Words of Hope and Consolation at the Time of Death

Nice topic, huh? Yeah, that's what I thought when I was asked to speak on it in church today! Thankfully, it was the lesson in Relief Society, so I had the lesson manual to work with. My chest was so incredibly tight before I got up to speak; a tightness that I feel only at funerals. I don't know how I did it, but I did it. I was so afraid of saying the wrong thing, or giving the wrong impression, but it all flowed nicely. I even had one woman come up to me afterward and thank me, and said she wondered where I was 9 years ago when she was dealing with the loss of her baby. That touched me. I've got to give credit where credit is due. I prayed A LOT over the last few days to have the guidance of Heavenly Father and the Spirit as I gave this lesson and I really think they pulled through for me. ;) I just want to jot down a few things from the lesson that I LOVED and were very reassuring to me.

Joseph Smith said, "We have reason to have the greatest hope and consolation for our dead of any people on earth."

What greater gospel truths do we have to comfort and give us hope than those of resurrection and eternal families?

Everyone dies, but ALL will rise again in a perfect state. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty darn excited to get my perfect body. Can you say, "Goodbye, stretchmarks!"?

Eternal progression with an eternal companion and an eternal family: THAT'S what I want, and THAT'S what I'm striving for. I love my husband and my children and I want to share the eternities with them. There is no, "'Til death do us part".

The part of the lesson that was the hardest for me to broach was that of death in infancy and childhood. I found solace in this:

"I have meditated upon the subject, and asked the question, why it is that infants, innocent children, are taken away from us, especially those that seem to be the most intelligent and interesting. The strongest reasons that present themselves to my mind are these: This world is a very wicked world; and it grows more wicked and corrupt. . . The Lord takes many away, even in infancy, that they may escape the envy of man, and the sorrows and evils of this present world, they were too pure, too lovely, to live on earth; therefore, if rightly considered, instead of mourning we have reason to rejoice as they are delivered from evil, and we shall soon have them again. . ." ~Joseph Smith

We are also taught that "children must rise just as they died. Mothers shall have their children; for they shall have eternal life, for their debt is paid." Joseph Smith spoke this reassurance to a mother at her infant's funeral: "You will have the joy, the pleasure and satisfaction of nurturing this child, after its resurrection, until it reaches the full stature of its spirit. . . and it will be a far greater joy than you can possibly have in mortality, because you will be free from the sorrow and fear and disabilities of mortal life, and you will know more than you can know in this life."

Another great point is we can trust that "the God of all the earth will do right." In other words, when we lose someone we love, we must have faith in God's will, even if we don't understand it. Sometimes, people are immensely hurt by the passing of a loved one that they become angry and bitter, and often times let those feelings consume, and control them and never reconcile with God. Grieving and mourning are natural and good things for us to experience when death touches the lives around us. However, Satan wants us to be miserable, angry, and bitter; we ought not give him such pleasure by succumbing to despair.

I want to finish off with one last quote from Joseph Smith (if you're wondering why there are so many, the lesson was from the manual containing the teachings of Joseph Smith. He was an incredible man, who was no stranger to death in his family, losing 6 children of his own, three brothers, and his father.) with special emphasis added:

"More painful to me are the thoughts of annihilation than death. If I have no expectation of seeing my father, mother, brothers, sisters and friends again, my heart would burst in a moment, and I should go down to my grave. The expectation of seeing my friends in the morning of the resurrection cheers my soul and makes me bear up against the evils of life. It is like their taking a long journey, and on their return we meet them with increased joy. . ."