Jesus Christ,
Our Savior and Redeemer

By President Ezra Taft Benson

(Adapted from an article in the June 1990 Ensign, pages 3–6.)

He shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things (Mosiah 3:8).

The first principle of our religion is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Only He can provide the hope and strength we need to rise above our human failings.

Jesus Christ was and is the Lord God Omnipotent. He is the Only Begotten Son of God in the flesh. He was the all-powerful creator of the heavens and the earth. He is the source of light and life to all things. His word is the law by which the universe is governed.

Even though He was God’s Son, Jesus was subjected to all the difficulties of mortality, such as “temptations, … hunger, thirst, and fatigue” (Mosiah 3:7).

He suffered the pains of all men in Gethsemane. “For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;

“Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit” (D&C 19:16, 18).

He submitted Himself to humiliation and insults from His enemies without complaint or retaliation.

Finally, He endured flogging and the brutal shame of the cross. Only then did He voluntarily submit to death.

“No man taketh [my life] from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again” (John 10:18). Because He overcame death, all mankind will be resurrected.

I humbly testify that He is the same loving, compassionate Lord today as when He walked the dusty roads of Palestine. He is close to His servants on this earth. He cares about and loves each of us. He lives today as our Lord, our Master, our Savior, our Redeemer, and our God.

God bless us all to accept Him, worship Him, and follow Him.

Illustrated by Harry Anderson