Hugh Nibley (the most wonderfully eccentric scholar the church has produced) had the kind of mind that perceived a relation between the resurrection and the second law of Thermodynamics, which states that everything in the universe is subject to entropy, meaning that it moves toward decay, disorder and eventual disintegration. That is, unless something reverses that process. I think he is on to something exciting here:
"According to Jacob, it is the first law to which nature is subjected—the inexorable and irreversible trend toward corruption and disintegration; it can't be reversed. It rises no more, crumbles, rots, and remains that way endlessly, for an endless duration.
This would spell an end to everything, were it not that another force works against it. "Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement" (2 Nephi 9:7), he says—in effect, a principle of unlimited application. An infinite principle is at work here... Without an infinite atonement, "this corruption could not put on incorruption." We could not save ourselves from entropy. Someone else must be there to do it. Notice what atonement means: reversal of the degradative process, a returning to its former state, being integrated or united again—"at-one." What results when particles break down? They separate. Decay is always from heavier to lighter particles. But "atonement" brings particles back together again. Bringing anything back to its original state is at-one-ment." (Temple and the Cosmos)
With this insight Br. Nibley leads us to a larger vision of the resurrection than just rising from the grave, as miraculous as that is. He is, I think, saying that Christ holds within himself a life force so great that it reverses the very condition of the universe. Under His influence the inexorable downward spiral of nature slows, halts, and reverses, and everything starts to move back toward life, integration, energy, fulfillment, order, productivity , at-one-ment. Starting from this view of the resurrection and reading back through the gospels we see Jesus infusing every situation with energy, healing, forgiveness and love. Pure life-force. It is thrilling, and it is no surprise that the grave, literally, could not hold Him. Nor, because of his atonement, any of us.
Joseph Smith envisioned the resurrection as a Priesthood ordinance in which worthy fathers would participate in bringing their families back from the grave. What an image that is! So what does the resurrection mean to us in our daily lives? It means that we may tremble at the process of death (pretty scary) but we don't fear the thing itself. One remarkable finding in the thousands of "near-death" experiences now on record is this: people who have died and return not only don't fear death, they look forward to it! Death will turn out to be the only thing that really dies. The rest of us are going on forever. Time for a little John Donne:
Death, be not proud, tho some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.
A hope in Christ consists of three things: the peace that comes through the forgiveness of our sins, an awareness that he shared in our sufferings and infirmities and thus can succor us with his grace, and a knowledge that in the end we will rise with Him in the resurrection. With those assurances, we can live in a state of joy and hope, no matter what befalls us. Without those assurances we are in a state of spiritual entropy. Jesus described himself as "the resurrection and the life," and every step we take toward him brings a greater abundance of life to our souls.
