Ascension Day

. . . Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. (Acts 1:11)

Benjamin West, The Ascension

The fortieth day after Easter commemorates the ascension into heaven of the Risen Lord.  The evangelist Luke provides us with two different accounts: a brief summary at the end of his gospel (Luke 24:50–53) and a slight longer narrative at the end of the Forty Day Ministry in his history of the apostolic church that includes Jesus' final instructions to his apostles, a description of Jesus' ascension, and the angelic promise of his return (Acts 1:6–11).

Harry Anderson, The Ascension

 In many Christian traditions, Ascension Day is celebrated as a minor but important holiday, either with services on the day itself or on the following Sunday.  As with most liturgical holidays (see here how some Christian churches celebrate the day), the Latter-day Saint community has never established any formal observances for the ascension. Nevertheless, reading not only the biblical accounts of Jesus' ascension together with scriptures describing his return, including passages from Restoration scripture, is a powerful way for us to conclude the Easter season not only by reaffirming that Christ lives but also by pointing our minds forward to the Second Coming.

Episodes for Personal Study

• The Ascension (Luke 24:50–53; [Mark 16:19]; Acts 1:6–11)
• The Second Coming (Zechariah 14:4, 9; Mark 13:24–27 [par Matthew 24:27–31; Luke 17:22–37]; 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17; 2 Thessalonians 1:7; 2 Peter 3:10; Revelation 1:7; D&C 45:36–59; D&C 88:89–98)

Suggested Listening: Bach, Ascension Oratorio (German, Lobet Gott in seinen Reichen, “Praise God in His Kingdoms”)

Ideas for Families

• Read Acts 1:6–11 and talk about how the disciples might have felt when Jesus left them.  Why is it important to know that after the resurrection Jesus ascended into heaven with his body?
• Read one of the prophecies of the Second Coming, such 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17, D&C 45:39–59, or D&C 88:89–98.
• Read 2 Peter 3:10, that describes how Jesus will come "as a thief in the night," and discuss how we do not know exactly when Jesus will come again.  Then discuss the parable of the fig tree from Mark 13:28–31 and D&C 45:37–38.  While we should not obsess about exactly when Jesus will return, how can we prepare every day?
• Sing "I Wonder When He Comes Again" (Children's Song Book, 82–83)
• Take a walk along or hike up a hill or mountain to think and pray about Jesus' ascension, what it means that his spirit is still with us now, and to look forward to his glorious return.

The Russian Tower of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives

The Mount of Olives plays an important role in both the Ascension of Jesus and the Second Coming.  Here Jesus had taken his disciples at the conclusion of his Jerusalem ministry to prepare them for his imminent death by sharing with them an important prophecy of the end of the world and his promised return.  On the night before his crucifixion, it was here that he prayed in the Garden and began the saving work of his atonement.  He ascended from here, and, according to Zechariah, this is one of the first places to which he will return.

Christ ascending into heaven in the dome of the Russian church

At the Mosque of the Ascension in May of 2012

From early on, Christians came to the summit of the Mount of Olives to commemorate Jesus’ ascension.  The Byzantines built a large church here, which was unusual: instead of a dome, it was left open to the sky so that worshipers could imagine how Jesus returned to heaven.  This church was later rebuilt by the Crusaders, but when Saladin reconquered Jerusalem, it was converted into a mosque (Muslims do not believe that Isa, or Jesus, died on the cross, but they do believe that he ascended into heaven and will return from there).

Inside the Mosque of the Ascension

The supposed footprint of Jesus in the Mosque of the Ascension

On May 29, 2025, while I was serving at the BYU Jerusalem Center, I walked across the Mount of Olives to the Chapel of the Ascension, the traditional spot of Jesus' farewell to his disciples. Usually a Muslim mosque, on the Feast of the Ascension, the traditional Christian churches of Jerusalem are given access to the site for services. That year, the Eastern and the Western calendars coincided, so all the established Jerusalem churches were there performing their liturgies.

Studying passages that prophesy of Jesus’ return reaffirm the reality of both the resurrection and the ascension, helping us focus that Jesus’ work is not yet done.  He will return to vanquish evil and wickedness, restore peace and happiness, and eventually complete his conquest of death by bringing about the resurrection for each person who has ever lived.

