Sabbath Devotional :: Mary Magdalene

Christ and St Mary Magdalen at the Tomb by Rembrandt van Rijn

As we begin Holy Week, my thoughts are drawn to Mary Magdelene on that first Easter morning. “The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre” (John 20:1)

Thinking perhaps that the body of Christ had been stolen, Mary ran to tell Peter and John. They all ran back to the sepulchre to see for themselves. Not sure of what was going on, the men left to go home. “But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping” (John 20:11).

She saw Jesus in the garden, but supposed Him to be the gardener, until He said her name: “Mary.” It was then that she truly saw Him. Mary became the first witness of the resurrected Lord. After coming to this understanding, “Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her” (John 20:18).

When Alma challenged the people who had gathered by the Waters of Mormon to be baptized, he explained the covenant they would be making, including that they would be “willing . . . to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in” (Mosiah 18:9).

I’ve been considering what it means to stand as a witness and am looking to Mary Magdalene as an example.

Witness is both a verb and a noun.

One definition of the verb witness is to see an event. This definition usually takes my mind to witnesses in a court of law, and many of those seem to be witnesses by chance or happenstance, sometimes as unfortunate bystanders. If I covenant to witness, though, it has to be my choice. I promise to witness Christ, to see Him. And so I seek opportunities to witness Christ, or notice Him, in my everyday life.

Mary Magdalene didn’t just happen upon Christ. During his mortal life, she was his disciple and follower. Although she didn’t understand the prophecy that He would be resurrected, even after He died she wanted to be where He was.

If I want to witness Christ, I need to look for Him and be in places where I can find Him. Many of us witness God in nature. I know I do. I am especially drawn to trees. My daughter is drawn to the ocean. I have many friends who find God in the desert. When Korihor asked Alma for a sign that there is a God, Alma said, “Thou hast had signs enough. . . . all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator.” Alma calls these natural signs “all these witnesses.” (Alma 30:44-45)

We can also witness God when we see Him in others. When we choose to, we can see divinity in our fellow sojourners on this planet. No matter who they are or what they have done, we know that Jesus came into the world for them, too. He suffered and died for them. They are divine. We choose to see God when we choose to love His children. Les Misérables teaches us the beautiful truth: “To love another person is to see the face of God.” We can witness God when we deliberately see divinity in others.

Witness is also a noun, meaning a person who has seen something, which is why I described Mary Magdalene as the first witness of the resurrection. Seeing Christ becomes part of her identity. I believe when the people of Alma covenanted to stand as witnesses, they were covenanting to always include their testimony of Christ as part of their identity.

In a recent devotional given to young adults, President Russell M. Nelson said, “I believe that if the Lord were speaking to you directly tonight, the first thing He would make sure you understand is your true identity. My dear friends, you are literally spirit children of God.”

President Nelson listed the most important designations that each of us should associate with our own identities: First, that we are each a child of God. Second, that as a member of the Church, we are each a child of the covenant. And third, we are disciples of Jesus Christ.

It has been my personal experience that thinking of myself first as a child of God and disciple of Christ has deeply affected my feelings of worth, my capability to love and serve, and my desire to be better. Standing as a witness, for me, means in part to know who I am.

Mary Magdalene didn’t just see Christ, she testified of Him. Immediately after her experience in the garden, she went again to the disciples to witness to them what she had seen. And thus, once again, witness is used as a verb.

Because we have a regular opportunities to bear testimony on fast Sundays, we might sometimes think that bearing witness of Christ needs to be formal. There are so many ways to witness Him. Many of His disciples bear testimony through their art or music, or perhaps in writing. There are also subtle ways to testify in casual conversation. Peter admonished us to “be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). The opportunity to humbly witness, or as Peter said “with meekness and fear,” is always with us. We’re each going to do this differently but if we are willing, the spirit will help us know when and how to share our testimonies.

The final definition that is on my mind is that witness, as a noun, can mean evidence or proof. I’ve covenanted to stand as a witness and I wonder, how can I be evidence or proof of Christ? President Gordon B. Hinckley said this: “As His followers, we cannot do a mean or shoddy or ungracious thing without tarnishing His image. Nor can we do a good and gracious and generous act without burnishing more brightly the symbol of Him whose name we have taken upon ourselves. And so our lives must become a meaningful expression, the symbol of our declaration of our testimony of the Living Christ, the Eternal Son of the Living God.”

I can live as a witness to his goodness. My next-door neighbor and good friend does not like to speak publicly. She is a very private person. I would be surprised if I ever saw her stand in testimony meeting or post the deepest feelings of her heart on social media. However, the way she lives her life is evidence that she knows the goodness of God. Despite burdensome trials, she continues to quietly serve. She goes out of her comfort zone to offer friendship to the lonely. She continues in faithfulness. I know her and know that she thinks she’s trudging along, barely making it. But I see her as filled with courage and strength. Her ability to continue to love others even through her own grief is evidence that she knows Christ.

This Easter, I want to follow the example of Mary Magdalene to become, in all ways, a witness of Christ. I will start by telling you, my friends, simply that I believe in Him and I love Him.