Do Mormons Celebrate Easter?

Do Mormons Celebrate Easter?

A good friend of mine asked me this question the other day.  It is a question that deserves a thorough answer.  Yes, Mormons celebrate Easter.  Not only do we celebrate Easter, but we believe that Easter, the day that Jesus Christ rose again after suffering for our sins and being crucified is the single most important event in history:


The atoning sacrifice of our Lord is the most important single thing that has ever occurred in the entire history of created things; it is the rock foundation upon which the gospel and all other thing rest.
Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine.





What Is Easter?

Easter Sunday is the day on which Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead, on the third day after His crucifixion.  On Easter Sunday, we are especially reminded of the Atonement of Christ.
We recognize that the events of the Atonement were motivated by Christ’s love for us and that Easter is a special time to remember Him.  “Christ’s suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane epitomizes the most magnificent of all the attributes of Christ, His perfect love.  Here we see that He truly loved all of us.”  Earl C. Tingey

How do Mormons Celebrate Easter?

A Mormon Easter Sunday worship service does not include pageantry.  The LDS Church holds General Conference twice a year—the first weekend on April and the first weekend in October.  As a result, some years Easter coincides with General Conference.  During a General Conference, latter-day saints hear (via broadcast) messages of hope, inspiration, and teaching from our church leaders, including our prophet.  I love it when Easter Sunday falls during General Conference because many of the church leaders dedicate their remarks to bear testimony and teaching of Easter and Christ’s atoning sacrifice.  These messages from church leaders who have dedicated their lives to church service are always especially powerful.

When Easter Sunday falls on a non-conference Sunday, we attend church in our normal wards at our normal time.  The speakers, music, and discussion will focus on Easter but there is not additional fanfare.  This is because the entirety of an LDS sacrament meeting is dedicated to gathering to partake of the sacrament to remind us of Christ’s Atonement.  Easter is no exception, although the significance of the day is a poignant reminder of Christ’s sacrifice.  We celebrate Christ’s resurrection through reverent and thoughtful worship.  Although the significance of the Easter day is an additional reminder of Christ’s Atonement, given that LDS worship is always centered on the Atonement, our Easter worship is consistent with our weekly Sabbath worship.



In addition to our worship, many Mormon families follow secular Easter traditions such as Easter egg hunts, Easter baskets, Easter dresses, and decorating Easter eggs, much like many secular Christmas traditions, these activities are not motivated by doctrine or worship.

Why Don’t Mormon Churches Have Crosses?  Does This Mean that Mormons Are Not Christians?

A noticeable difference between a Mormon chapel and other Christian churches is that Mormon chapels are not adorned with a cross.  This is because the LDS Church focuses more on the resurrection of Christ than on the crucifixion of Christ.  Just as other Christian religions, we believe that Christ took upon Himself the pains and sins of the world—including each of our sins—and we believe that He was crucified.

While in the world in general the cross has become symbolic of Christianity, we focus the symbol of our membership on the Risen Christ, frequently depicted with arms outstretched out to each of us.  This focus does not mean that we do not believe in the significance of the crucifixion.  Rather, we recognize significance of Christ’s Atonement is not limited to the fact that He died for our sins.  A crucifixion, alone, would not offer redemption.  Rather, the significant of Christ’s Atonement was that He both died and, triumphantly rose again.  We focus the symbols of our membership on an active reminder that He Lives.  This reminder on the active depiction of the Risen Christ reminds us of the reality that Christ lives and we are under a continuing and real obligation today to accept the benefits of His Atonment.

I love our focus on the Resurrected Christ, especially in depictions such as the large statute featured at Temple Square in SLC where Christ has His arms reached out toward us, inviting us to come to Him (pasted below):




These images of the Resurrected Christ remind us of the personal nature of the Atonement for each of us and His omnipresent invitation to come unto Him.



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