Jesus ascending into heaven from dome of the Russian church

Harry Anderson, The Second Coming

I wonder, when he comes again,

Will herald angels sing?

Will earth be white with drifted snow,

Or will the world know spring?

I wonder if one star will shine

Far brighter than the rest;

Will daylight stay the whole night through?

Will songbirds leave their nests?

I'm sure he'll call his little ones

Together 'round his knee,

Because he said in days gone by,

"Suffer them to come to me."

I wonder, when he comes again,

Will I be ready there

To look upon his loving face

And join with him in prayer?

Each day I'll try to do his will

And let my light so shine

That others seeing me may seek

For greater light divine.

Then, when that blessed day is here,

He'll love me and he'll say,

"You've served me well, my little child;

Come unto my arms to stay." (Children's Songbook, 82–83)

Interview about Greater Love Hath No Man

In this video, I describe our 2023 book, Greater Love Hath No Man: A Latter-day Saint Guide to Celebrating the Easter Season.

Readings for Easter Sunday

 

Episodes

• The Women and the Empty Tomb (Mark 16:1–8; parallels Matthew 28:1–10; Luke 24:1–11)
• Mary Magdalene, Peter, and the Beloved Disciple at the Tomb (Luke 24:12; John 20:1–10)
• Mary Magdalene and the Risen Lord (John 20:11–18; Mark 16:9–11^{[Longer Ending]})
• Two Disciples on the Road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13–35; Mark 16:12–13^{[Longer Ending]})
• First Appearances to the Disciples in Jerusalem (Luke 24:36–48; parallel Mark 16:14^{[Longer Ending]}; John 20:20–25)
• Jesus Later Appears to Thomas (John 20:26–29)
• The Purpose of the Gospel according to John (John 20:30–31)

 

 William-Adolphe Bouguereau, "Women at the Tomb"

The Women at the Tomb: Mark 16:1–8; Matthew 28:1–15; Luke 24:1–11

Because of the important contributions of each of the Synoptic accounts of the empty tomb, we have included all three here. The earliest account from Mark is also—at least in the most secure manuscript traditions—the shortest, leaving the women who came to the tomb fleeing it amazement. Matthew’s version provides the additional detail of an angel descending to remove the stone that blocked the tomb’s entrance, frightening the guards. It also records an appearance of the Risen Lord as the women went to tell the other disciples that the tomb was empty. In many ways Luke’s is the most refined, and it also includes an element that we will see is common to John’s account, that of Peter’s visit to the empty tomb.

See the discussion in Greater Love Hath No Man, 212–218.

Mark

16

¹Now when the Sabbath was over, Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go and anoint him. ²Then very early in the morning on the first day of the week, after the sun had risen, they came to the tomb. ³They began to say to each other, “Who will remove the stone from the entrance of the tomb for us?” ⁴Yet when they looked up, they saw that the stone—which was very large—had already been dislodged. ⁵Then after they had gone into the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a long white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. ⁶But he said to them, “Don’t be alarmed! You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen and is not here! See the place where they laid him. ⁷Now go, tell his disciples, and Peter, that he is going ahead of you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” ⁸Then, having gone out of the tomb, they fled, for they were out of their wits with amazement, and they did not say anything to anyone, because they were afraid.

 

Matthew

28

 ¹After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week dawned, Mary of Magdala and the other Mary came to see the tomb. ²Then look, a great earthquake occurred! For an angel of the Lord, who had descended from heaven and come to the tomb, dislodged the stone and sat on top of it. ³Now his face was like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. ⁴The men who were on guard were shaken out of fear of him, and they became like dead men. In response, the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid! I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶He is not here, for he has risen just as he said. Come, see the place where he lay! ⁷Now go quickly and tell his disciples that he has been raised from the dead, and look, he is going ahead of you into Galilee! There you will see him. Look, I have told you!”

⁸Then after they had quickly left the tomb, with both fear and great joy they ran to make the proclamation to his disciples. ⁹Then look, Jesus met them, saying “Rejoice!” When they came up to him, they took hold of his feet and worshipped him. ¹⁰Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go, proclaim to my brothers that they should go to Galilee. There they will see me.”

