He Is Risen!

This is actually a hard post for me to admit, but over 10 years ago I was going to college and in one of my History classes the teacher found out that I am a Mormon.  She seemed fascinated that she had a Mormon student and questioned me whenever she could.  She would make a point in her lecture, then stop, look around the room and say, "Where's my Mormon student?" before asking me a question.
One day she asked me a question that I knew the answer to, but she answered her own question before letting me respond and in a different way that I would have. So I was shocked by being put on the spot and the answer that she gave threw me off that I never got to give my answer and it still haunts me today thinking about my missed opportunity.  The question she asked was, "Why don't Mormons use the cross in their worship?".  I took poise to answer her right before she went into her own answer that some missionaries had shared with her.  Apparently this young man told her that it's like idolizing how Christ died, like if your mom was shot and killed you wouldn't have a picture of her and a gun.  I was so taken back by this answer, and she didn't give me the opportunity to contradict her, that I sat there as the lesson progressed not saying anything. I still feel like I lost the chance to not only change her thought, but now everyone in the classroom thinks this is the reason.  Well I may be over 10 years late, but I think Easter is a good time to set the record straight.

When Christ died for us that was just a piece of his wonderful gift to us.  He lived his life as the perfect example, he walked on water, he healed the sick and raised the dead!  He bled from every pore at the Garden of Gethsemane, each drop of blood representing our sins.  And then three days after he died he rose from the tomb, He lives again!  We worship the Living Christ, He is our Savior because he lives!  His dying was a part of the big picture and because of that we focus on ALL of Him...Life-Death-Resurrection.

If I could go back in time, this is what I would change my answer to.  I would have stopped the class just so I could clarify what we believe and the real reason we don't have the cross.  The cross represents His death, but He lives and that is why we don't use it. I understand why religions use this to symbolize Jesus Christ, this is my explanation as to why we don't, not because we don't worship Jesus, but because we embrace everything about Him.  He lives!