Upon learning of the fate of their kindred, the people again began mourning and weeping. But just as the vapors of darkness were dispersed by light, the darkness of their mourning was turned to the light of joy as they more fully understood and experienced the mercy of the Lord. Their uncertainty and despair were dispelled with the fulfillment of the prophecies- Christ was resurrected!
This segment of the historical account also provides a glimpse or foreshadowing of the glory of the second coming of Christ, which likewise will bring an end to death and destruction and will replace mourning and lamentations with praises of thanksgiving and worship to the Lord Jesus Christ. Describing this glorious future event, Isaiah declared:
“He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it. And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” (Isaiah 25:8-9; see also Revelation 7:14-17.)
“That Are Afflicted in Any Manner? Bring Them Hither and I Will Heal Them”
This account includes a most touching example of Jesus’ tender love and compassion for all “that [were] afflicted in any manner.” The mercy he extended and the spiritual blessing he bestowed upon them also serve as a foreshadowing of his millennial ministry, when he will come in glory “with healing in his wings” (see Malachi 4:2) to prepare for the ultimate triumph of the plan of salvation.
In Christ, through his fulfillment of the “infinite and eternal sacrifice,” all death, pain, disease, sicknesses, deformities, and handicaps will be done away with and these “old things shall pass away” leaving physically “new creatures” with bodies and minds renewed in a glorious resurrection (see Boyd K. Packer “The Moving of the water ” Ensign, May 1991, pp. 7-9).