Meeting the Savior

It's nearing Christmas. Each day as we get a little closer to this special and sacred holiday, I can't help but think about Christ. What He did for us, his purpose in our lives and the Plan of Salvation. The more I ponder about Him, the more I want to be like Him and the closer I feel to Him.

As you know, I love to read books about Near Death Experiences. I own so many and refer to them a lot. What I love about these experiences is that they confirm eternal truths that I have always known to be true (three degrees of glory, a Heavenly Mother, children who pass away before the age of accountability etc.). Often times what people experience as "a new truth" that they had not known on the earth, I have known based on the doctrine and gospel principals taught in my LDS faith. It's exciting to see what I already know to be true confirmed through the testimony of someone learning it for the first time while briefly passing through the veil into the spirit world.

I love the messages that are always shared as loved ones from the other side and many times the Savior Himself, deliver special messages to the individual who has passed through the veil for a brief time. I believe each person who remembers their NDE is allowed to so that they may share what they learned with others. The spirit that I feel each time I read these messages and experiences is overwhelming. I tear up, get goose bumps, and I feel a warm rush from head to toe. I enjoy the confirmations of the Spirit and feeling the love of Christ especially during this time of year.

Though I love to read these experiences to feel the Spirit and strengthen my testimony , my favorite part without question is reading the description of being in the Savior's presence. I'd like to share a couple of excerpts from a couple of my favorite books, about what it's like to meet the Savior.


"As I got closer to the light I heard a voice - but again as in the beautiful meadow, not with my ears alone. It was as if every thing that I was, every particle of my being, was absorbing what I heard. I not only heard the voice, but I felt it as He spoke to me, saying, 'Through me you have Eternal Life.' .... Suddenly I knew these things! I mean I really knew them! Through Christ I would have eternal life, and only through Him would I have it. Jesus Christ was my Savior, my Lord, my Redeemer! He was the Way of my Salvation, the Perfector of my soul. He was the very eternal Son of the Most High God. He had shed His sinless blood in the Garden and again on the cross for me. And because of that He had power to say to me, emphatically and with divine confidence, "Through me you have eternal life.".... In awe I drew nearer, almost riding upon the rays that spread out from the halos that surrounded this light, until I saw in the light's core the outline of a man - a glorious being apparently made of light that seemed more golden than in color than the radiance that shown all about him. And though I thought of Him as light, He certainly had all the physical aspects and substance of a man. I saw His hands, His arms, His body, His neck, His head - I even noted His facial characteristics though I am at a loss to describe them now. Yet withall He was a being of power and glorious light so incredible that I could not really comprehend Him. But I do remember His eyes! They were so clear and bright - yet there was color to them - a beautiful blue color outlined in deeper blue that made me think of the color of the distant ocean on a clear day. But it wasn't so much the color of His eyes as it was the power in them, that awed me. Those fathomless eyes penetrated my very soul. They knew me beyond anything I was capable of knowing about myself - and to my absolute and dumbfounded amazement, still He loved me. In fact, the love I had felt from the moment of seeing the light had grown steadily stronger, and now it somehow reached out and literally began to encircle me and draw me closer. I knew that I had been with Him before, for I absolutely recognized Him. I knew that I had dwelt, with my same exact identity in an eternal life or existence prior to my mortal life, and in that existence I had come to know this glorious being thoroughly and even intimately. That is both why and how I knew that the voice I heard and felt, as well as the being I was now gazing upon, was my eternal Creator, the Lord Jesus Christ." - Elane Durham: I Stand All Amazed

"Being so concerned with what I had left behind, I hadn't even thought to glance upward. My single goal was my body lying beneath me, but before I could reach it, I was stopped by a hand encircling my arm.

Startled, I looked down at the hand. It was a man's hand, large and strong, but the most striking thing about it was the puncture wound centered in the back. Before I even raised my eyes to look at the person it belonged to, I knew that I was staring at the hand of Jesus Christ.

