Gone to a Better Place

[Anonymous]

Hi, MockingJay. I can only add condolences, and I think you’ve come to a good place for advice. I hope you’re getting your bearings.

[Anonymous]

I am so sorry for your loss, MockingJay. I am afraid of losing my own father every day due to his extensive health conditions. We’ve had a couple close calls; actually, a few of them happened to coincide right in the depths of my FC. And those were some of the hardest and darkest days of my life so far. So I know how you feel.

I’ve lost a lot of good friends and family back before my FC, many so young that it hurts to think back on it, even after so many years have passed. Our church ward has lost three beautiful young women between the ages of twelve and sixteen over the past decade or two among many other untimely deaths. Those deaths are sometimes the hardest when you’re looking in on the families that are grieving. I’m not a stranger to Mormon funerals in the least. But every time, even before my FC, it’s been difficult to comprehend that they were here and living just days ago. And now they’re gone. It’s like trying to catch moonlight in your hand, and it’s so frustrating.

I don’t know what happens after death. My experiences and the private experiences of those close to me tells me that there is so, so much in this existence that we do not understand. And for whatever reason, that has brought me an incredible amount of comfort. What comes after death is just one of those many things that we don’t understand. Something that, I think, is best if we never really do understand until we’ve reached it.

Quote:

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart. -Helen Keller

I hope you don’t completely discount your emotions. They may be an untrustworthy sort, but I like to think we need them.

[Anonymous]

I’m so sorry to hear about your loss! I know in these circumstances, people try to find something comforting to say, but really there’s nothing that can be said to make that pain go away. My wife lost her 50-year old mother about a year ago and she was shocked by how people would make insensitive comments, even though they were just trying to help. Members from her mother’s ward were telling her how they could feel her mother’s spirit close to them in their home, and a couple of people said that they saw her mother in the temple, and things like that. My wife’s reaction was, “Why would my mother visit people in their homes and in the temple, but she wouldn’t visit me and my sisters?” I think in the LDS church, we’re told all of these miraculous stories that people have experienced, and it makes people feel like they have to have their own miracles, and then tell everybody about them. I get sick of the fish stories. And I agree with my wife. Her mother wouldn’t be out visiting random ward members as a spirit, instead of visiting her family members. Some people just think that sharing stories like that will somehow be helpful to somebody who is mourning, when they really should just keep their mouths shut.

Personally, I do believe there is a God. And, I believe that if there is a God, then there must be something after this life. Otherwise, what’s the point of it all? That’s my personal perspective. I don’t believe that there are 3 kingdoms, or that we need to go through a bunch of ceremonies and rituals to get to the other side. I personally believe that most of that came from Joseph Smith and freemasonry. I also don’t think that we, as LDS people, have exclusive rights to heaven. I have more non-LDS friends than members, and most of them believe in some form of heaven, and that they’ll see their loved ones again after this life. I have to roll my eyes when I hear comments in Sunday School from ignorant people who claim that only LDS people know where we’re going after this life.

So, is there an afterlife? I believe there is. There’s no way to know that with certainty, but that’s where faith comes in. Faith in most things doesn’t come easy to me, so I don’t say this lightly, but I do have faith that our spirits will continue to live on after our bodies are gone.

Just my two cents…

[Anonymous]

I am sorry for your loss. But, if you were to say I didn’t understand, you would be right. I don’t think there is an answer for the bad things that happen in life. I mean, it appears adequate, until we are thrust into hell by something that happens. The achilles heel of christianity I guess. We espouse God to be good and all powerful, and yet awful things happen. But, we can ignore this fact until the unspeakable happens to us. I would like to recommend CS Lewis’ “A Grief Observed”. For me at least, it helped that someone else was able to speak some of what I felt inside. Also, the videos by Howard Storm on youtube where it talks about what Jesus is like also helped me. And above all that Jesus does not want bad things to happen to us. That unlike what I’d been taught all my life, every trial wasn’t good or approved of by Jesus. Some things I think he is as sad to see them happen as we are. After I got some of my anger out at Jesus and God, it helped to be assured of what I still wanted to believe – that they were good and kind.

If I were to offer one piece of advice, it would be to let happiness in again when it comes knocking. Don’t let pain keep the curtains of happiness drawn for too long.

God Bless.

[Anonymous]

Quote:

If I were to offer one piece of advice, it would be to let happiness in again when it comes knocking. Don’t let pain keep the curtains of happiness drawn for too long.

God Bless.

intothelight

:thumbup:

Wow, this “knocked” my socks off. Thanks for this most perfect and excellent advice. I’ll listen more carefully for that faint knocking.

I’m getting to where I can make it through a few days at a time w/o crying now. Having it be Christmastime is making it more of a challenge. My mom lives with us and DH is far away for work reasons, so those are extra challenges. We did decorate the house though. Wasn’t sure I’d be able to for a while there. It’s actually helped because seeing the ornaments is like saying hello to old freinds. It also reminds me how much peace I find in the teachings of Jesus. When everyhing else is stripped away, I find pure human truth there.

Holy Cow said:

Quote:

Personally, I do believe there is a God. And, I believe that if there is a God, then there must be something after this life. Otherwise, what’s the point of it all? That’s my personal perspective. I don’t believe that there are 3 kingdoms, or that we need to go through a bunch of ceremonies and rituals to get to the other side. I personally believe that most of that came from Joseph Smith and freemasonry. I also don’t think that we, as LDS people, have exclusive rights to heaven. I have more non-LDS friends than members, and most of them believe in some form of heaven, and that they’ll see their loved ones again after this life. I have to roll my eyes when I hear comments in Sunday School from ignorant people who claim that only LDS people know where we’re going after this life.

So, is there an afterlife? I believe there is. There’s no way to know that with certainty, but that’s where faith comes in. Faith in most things doesn’t come easy to me, so I don’t say this lightly, but I do have faith that our spirits will continue to live on after our bodies are gone.

Just my two cents..

Thanks for this. I think this is very close to what I’m coming to beleive too. Stumbling on info about JS and the freemasonry-temple connection is what caused my shelf to crash down and started my FC many years ago.

[Author]

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