¹¹Now as they were going, look, when some of the guard had gone into the city, they reported to the chief priests all that had happened. ¹²After the chief priests had gathered with the elders and made a plan, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, ¹³saying, “This is what you should say: When his disciples came during the night, they stole him while we were sleeping,’ ¹⁴and if this is heard by the governor, we will reassure him and keep you out of trouble.” ¹⁵So after they had taken the money, they did as they had been directed, and this story has been spread widely among the Jews until today.

 

Luke

24

 ¹On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices that they had prepared. ²Then they found that the stone had been dislodged from the tomb. ³Yet when they entered it, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴While they were uncertain as to what this meant, look, two men in gleaming clothing suddenly stood near them. ⁵Now while the women were afraid and were bowing their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why are you looking for one who is alive among the dead? ⁶He is not here but has risen! Remember what he said to you when he was still in Galilee, ⁷saying, ‘The Son of Man must be handed over into the power of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.’” ⁸Then they remembered his predictions.

⁹When they had returned from the tomb, they proclaimed all these things to the Eleven and all the others. ¹⁰Now they were Mary of Magdala, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them—they told the apostles, ¹¹but these reports seemed to them to be nonsense, and they refused to believe them. ¹²Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb, but when he stooped down to look, he only saw the linen wrappings. Then he went home, wondering to himself about what had happened.

 

Harry Anderson, "Mary Magdalene and the Risen Lord"

Mary Magdalene, the Empty Tomb, and the Risen Lord: John 20:1–18

John’s account of the events at the empty tomb that first Easter morning is different enough to warrant particular attention. First, it portrays Mary of Magdala coming to the tomb alone, without the other women. She informs the male disciples, which leads Peter and the Beloved Disciple to come to the tomb (although we have seen that Luke preserves an independent memory of Peter visiting the burial site). Second, it records the moving encounter of Mary with the Risen Lord, a unique scene with particular power and significant interpretive potential.

See the discussion in Greater Love Hath No Man, 218–224.

John

20

¹On the first day of the week, early in the morning Mary of Magdala came to the tomb when it was yet dark, and she saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. ²She ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”

³So Peter and the other disciple set out and came to the tomb. ⁴Now the two had been running together, but the other disciple ran more quickly than Peter and arrived at the tomb first. ⁵After he had stooped down to look, he saw the linen wrappings lying there, though he did not go in. ⁶Then Simon Peter, who had been following him, arrived, went into the tomb, and saw the linen wrappings lying there ⁷as well as the face cloth, which had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. ⁸Then the other disciple, who had arrived at the tomb first, also went in, and he both saw and believed, ⁹for they had not known before this time the scripture that he must rise again from the dead. ¹⁰Then the disciples went back to where they had been staying.

¹¹Mary, however, remained standing there outside the tomb, mourning. As she mourned, she stooped to look into the tomb ¹²and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. ¹³They said to her, “Woman, why are you mourning?” She said to them, “They have taken my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.”

¹⁴After she had said these things, she turned herself around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. ¹⁵Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you mourning? Whom are you looking for?” She, thinking that he was the gardener, said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him.” ¹⁶Jesus said to her, “Mary!” After she turned towards him, she said in Aramaic, “Rabbouni!” that is to say, “My Master!” ¹⁷Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to me! I have not yet ascended to my Father. Go to my brothers and sisters and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and to your God.’

¹⁸Mary of Magdala went, proclaiming to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord” and the things he had said to her.

 

 J. Kirk Richards, "Road to Emmaus"

Two Disciples on the Road to Emmaus: Luke 24:13‒35

Unique to Luke is the episode about two disciples who encounter the Risen Lord on the road to Emmaus. This account is significant because, like the story about Mary of Magdala, it emphasizes the witness of everyday disciples rather than just the special apostolic witnesses of the remaining members of the Twelve.

See the discussion in Greater Love Hath No Man, 224–28.

