Very early on the first day of the week, at the rising of the sun, Mary Magdalene and other women came to the tomb with spices to anoint the body of Jesus. On the way they wondered, “Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?” When they looked, the great stone was already rolled away. Inside, two men in shining garments asked them, “Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen.” The women departed “with fear and great joy” and ran to tell the disciples.
Peter and John ran together to the tomb and found the linen clothes lying by themselves, and the napkin folded in a place by itself. John “saw, and believed.” Mary stayed at the tomb, weeping. A man she supposed to be the gardener asked, “Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou?” Then He said her name, “Mary.” She turned and answered, “Rabboni,” which means Master. The risen Lord sent her to tell His brethren, and she came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord.
Who’s who
Jesus: the risen Lord, alive again with a glorified body
Mary Magdalene: a devoted disciple, the first to see Him risen
Peter and John: two Apostles who run to the tomb to see for themselves
Where and when
A garden tomb just outside Jerusalem, at sunrise on the Sunday after the Crucifixion.
Watch for the Savior
Watch how the risen Lord comes to someone who is weeping, and calls her by name.
Eight stops, from the spices at sunrise to Mary’s witness. Scroll, or tap a number on the map.
Part 2 of 7
The story, plainly
Four scenes: the stone, the angels, the linen and the garden. Look for the living Christ in each one.
Read it plainly
The words that trip people up
Tap any dotted word for its meaning. The scripture stays exactly as written.1
Mark 16:1 “had bought sweet spices, that they might come and Meaning: rub with oil and spices, a loving way of caring for the body of someone who had died. him”
Mark 16:3 “the door of the Meaning: a tomb cut into rock.”
Luke 24:4 “two men stood by them in Meaning: bright, dazzling clothing; these were angels.”
Luke 24:11 “their words seemed to them as Meaning: nonsense, stories that could not be true.”
John 20:7 “And the Meaning: a cloth that had been wrapped around His head., that was about his head”
John 20:16 “saith unto him, Meaning: Master, my Teacher; an Aramaic word of deep respect and love.”
Part 3 of 7
Look closer
Small details tell the story. Some cards are details in the text; others share insights from prophets. Each card says which.
0 of 9 turned
All nine. The spices, the great stone, the sunrise, the shining angels, the linen, the running feet, the gardener, the name and the promise kept. John 20:1–18
Part 4 of 7
Where are you today?
Some of us are grieving, some wonder if it is all true, some are worried about a heavy stone ahead, and some feel forgotten. Which feels most like you right now?
A next step for you
Your choice is saved only on this device.
Try it
Light the morning
Tap each light to bring the first Easter morning, one witness at a time.
“He is not here: for he is risen, as he said.” Matthew 28:6
Part 5 of 7
Their world, their words
A little background helps us see the garden on that first morning. Outside sources are labeled.
Apostle · Talmage
A woman saw Him first
Elder Talmage: “To a woman, to Mary of Magdala, was given the honor of being the first among mortals to behold a resurrected Soul, and that Soul, the Lord Jesus.”6
The first witness of the Resurrection was a woman who loved Him.
Scripture
The linen left behind
John noticed the details: “the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself”.1
No one carried Him away. He rose.
Prophet · Hinckley
Real, not imagined
President Hinckley: “He was not an apparition. This was not imagination. He was real, as real as He had been in mortal life.”5
He rose with a real, glorified body.
Prophet · Hunter
At the center of our faith
President Hunter: “Surely the Resurrection is the center of every Christian’s faith; it is the greatest of all of the miracles performed by the Savior of the world.”9
You can know for yourself that He lives.
Word study · Greek
Rabboni Ῥαββουνί · “Rabboni” (John 20:16)
Bible Hub: “Of Chaldee origin; corresponding to rhabbi.”11Outside · lexicon
John translates it for us: “Rabboni; which is to say, Master.” She knew Him the moment He said her name.1
Word study · Greek
soudarion σουδάριον · “napkin” (John 20:7)
Bible Hub: “a handkerchief, a head cloth (for the dead).”12Outside · lexicon
It was “not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself”. Not a hurried theft, but a quiet, ordered rising.1
What the text does not say
The text does not say the disciples believed right away. When the women told them, “their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.” Faith grew as each one came, saw and heard for themselves. It is all right if faith grows step by step for us too.2
Part 6 of 7
Look to Him
He is the Living Christ, who kept His word, rose on the third day, and called a weeping disciple by name.
President Gordon B. Hinckley: “It was the greatest event in human history.”
President Gordon B. Hinckley, “He Is Not Here, but Is Risen,” April 19995
“Now, having been resurrected, He became the Master of life.”
Everything on this page as an 11-page letter-size PDF: the map, scenes, cards, activity, word studies, tracker, Go deeper and sources. For home, class or a quiet Sunday.
The Empty Tomb is part of the Scripture Story Sketch Notes for the New Testament, set alongside Come, Follow Me for June 21–27, 2027 (Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20–21).
Independent study notes from Weak Things, not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Scripture quotations are from the King James Version. This story is told in the words of John, Luke, Matthew and Mark; the insights in “Look closer” are labeled by source.
