One day in the 1800s, two men traveling by train discussed Christ's wonderful life. One of them said that he thought an interesting novel could be written about Jesus.

The other replied, "And you are just the man to write it. Set forth the correct view of His life and character. Tear down the prevailing sentiment as to His divineness and paint Him as He was — a man among men."

One of the travelers did write a book about Jesus. Published in 1880, it remains a best seller; many movies have been based upon it. The author was Lew Wallace (1827-1905); the book, Ben Hur.

In 1974, President Spencer W. Kimball spoke of Mr. Wallace and his literary masterpiece: "In the process of constructing it, he found himself facing an unaccountable man. The more he studied His life and character, the more profoundly he was convinced that He was more than a man among men, until at length, like the centurion under the cross (Matt. 27:54), he was constrained to cry, 'Verily this was the Son of God.' " (Conference Report, April 1974, or Ensign, May 1974, p. 119.)

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John teach us much about Jesus Christ, including His birth, mortal ministry, atoning sacrifice and resurrection. At Easter, we tend to focus on His atonement and resurrection. On the weekend of what Christians generally commemorate as the anniversary of His death on the cross and resurrection from the tomb, Latter-day Saints have the opportunity to hear special witnesses bear testimony of this Jesus who, truly, was no ordinary man among men.

In general conferences, we hear from those who have most familarized themselves with the life and teachings of the Savior — His apostles and prophets. No one can tell us more about Him. As no other mortals on earth today, they have the ability to extol His perfect life, for they studiously read the scriptures and receive divine inspiration, even revelation. As no others, they can expound His teachings and counsel us, for they have a divine mandate to do just that.

Many times, Easter and general conference have fallen on the same weekend. At the April conference in 1950, President David O. McKay said: " . . . tomorrow is Easter. This is not just an anniversary, I mean as to the date. Easter varies from one date to another as you know. But I am not so sure that April is not a commemorative month, not only for the resurrection but for the birth of our Lord. And so I like to think that about two thousand years ago tonight, there were some pretty gloomy apostles. Peter was heavy-hearted, John was grieving as was Mary, Christ's mother. The other apostles had fled. Judas had realized what a crime he had committed. What a gloomy night!

"Next morning Christ arose, and we are celebrating that event in the Christian world. . . .

"I wonder if the Christian world will take as evidence the testimony of those gloomy apostles, nineteen hundred and fifty years ago tonight, for it is an evidence of the divinity of Christ's resurrection from the grave." (Conference Report, April 1950, p. 178.)

Listening to messages at general conference is more than listening to speakers who are great orators delivering interesting and even helpful information. Many other people stand before audiences or congregations and speak with eloquence about love, duty, service to others, obedience to commandments, the need for temperance and self-control and other virtues of life. Many of these orators speak with reverence about the Savior but some, including so-called Christians, do not teach of His literal resurrection. As did the agnostic who counseled the author of Ben Hur, they attempt to not emphasize His divinity; rather, they speak of Him as they would any other person in history.

When we listen to apostles and prophets, we hear testimonies of the Divine Son of God, words that come through inspiration, not mere eloquence. We hear the Lord's authorized spokesmen with messages that touch our hearts and quicken our souls, not professional speakers who merely inform, delight and entertain. When these specially called and chosen servants speak to and counsel us, whether in general conference at Easter time or in other settings in other seasons, they do so by the Spirit. We are privileged to hear them.