It has
been 9 days since my last post, and while I haven't had time to blog about my
scripture readings I have kept reading and studying. Recently my grandmother
passed away, dying peacefully in her sleep. Because of this the last 9 or 10
days have been a little hectic in organizing the funeral and pulling the family
together. I noticed however, that once people around me started to hear the
news that my grandmother passed away, people would either ask me if I was doing
ok, or they would simply avoid talking to me for fear of not having the right
words to say. Can I blame them? No.
Death in
itself is something that the world fears, and greatly due to the lack of
understanding and information on the subject. After all we have very little
scientific knowledge as to what happens to us when we die. Sure science can
tell us that the body of flesh and bones that we inhabited during our life will
start to decay and eventually become dust, just like every other organic life
form on this planet. But is that the end of our life? If our body was the only
life we had, then where does that life go, when people are in comas? Do we have
spirits? These are questions that science has yet to answer. I think this is
why so many people fear death. I personally do not fear death, sure I want to
live a long and happy life, learn and grow here in this life... but I do
believe in a life after this one. I think that death is associated too many
times with sadness and heartache. Sure we will miss someone when they go, but
the pain that we feel should never consume us, it should be replaced quickly
with joy and happiness. This is where the knowledge comes into play. In my life
I have lost many family members and friends to this scary subject known as
death. An Elementary school friend, grandfather, 2 grandmothers and my father.
I know the pain and sadness that comes, it is only natural... but like I have
said... death is not the end.
The
Gospel of Jesus Christ can answer many
of the questions that we might have. Because Jesus died for us, we can break
the bands of death. Since the beginning, God has had a plan for us (his
children) so that we might come back to him one day. God created this world for
us, and the best way to describe the world is a gigantic classroom; some
struggle with their coursework and others flourish, but our loving Heavenly
Father only assigns us with tasks that he knows we can complete. Once we are
born into this world (classroom) we have our life period to learn and grow, we
can make choices, but in the end we will have to live with the consequences of
our actions.
Prior to
arrival in our earthly home, we were presented a plan.... known as the plan of
salvation. We would be born and have no knowledge of what happened in the pre-earth
life. It is like we have a fabric veil over our eyes. This is the difference between
our physical and spiritual eyes. Some people are gifted with the ability to have
a "thinner" veil than others and they occasionally see things or have
promptings that seem to be super human... like psychics.
Once our
earth life is over, we are called back to our heavenly home by way of a physical
death. Through Jesus Christ all men/women are saved from a "spiritual death"
which would prevent us from ever seeing our Heavenly Parents.
The Book
of Mormon offers us with the most insight into what happens after death;
"Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and
the resurrection- Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits
of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits
of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them
life. And then shall it come to pass, that
the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which
is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from
all their troubles and from all care and sorrow. And then shall it come to pass,
that the spirits of the wicked, yea, who are evil- for behold, they have no part
no portion of the Spirit of the Lord; for behold, they chose evil works rather than
good; therefore the spirit of the devil did enter into them and take possession
of their house- and these shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be
weeping, and wailing, and the gnashing of death, and this because of their own iniquity,
being led captive by the will of the devil. Now this is the state of the souls of
the wicked, yea, in the darkness, and a state of awful, fearful looking for the
fiery indignation of the wrath of God upon them; thus they remain in this state,
as well as the righteous in paradise, until the time of their resurrection"
(Alma 40:11-14)
So we learn
that everyone (good or bad) will leave their body and go on to another place, in
this case known as the "Spirit World" which is divided into two sections;
Paradise and Prison. If you do good in this life you will be put in a place of relaxation
and happiness and if you choose evil works in this life, you will have from the
time you die, until the time of the resurrection to think about those things, which
will cause you to tremble before the power of God in fear, just waiting for your
punishment.
"The
soul shall be restored to the body, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb
and joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even a hair of the head shall not
be lost; but all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame."
(Alma 40:23)
So if in
this life someone was born with a birth defect or by accident lost a limb or was
diseased... our body in the next life (after resurrection) will be perfect! Everything
will be restored or given to us to make us perfect. I know that there is a life
after death and that we must live our lives to the fullest so that we can enjoy
our next life. If we waste our life, then we will waste our lives after death as
well. We should always remember that it is sad when someone dies, but the sadness
needs to be replaced quickly with joy and happiness for those with whom we have
lost as they move on to the next life.
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