A Psalm for the Resurrection
O Lord, God of our life and our rising, we lift our voices as one people and remember Thy power to restore all things. Thou who gatherest bones from the dust and breatheth life into what was lost, gather us also, that our souls and bodies may stand whole before Thee.
In our weakness we look to Thy strength; in our mortality we look to Thy promise; in our wandering we look to Thy covenant that none of us shall be forgotten.
Teach us to trust the God who opens graves, who remembers every limb and joint, who fashions us again in perfect frame, that we may walk in Thy light and praise Thee with the breath Thou hast given us.
Amen.
"Yea, this bringeth about the restoration of those things of which has been spoken by the mouths of the prophets.
"The soul shall be restored to the body, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost; but all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame."
The resurrection is the moment when God restores us—spirit and body—into wholeness again. Alma teaches that nothing is lost, nothing is forgotten, and nothing is beyond the reach of Christ’s redeeming power. We learn who we truly are when we understand what God intends to restore.
I. “The soul shall be restored to the body”
The Soul — What God Restores
Heading scriptures for this section
"And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
"So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.
"And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.
"Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
"So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
"¶ Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
"Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
"And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,
🗝 "And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord."
Ezekiel’s vision shows us what it means for the soul to be restored to the body. In the valley of dry bones, the Lord reveals that He can bring life back to what appears hopeless, scattered, or beyond repair. As the bones come together, as sinews and flesh return, and as breath enters them again, we see a living symbol of resurrection. God opens graves, raises His people, and places His Spirit within them so they may live. This vision teaches us that resurrection is not only possible but certain, because the Lord Himself performs it. We learn that our souls will not remain separated from our bodies forever; God will gather what has been broken, restore what has been lost, and breathe life into us again. Through this prophecy we understand that resurrection is the work of a God who remembers us, who reclaims us, and who has the power to make us whole.
"And the resurrection from the dead is the redemption of the soul.
"And the redemption of the soul is through him that quickeneth all things, in whose bosom it is decreed that the poor and the meek of the earth shall inherit it."
The scriptures teach that the soul is the union of spirit and body (D&C 88:15). In the resurrection, God restores what He created in the beginning.
Why the Soul is Restored
Scriptures taken from the Topical Guide
▪︎ God breathed life into us; “man became a
living soul” (Gen. 2:7).
▪︎ The worth of souls is great in His sight
(D&C 18:10).
▪︎ None of us can keep our own soul alive
(Ps. 22:29).
▪︎ Only Christ can restore what mortality
breaks.
Principle
The soul is eternal, accountable, and designed for God. Resurrection reunites what God intended to be one and heals what mortality has fractured.
Application
▪︎ We offer our whole souls to Him
(Omni 1:26).
▪︎ We let His word enlarge our souls
(Alma 32:28).
▪︎ We anchor our souls in Christ (Heb. 6:19).
▪︎ We purify our souls through obedience
(1 Pet. 1:22).
▪︎ We care for the life of our souls as we
prepare to stand before Him (D&C 101:37).
II. “The body shall be restored… every limb
and joint”
The Body — What God Refuses to Lose
"O how great the plan of our God! For on the other hand, the paradise of God must deliver up the spirits of the righteous, and the grave deliver up the body of the righteous; and the spirit and the body is restored to itself again, and all men become incorruptible, and immortal, and they are living souls, having a perfect knowledge like unto us in the flesh, save it be that our knowledge shall be perfect."
The body is not an afterthought. It is divine in origin, patterned after God’s own image (Gen. 9:6; Ether 3:16). Resurrection restores the body because God created it with purpose.
Why the Sanctity of Body is Restored
Scriptures taken from the Topical Guide
▪︎ We were created in God’s image (Gen. 9:6).
▪︎ We were formed after the body of His spirit
(Ether 3:16).
▪︎ In our bodies we shall see God (2 Ne. 9:4).
▪︎ Not even the smallest part is forgotten
(Alma 41:2).
"And he shall come into the world to redeem his people; and he shall take upon him the transgressions of those who believe on his name; and these are they that shall have eternal life, and salvation cometh to none else.
"Therefore the wicked remain as though there had been no redemption made, except it be the loosing of the bands of death; for behold, the day cometh that all shall rise from the dead and stand before God, and be judged according to their works.
"Now, there is a death which is called a temporal death; and the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised from this temporal death.
"The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time; and we shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as we know now, and have a bright recollection of all our guilt.
"Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but every thing shall be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body, and shall be brought and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal God, to be judged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil.
