Why Latter-day Saints Need Both the Cross and the Empty Tomb
- Gary Toyn
- Apr 5
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 13
At a Glance:
We rightly celebrate the Resurrection, but often move too quickly past the suffering of the cross that gives it meaning.
Sorrow is not a detour in God’s plan. It accomplishes a “perfect work” that shapes faith, compassion, and depth.
Christ did not avoid pain. He entered it fully, showing us that mourning is as sacred as comforting.
Recent Temple Square renovations subtly reflect both the cross and the empty tomb, reminding us that Christ’s suffering and resurrection are inseparable.
As members of the Church of Jesus Christ, we love Easter.
Or maybe better said, we’re coming to love Easter more than we have. Making it more than just a day, but a season. We’ve been encouraged to celebrate the Easter season as much or more than Christmas.
In 2007, we were reminded: “There would be no Christmas if there had not been Easter.” (Gordon B. Hinckley)
It’s an important reminder.
We testify of the living Christ. We celebrate the empty tomb. Our message is one of hope, renewal, and victory over death.
As it should be.
But I’ve been thinking about something uncomfortable.
Have we become a little too quick to leave Friday behind?
Suffering Is Not an Interruption
Recently, I listened to a podcast that challenged a common instinct we all share. When something hard happens, we rush to reframe it.
“It’s a blessing in disguise.”
“This will make you stronger.”
“Everything happens for a reason.”
Sometimes those statements are true. Eventually.
But in the moment, they can feel hollow. Even patronizing.
Because suffering is not an interruption to God’s plan. It is a key part of it.
As Latter-day Saints, our doctrine proclaims that we believe in an “opposition in all things.”
Without contrasting options—good vs. evil, sweet vs. bitter—righteousness and happiness could not exist.
We also covenant not only to comfort those in need, but to mourn with those that mourn.
And if we’re honest, we’re often better at the comforting part more than the mourning part.
We want to fix things. Resolve things. Move people forward.
But Christ asks us to do both.
Why “Good Friday” Doesn’t Feel Good
We call it Good Friday.
Theologically, that makes sense. What happened on the cross made salvation possible.
But if you were there, it would not have felt good.
The apostles had no clue about resurrection. They weren’t standing at the cross thinking, “This will all make sense in three days.”
They were confused and heartbroken.
They knew that Jesus had been betrayed, beaten, mocked, and crucified. But the man they believed was the Messiah was dead.
Friday was not good to them.
It only becomes “good” because of what happens on Sunday.
And that distinction matters. because we sometimes try to label our own Fridays as “good” before they have done their work.
Jesus Did Not Rush Past Sorrow
One of the most powerful patterns in the life of Christ is that He never rushes past sorrow.
He wept with Mary and Martha, even though He knew Lazarus would rise. He did not skip to the miracle. He stayed in the grief.
In Gethsemane, He did not minimize the experience. He entered it fully.
On the cross, He did not escape it. He endured it.
Christ dignifies sorrow by experiencing it, not avoiding it. In fact, in restoration scripture, what happened on the cross is more frequently mentioned than what happened in Gethsemane or at the Tomb. (see 1 Nephi 11:32, 1 Nephi 19:10, 1 Nephi 19:13, 2 Nephi 6:9, 2 Nephi 10:3, 2 Nephi 10:5, 2 Nephi 25:13, Jacob 1:8, Mosiah 3:9, Mosiah 15:7, Helaman 8:14, 3 Nephi 11:14, 3 Nephi 27:14, 3 Nephi 28:6, Ether 4:1)
That matters.
Because we can learn something about our own suffering.
It’s not something to skip or minimize. It’s something we need to learn how to sit in. Or at least we can learn to sit in it better than we currently do.
A Gentle Reality Check for Us
As Latter-day Saints, we have a beautiful and correct focus on the living Christ.
We emphasize the Resurrection. We speak of hope. We point people toward light.
That is one of our strengths.
