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| Mary Magdalene speaks with Christ after His Resurrection. |
In a court of law, how many witnesses does it take to corroborate a claim? God's law states that "in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall all my words be established" (see Deuteronomy 19:15; 2 Cor 13:1). He often gives more witnesses than two or three, however. In the case for Jesus Christ, there are thousands of witnesses that confirm that 1) He lives, 2) He has a physical body, and that 3) He visits and speaks with mankind.
1) He lives: The New Testament confirms that though crucified, pronounced dead by Pilate, and laid in a tomb, the resurrected Christ visited Mary, his 11 apostles, 2 men on the road to Emmaus, over 500 people at one time, Stephen, Saul, and Ananias. He visited and taught His closest associates for 40 days. The Book of Mormon testifies of His visit to over 2500 men, women, and children after His resurrection. In the Doctrine and Covenants and The Pearl of Great Price (two volumes of modern scripture), we have the account of His appearances and instruction to Joseph Smith, Jr., Sidney Rigdon, and Oliver Cowdery. The Doctrine and Covenants further confirms that in our modern era, Jesus Christ continues to visit and teach individuals who qualify themselves (see D&C 67:10). Many witnesses, including modern-day apostles continue to testify of the Living Christ and His continued visitations and teaching.
2) Most of the witnesses listed above were invited to both see and feel the nailprints in Christ's hands and feet and the wound in his side. They testify of the reality of His physical, resurrected body. Their testimonies corroborate each other's. As an added witness, Jesus Christ ate fish and honeycomb with his apostles to prove to them that He was not a spirit but that He had a physical body.
3) Paul and other prophets teach that God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow (Hebrews 13:37). If Christ appeared to men and women in days of yesteryear, then will He not continue to visit His righteous servants today and in the future? I testify that He does and that He will continue to do so. But, you don't have to take my word for it. Here are His words: Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am (D&C 93:1).
To summarize my case for the reality of Jesus Christ, I use the words of Peter: "For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty" (2 Peter 1:16).