🗝 "Now, behold, I have spoken unto you concerning the death of the mortal body, and also concerning the resurrection of the mortal body. I say unto you that this mortal body is raised to an immortal body, that is from death, even from the first death unto life, that they can die no more; their spirits uniting with their bodies, never to be divided; thus the whole becoming spiritual and immortal, that they can no more see corruption."
Principle
Further witness to Sanctity of Body
The body is a temple (1 Cor. 3:16). The spirit and body together are the soul (D&C 88:15). Resurrection restores identity, wholeness, and permanence.
Application
▪︎ We present our bodies as living sacrifices
(Rom. 12:1).
▪︎ We possess our bodies in sanctification
(1 Thes. 4:4).
▪︎ We cleanse the temple of our lives
(Mosiah 2:37).
▪︎ We seek renewal through holiness
(D&C 84:33).
▪︎ We live in a way that welcomes the reunion
of spirit and body (Moro. 10:34).
III. “Even a hair of the head shall not be lost”
"But there shall not an hair of your head perish."
"I say unto thee, my son, that the plan of restoration is requisite with the justice of God; for it is requisite that all things should be restored to their proper order. Behold, it is requisite and just, according to the power and resurrection of Christ, that the soul of man should be restored to its body, and that every part of the body should be restored to itself."
"And not one hair, neither mote, shall be lost, for it is the workmanship of mine hand."
Nothing Is Beyond His Reach
Christ teaches that “not a hair of your head shall perish” (Luke 21:18). Alma echoes this promise: every part of us will be restored (Alma 41:2). The Lord Himself declares that in the resurrection, “not one hair shall be lost” (D&C 29:25).
This is God’s way of telling us:
We are fully known. We are fully remembered. We are fully restored.
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IV. “All things shall be restored to their
proper and perfect frame”
Perfection — What God Is Making of Us
Heading scripture for this section
"Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself."
Resurrection is not merely restoration; it is perfect restoration. Christ transforms our mortal bodies into glorified, incorruptible bodies.
Why Perfectly Perfect Perfection is Part of Resurrection
Scriptures taken from the Topical Guide
▪︎ God’s work is perfect (Deut. 32:4).
▪︎ His way is perfect (Ps. 18:30).
▪︎ Zion reflects the perfection of beauty
(Ps. 50:2).
▪︎ Christ Himself was perfected (Heb. 5:9).
Principle
Perfection is divine unity, divine likeness, and divine completion. Resurrection is the moment when God’s standard becomes our reality.
▪︎ “Be ye therefore perfect.” — Matt. 5:48
▪︎ “Made perfect in one.” — John 17:23
▪︎ “Reunited again in its perfect form.”
▪︎ “Just men made perfect.” — Heb. 12:23
Application
▪︎ We press forward with a perfect brightness
of hope (2 Ne. 31:20).
▪︎ We let patience have her perfect work
(James 1:4).
▪︎ We perfect holiness in the fear of God
(2 Cor. 7:1).
▪︎ We put on charity, the bond of perfectness
(Col. 3:14).
▪︎ We rely on His grace to be made perfect
(Moro. 10:32).
V. What the Resurrection Means for Us
When we ask, “What is the resurrection?” Alma answers:
It is the moment when God restores us—spirit and body—into our proper and perfect frame.
It is the moment when nothing is lost.
It is the moment when Christ’s work in us is complete.
The resurrection teaches us who we are:
▪︎ Souls of infinite worth.
▪︎ Bodies of divine design.
▪︎ Beings destined for perfection through
Christ.
And it teaches us how to live now:
▪︎ With consecration.
▪︎ With holiness.
▪︎ With hope.
▪︎ With charity.
▪︎ With confidence in the God who restores all
things.
A Psalm of Our Rising
O Lord, God of our redemption and our dawn, we close this study with gratitude for the promise that Thou wilt restore our souls and bodies in perfect frame.
We thank Thee that graves are not our end, that death is not our master, and that through Thy Son we shall stand again in light.
Our hearts praise Thee for remembering every part of us, for gathering what has been scattered, for healing what has been wounded, and for breathing life into what has fallen.
Let hope rise in us as surely as Christ rose from the tomb; let gratitude steady our steps as we wait upon the day when we shall see Thee in our bodies and know Thee with perfect knowledge.
Teach us to walk in holiness, to live in charity, and to trust the God who restores all things.
And when our journey is finished, bring us into Thy presence with joy, that we may bless Thy name forever, Thou who art our resurrection and our life.
And now we go forward with hearts made steady, trusting the God who will raise us, restore us, and receive us in perfect light.
Amen.
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