But if you think about how LDS artists depict Christ, most of what you’ll see in a Deseret Bookstore is not on the cross. LDS folks don’t buy images of Jesus on the cross.
Maybe it’s our pioneer heritage. Maybe it’s because we want to be like Joseph Smith, who had a “native cheery temperament” (JS-Hist. 1:28).
But I believe there’s a tendency as Latter-day Saints to be impatient with the process of pain and suffering, and not letting it do “her perfect work.”
We tend to avoid the brutality of the cross, and instead prefer to focus on the more comfortable parts of the resurrection rather than the crucifixion.
Again, there are good reasons for that.
But if we rush past the cross, we may also rush past the purpose of our own suffering.
And that is a cost we may not fully recognize.
Learning From Other Christians
This is where I think we have something to learn from our Catholic, Protestant, and Eastern Orthodox friends who have preserved a deep reverence for the cross.
Catholics walk through the Stations of the Cross. They pause at each moment of Christ’s suffering. They sit with it.
Many Protestant and Eastern Orthodox theology center their preaching on the cross and what it represents.
As Latter-day Saints, we can learn the importance of not rushing past Friday. And that perspective can bless us.
LDS writers like John Hilton III have also helped bring this conversation into a Latter-day Saint context, reminding us that the cross has always been part of the Savior’s message.
This is not about adopting another tradition.
It is about deepening our own understanding of Christ.
A Quiet Message on the Newly Renovated Temple Square
Latter-day Saints are frequently criticized for our choice to downplay the cross in favor of the tomb.
The Church’s visual identity emphasizes the resurrected Christ. The arch motif, representing the empty tomb, has been central to the church for many years. It’s reflected in our temples.
It's reflected in other church-owned architecture.
It’s reflected in the most recent logo of the church.
It reflects who we are and what we believe. But I'm seeing a new focus on the cross.
There's also something interesting happening with the renovation of Temple Square.
If you look closer at the new layout of Temple Square in Salt Lake City, now under construction, the new north visitors’ centers are shaped like a cross.
The south visitors’ center reflects the arch of the empty tomb.
Both are there. More or less side by side.
There is also a new sculpture on Temple Square that depicts Jesus and the cross.
To me, the message is simple and powerful.
The cross and the empty tomb are not competing symbols. They are inseparable truths.
Let Sorrow Do Its Work
Are we being prompted to pay attention to both important ideas?
There must be a balance between suffering and healing.
There is a work that only sorrow can do.
Sorrow deepens us, improves our empathy, and enhances our capacity to have charity… or the true love of Christ. It creates space in the soul. It teaches compassion in ways nothing else can.
Without it, joy remains shallow.
God usually doesn’t remove sorrow, but he will help us endure it. He will lighten our load, and yoke himself with us. That’s not because He is distant, or likes to see us suffer. But he knows that suffering has an important purpose in our development.
Sometimes the very thing we want removed is the thing doing the shaping.
So maybe the invitation is this.
Let sorrow do its work.
Not forever. Not without hope.
But long enough.
For Those Living a Friday
If you are in a difficult season right now, this matters.
If someone you know is suffering.
You do not need to pretend it is good.
You do not need to rush to resolution.
You do not need to explain it away.
Christ is not asking you to skip your sorrow.
He is asking you to trust Him in it.
To stay with Him in Gethsemane. To remain at the cross.
Because He has already been there.
Sunday Will Come
None of this diminishes the Resurrection.
Sunday will come. It always comes.
But I believe we can do better in our worship by not skipping the Fridays. We can be better disciples by not skipping the hard parts that require us to sit with suffering.
Hope is real. Healing is real. The empty tomb changes everything.
But the power of Sunday is only fully understood by those who are willing to stay with Christ on Friday.
We do not honor the Resurrection by avoiding the cross.
We honor it by understanding what it cost.
And perhaps, by allowing our own Fridays to shape us in ways we cannot yet see.
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