Luke

24

¹³Now look, that same day two of them were traveling to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem, ¹⁴and they were talking together about all these things that had happened. ¹⁵Then it came about that while they were talking together and discussing it, Jesus himself, after he had come up to them, started walking with them. ¹⁶But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. ¹⁷He said to them, “What are these things that you are discussing as you walk along?” Then they stood still, looking downcast. ¹⁸One of them, Cleopas by name, said to him in response, “Are you only a visitor in Jerusalem, one who does not even know what has happened these past days?”

¹⁹Then he asked them, “What sort of things?” They answered him, “All about Jesus from Nazareth, who was a prophet powerful in deed and in word before God and all the people. ²⁰Also, how our chief priests and rulers handed him over to a death sentence and crucified him, ²¹but we had been hoping that he himself was about to redeem Israel. Yet as it happens, it is now the third day since all these things happened. ²²But now, some women from our group have confused us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning ²³and did not find his body there, they came back, telling us they had even seen a vision of angels, who told them that he was alive! ²⁴And some of those who were with us went to the tomb, and they found it just as they women had described, but they did not see him.”

²⁵Then he himself said to them, “O, how foolish you are and slow in heart to believe all the things that the prophets have declared! ²⁶Didn’t the Christ need to suffer these things to enter into his glory?” ²⁷Then, beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he began to explain everything about himself in the scriptures.

²⁸Then they came up to the village where they had been heading, but he walked as if he would go farther. ²⁹But they prevailed upon him, saying, “Please stay with us, because it is nearly evening and the day is waning.” So he went inside to stay with them. ³⁰And it came about that while he was reclining at dinner with them, after he took some bread, he blessed it, and after he broke it, he gave it to them. ³¹Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. ³²So they said to each other, “Weren’t our hearts burning within us as he spoke to us along the road, and as he opened up the meaning of the scriptures to us?”

³³Getting up that very hour, they returned to Jerusalem and found the Eleven and those who were with them gathered together, ³⁴who told them, “The Lord has arisen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” ³⁵And these men, for their part, related all the things that had transpired along the road, and especially how he was recognized by them in the breaking of bread.

 

Carl Bloch, "The Doubting Thomas"

First Appearances to the Disciples in Jerusalem: Luke 24:36–49; John 20:19–31

Only Luke and John provide accounts of a visit later that day to the disciples. In both versions he gives them tangible proof that he has bodily risen from the dead.

See the discussion in Greater Love Hath No Man, 228–232.

Luke

24

³⁶Then, while they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood in the middle of them and said to them, “Peace be with you!” ³⁷But they, alarmed and frightened, thought they were seeing a spirit. ³⁸He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why are doubts arising in your hearts? ³⁹Look at my hands and my feet, how it is really me! Touch me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” ⁴⁰After he had said this, he presented his hands and feet to them.

⁴¹While they could hardly believe it because of their joy and were still marveling, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” ⁴²So they gave him a piece of broiled fish. ⁴³After he picked it up, he ate it in front of them. ⁴⁴Next he said to them, “This is the meaning of the sayings that I spoke to you while I was still with you, how all that was written about me in the law of Moses, in the prophets, and in the psalms must be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵Then he opened up their minds so that they could understand the scriptures. ⁴⁶He told them, “Thus it was written that the Christ must suffer and rise again on the third day ⁴⁷and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins must be preached in his name to all nations, starting in Jerusalem. ⁴⁸You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹Look, I am sending what my Father has promised to you, but stay here in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

 

John

20

 ¹⁹When it was evening on that same day, the first day of the week, and when the doors of the room were shut where the disciples were because of fear of “the Jews,” Jesus came, stood among them, and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁰After he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy because they had seen the Lord! ²¹So he said to them again, “Peace be with you. Just as the Father sent me, I also am sending you.” ²²After he had said this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³Whosever sins you forgive will be forgiven for them; whosever sins you retain will be retained.”

²⁴Yet Thomas, one of the Twelve, who was called “the Twin,” was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord!” He said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand in his side, I will never believe.”

²⁶Then eight days later the disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were shut, Jesus came, stood in the middle of them, and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁷Then he said to Thomas, “Bring your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand here and put it in my side. Stop being unbelieving but be believing!” ²⁸Thomas responded and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Fortunate are those who do not see yet believe.”

³⁰Now there were many other signs that Jesus performed in the presence of his disciples, which have not been written in this book. ³¹But these have been written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.