“Easter on Both Sides of the Veil,” Liahona, Mar. 2026, United States and Canada Section.
Easter on Both Sides of the Veil
In the Savior’s efforts to save His Father’s children, His Easter mission continues through His covenant people today.
When Jesus Christ was crucified in Jerusalem, “there was a darkness over all the earth” (Luke 23:44), “the earth did quake, and the rocks rent” (Matthew 27:51), and His disciples “mourned and wept” (Mark 16:10). Across the world in the Americas, tempests, earthquakes, fires, and whirlwinds marked the Savior’s Crucifixion, after which darkness cloaked the land and “there was not any light seen” (3 Nephi 8:22; see verses 19–23).
Elsewhere, a different scene unfolded. In the spirit world, “an innumerable company of the spirits of the just, who had been faithful in the testimony of Jesus while they lived in mortality,” gathered in anticipation. They had departed mortality “firm in the hope of a glorious resurrection” and were “filled with joy and gladness … because the day of their deliverance was at hand” (Doctrine and Covenants 138:12, 14–15).
Many prophets were gathered there, including Malachi, who had declared that the prophet Elijah would “plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to their fathers, foreshadowing the great work to be done in the temples of the Lord” (see verses 46–48).
Understanding Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation and knowing that Jesus Christ had conquered sin and death through His atoning sacrifice, the gathered faithful rejoiced as they waited for the Savior to appear and “declare their redemption from the bands of death” (verse 16).
They would receive perfected bodies united with their spirits, “never again to be divided, that they might receive a fulness of joy” (verse 17).
So, while Christ’s body lay in the tomb, His spirit appeared on the other side of the veil (see verse 27), ministered to those who loved Him, and declared “liberty to the captives who had been faithful” (verse 18; see also Isaiah 61:1).
No One Is Forgotten
The Savior had accomplished His atoning sacrifice, but His mission continued, as did His Father’s work to fulfill His covenant with His children.
While in the spirit world, the Savior “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” (Doctrine and Covenants 138:30).
This grand saving work preceded another great work that would begin on Easter Sunday, April 3, 1836. The Savior, Moses, Elias, and Elijah appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple.
On that occasion, the Savior declared that He had accepted the temple as His house and that blessings would be poured out upon the people as they served therein (see Doctrine and Covenants 110:7, 9–10).
Moses committed “the keys of the gathering of Israel” to Joseph Smith, and Elias “committed the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham” (verses 11–12)
While committing the keys of the sealing power to the Prophet Joseph, Elijah declared, “The time has fully come … to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers” (verses 14–15).
All of these keys, said President Russell M. Nelson (1924–2025), coupled with the keys of the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods given earlier, prepared and authorized “the Lord’s restored Church to fulfill its latter-day mission.”
With the restoration of priesthood keys, which make possible the glorious saving work performed in latter-day temples, the way is open for every person who ever lived on earth, or will live on earth, to join the fold of God and be saved in His kingdom.
Our Part in Easter
Understanding the saving work happening on both sides of the veil helps us see our role in the Savior’s work, including preparing the world for His Second Coming. As we celebrate Easter, we can receive Jesus Christ into our lives by more fully coming unto Him, loving Him, serving Him, and sharing His gospel. We celebrate that His power can deliver us from the captivity of death and sin.
Once we feel His redeeming love, we, like Lehi at the tree of life, will want to beckon to family and others to come and partake of the love of God with us (see 1 Nephi 8:15). We do this as we share His gospel, worship in the temple, and perform proxy ordinances for the dead.
Through these efforts, we join the great gathering of Saints helping others receive what Jesus Christ made possible that first Easter. Between His death and Resurrection, the Savior established His work in the spirit world so that all could be taught His gospel. At Easter, we celebrate a Savior who leaves no one behind—not in life, not in death.