Filled with a sudden sense of awe, I looked up to see His blue eyes fixed on me, an expression of delight mixed with intense love emanating from their depths....

Although my heart quickened in the presence of my Savior, I tore my gaze away from Him, an unreasoning sense of panic seizing my heart. If Christ had come to get me personally, then my number must surely be up. I still didn't want to go. I couldn't. My children needed me.

I tried to pull away, struggling to break Christ's hold on my arm. anxious to get back to my body before the love and peace I felt from Him overwhelmed me and changed my mind. Because I had not been nurtured as a child, I couldn't bear to leave my children motherless.

Christ put His other hand around my waist to restrain me. With all the love in the world poured into a few simple words, He said, 'There are people who want to see you.'

'Then you'll have to bring them here, because I'm not going," I said.

I didn't dare glance up at His face again for fear I wouldn't be able to stick to my resolve.

After a moment of silence, a hearty laugh rang out, startling me from my single-minded purpose. Christ was laughing! His laughter was like blending light with love, creating a sound of musical delight. His laughter was also filled with a sense of infinite reassurance that instantly calmed my fears and stopped me from trying to reach my wounded mortal shell.

'I promise I'll bring you back,' Christ said, with remnants of His wonderful laughter threaded through His words.

I believed Him.

When I looked up at Him again, I was surrounded by love so complete that it was like nothing I'd ever felt anywhere on earth. Of course I would go with Him. I would follow Him anywhere." Suzanne Freeman - Through the Window of Life

"Upon completing my life's review, which took only seconds, I felt sickened and was left extremely shaken. It was then that I noticed something going on in the distant city that caught my attention. An extremely bright light had entered the city and was gradually moving down one of the streets. This moving light was so brilliant that it outshone the light of the city and was blinding beyond our sun or any other light source that I am familiar with. It was so much brighter than anything or anyone else around it. It was then that I realized the source of this moving light was a man in it's center. He was walking with a crowd of people all around Him. The light came from Him, from His body and His clothing. It was like He and His clothing were made of brilliant light. Immediately around His person there was a golden glow with beams of sparkling light pouring from His body and reaching considerable distance. As I looked closer at this sparkling golden light, it appeared like fragmented gold dust was actually a part of the beams.

The man was incredibly beautiful, and then in an instant I knew this was Jesus Christ making a visit to the city....His eyes were a piercing blue. But, like most things in the spirit world, it wasn't His appearance that was so overpowering ; it was the feelings of love and complete acceptance transmitted to me as I gazed upon Him. The feelings were glorious beyond description and filled my whole being so that it felt as if it would burst.

As Jesus walked down the streets, people gathered around Him in a huge crowd of hundreds and yet there was no pushing as they reverently and courteously came as close to the savior as they could. Those in positions closest to Him touched His clothes or His person and some embraced Him.

While observing the people, I knew that they were feeling His great love for them as I was feeling it. Those who could not get close enough to touch Jesus could feel His love through the golden beams of light emanating from Him. I thought to myself that these beams of light must spread throughout the universe and to us on earth as well, so that all people everywhere could feel this tremendous love if they wanted to. It was as if love was emanating from Him, permeating time and space, even in His physical absence." Sarah Menet - There is No Death

These descriptions are so vivid that I can feel the Lord's warmth, light and love when I read them. We have lived with Christ before. I believe that when reading these accounts it's as if our Spirits are familiar with these descriptions. They burn true and feel so familiar. The Holy Ghost then burns from within confirming that the Savior is real and He does love us endlessly.

I love my Savior Jesus Christ and while pondering on what I can give Him this Christmas season some humbling thoughts cam to mind. Stay tuned for part 2 of this post when I'll share what I am giving Christ this season and share some very spiritually uplifting thoughts about our Savior, Jesus Christ.

I know He lives and loves as all more than we can imagine. I know that we can live with Him again if we choose to. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ amen.