President Russell M. Nelson released a new video about Easter on Palm Sunday, immediately after the end of 193rd Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The video is titled, “Forgiving others.”
In it, he calls Jesus Christ “the epitome of forgiveness.”
“On the cross, Jesus forgave his tormentors,” President Nelson said via his Twitter account. “This Easter season, think of someone whom you should forgive. I promise you that the Prince of Peace will bring you peace.”
He said forgiving others is difficult when they have “disappointed us, hurt us, cheated us or spread false rumors about us.
“However, not forgiving others is poison for us. Grudges weigh us down. Angry disagreements separate us. Animosity and hatred can divide families. And yet the Savior’s counsel is clear: If ye forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you.”
Forgiving others does not mean condoning sinful or criminal behavior or remaining in abusive situations, he said.
“But when we choose to forgive others, we allow the Lord to remove the poison from our souls. We permit him to soothe and soften our hearts, so we can see others, especially those who have wronged us, as children of God and as our brothers and sisters.”
President Nelson has released annual Easter messages on social media since he became the church president in 2018.
For the past three years, he has issued Easter-based invitations to focus on Christ, invite others to celebrate Christ and to follow Christ’s example by striving to end conflict in their lives.
2023
Latter-day Saints always celebrate the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday, but this year will be slightly different, the First Presidency announced in a recent letter.
The First Presidency canceled all meetings on Easter Sunday (April 9) except sacrament meeting — the central, one-hour worship service in which members renew the covenants they’ve made with Christ.
Easter 2022
Last year, President Nelson used one of his talks at the church’s early-April international general conference to encourage people to forgive and seek forgiveness. It was an invitation to follow Christ, whom he would call the “epitome of forgiveness” in his Easter social media post.
Easter 2021
While church meetings in 2021 were virtual, President Nelson invited people to make the week leading up to Easter a time of holiness focused on Christ.