“all things have their likeness, and all things are created and made to bear record of me, both things which are temporal, and things which are spiritual; things which are in the heavens above, and things which are on the earth… all things bear record of me.” Moses 6:63
The image of Christ is woven into all of creation. This is why we are able to see Him through the gentleness of the lamb, the steadiness in rocks, and in the bread and water during the sacrament. But when the Lord said “I am the light of the world” it meant something more.
“This is the light of Christ. As also he is in the sun, and the light of the sun, and the power thereof by which it was made.” "As also the light of the stars, and the power thereof by which they were made;" “Which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space." Doctrine and Covenants 88:7-13
This sets stars (the producers of light) apart as the highest symbol of Christ because unlike the others, the relationship is not only figurative, it is also literal. Consider that much of what has been said about Christ could also literally be said of our star, the sun, for it too is “the light and life of the world,” it also is “preserving (us) from day to day by lending (us) breath” (see photosynthesis) , and “in (it) all things hold together” (see Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion.) Not only do stars testify of Christ by their very nature but they have also responded to the major events of His life, such as the one that appeared at His birth, our own vanishing at His death, and those that will fall from their places when He returns.
Through the wonders of modern astronomy we not only understand the lives of stars, we now know what happens when they die, and even in death, stars continue to “bear record” of Him.
The Burden and Collapse
On an April evening, under what was likely a calm, starlit sky, Christ left the upper room where He had just introduced the sacrament to His apostles and made His way to the Garden of Gethsemane. Having reached His destination
“he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.” Mark 14:35
The burden of sin fell so heavily upon Him that He collapsed to the ground, or as Matthew states in more vivid imagery
“he went a little further, and fell on his face.” Matthew 26:39
As a massive star approaches death it is crushed beneath an overwhelming weight, not of sin, but under the burden of gravity. Temperatures rise to 179 billion degrees Fahrenheit and the gravitational pressure triggers an implosion that reaches velocities of 44,000 mph. Under these extreme conditions the star buckles under its own weight, and its core collapses.
The Iron Peak
Gravity continues to rain down on the star’s core forcing hydrogen and helium, the star’s regular source of fuel, to smash together into new and heavier elements such as sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. As the temperature and pressure continue to rise, nuclear fusion climbs higher up the periodic table until the core becomes a solid mass of iron. Iron is the stars kryptonite, it puts an immediate halt to nuclear fusion, and once it is present the star has only seconds to live. Scientists call this the “Iron Peak.”
“And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood.” Luke 22:44
The suffering for sin caused the Lord to perspire in an unusual way, blood in addition to sweat was forced through His individual pores. Human sweat is made up of the same elements the star forms just prior to its death: sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium, but again, this wasn't typical perspiration, and having just consumed the bread and wine of the last supper the blood draining from His pores, at the peak of His suffering, would have been flowing with iron.
The Escaping Light
Immediately following the suffering in Gethsemane Jesus was lead away by Judas and a multitude to be tried, scourged, and crucified. After spending 6 hours on the cross
“Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46
The spirit of God, which is light and truth, leaves Him alone, suspended in air, surrounded by darkness and
“when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.” Matthew 27:50
With the core having become a solid mass of iron, there is no longer a source of fuel to burn and suddenly the star’s light goes out. A shock wave is triggered from deep within its core and comes roaring to the surface like a searing soul cry, and in a beauty that is only found in contrast, a beam of light breaks free from the stars broken body.
Explosion of Life
The shockwave hits the surface and the star explodes. Nuclear fusion reignites in its extremity but rather than creating lighter elements such as helium, the heavier elements that make up our bodies, the planets, and everything we see begin to form and the explosion scatters these seeds of life across the universe. Speaking of this event theoretical physicist Lawrence Krause has said “every atom in your body was produced inside the fiery core of a star,” or in other words, we are literally children of the stars.
In the book “Jesus the Christ” Elder James E. Talmage explains:
“The strong, loud utterance immediately following which He bowed His head and ‘gave up the ghost,’ when considered in connection with other recorded details, points to a physical rupture of the heart as the direct cause of death.” Jesus the Christ Chapter 35
Just as the star's life ended with the explosion of its core, the Lord passed away with the rupture of His heart, and as the explosion of the star spread the elements necessary for life throughout space, the rupture of Christ's heart spread the resurrection and possibility of eternal life throughout the universe. Therefore, as our giver of life, we are rightfully called the children of Christ.
Resurrection
A mourning Mary seeking the body of our Lord was met by an angel who asked:
“Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day² rise again.” Luke 24:5-7
Surrounded by darkness, the lifeless core of the star is laid to rest on the fabric of space. Within just a few days the star's surface begins to expand as its temperature miraculously rises mirroring what it must be like to see a cold breathless body fill with warmth and breath once again. After swelling up to 10 times its previous size the surface cracks, light comes rushing through, and the words “death where is thy sting” echo through eternity.
