is shoulder-to-shoulder, knee-to-knee, and naval-to-naval. Included in the embrace is a holy kiss which completely reconciles you to your Beloved Lord (1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12). Make no mistake, this is not the embrace of two regular friends in the marketplace, rather this holy embrace is the climax of Atonement with God, and through it, you are received into the rest of the Lord as a Son (or Daughter), and Heir to the Eternal Throne.

When you meet with the Lord, the topic of conversation is either about you or other people around you, but it is rarely about Him. He will want to know about your family (wife, kids, siblings, etc.), your level of faithfulness to your covenants, and the roles that have been extended to you in the kingdom. The Savior loves people. He loves to hear about their progress, talents, joys, and achievements. He is also concerned about the things that trouble you. I know for myself that He lives to hear my soul’s complaint.

I have learned that we draw closer to Jesus Christ by doing two things. First, we must keep our covenants with Him, and continue to make new covenants. Our covenants show us how to practice “pure religion and undefiled before God” (James 1:27), which is to share the gospel, perfect the saints, redeem the dead, care for the poor and needy, and increase the agency of men and women. Second, we must sustain the Lord’s Prophets and Apostles as well as our local priesthood leaders.

I declare that Jesus of Nazareth is everything that He testified to be. He was resurrected three days after He died on the cross, He is the Anointed Son of our Father in Heaven, and He restored Priesthood authority as well as Priesthood Ordinances through Joseph Smith so that the power of godliness could be manifest to us in the Latter-days. I fully believe that the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which began pre-mortally and culminated with His ascension to Heaven, opened the gates of hell to free us from prison, it opened the tomb to free us from death, and it opened Heaven so that we could enter in and receive glory from God. This is a truth that the Holy Ghost has woven into the fibers of my spirit; it is also a truth that my ears have heard, my hands have touched, and my eyes have seen. My witness is both spiritual and physical in nature. I am as familiar with the image of God as the Apostles Peter, James, or John. I testify that Jesus Christ can take our sins away, purge our guilt, heal our afflictions, and give us prosperity in place of our failures. I have learned that He guides every noble goal and favors every worthy aim. I stand with prophets, saints, kings, and peasants of old in exhorting all men to seek after this Jesus, My Lord and My God!

Ryan Scott Coles