The LDS Daily WOOL© Home Page
10/17/05
This Gospel, with which Paul was so pleased, requires us to serve the Lord
all the time, so that we may have joy and happiness in our souls, and that
we may be prepared to live and be prepared to go to our reward when
mortality closes and we lay down these mortal tabernacles of ours, for we
will lay them in the dust after a little while—just a little while. All
the time there are changes. Many are being born, and many are passing
away. We mourn, we sorrow for our loved ones that go—our wives, our
husbands, our children, our parents; we sorrow for them; and it is well
and proper that we should mourn for them and shed tears for the loss, for
it is our loss; but it is their gain, for it is in the march of progress,
advancement and development. It will be all right when our time comes,
when we have finished our work and accomplished what the Lord requires of
us. If we are prepared, we need not be afraid to go, for it will be one of
the most pleasant sensations that ever comes to the soul of man, whenever
he departs, if he can go with a clear conscience into the presence of the
Lord and receive that welcome I have mentioned. We will be full of joy and
happiness, and we will enter into a place of rest, of peace, of joy, rest
from every sorrow. What a blessed thing that will be! — Francis
M. Lyman, "Conference Report," October 1909, First Day—Morning Session.,
p.19
3/24/07
We have again the warning voice sounded in our midst, which shows the
uncertainty of human life; and in my leisure moments 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
is a proverb that the 'world grows weaker and wiser'; if that is the case,
the world grows more wicked and corrupt. In the earlier ages of the world
a righteous man, and a man of God and of intelligence, had a better chance
to do good, to be believed and received than at the present day; but in
these days such a man is much opposed and persecuted by most of the
inhabitants of the earth, and he has much sorrow to pass through here. 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, "Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, selected and arranged by
Joseph Fielding Smith," p.196
4/11/07
My brothers and sisters, we laugh, we cry, we work, we play, we love, we
live. And then we die. Death is our universal heritage. All must pass its
portals. Death claims the aged, the weary and worn. It visits the youth in
the bloom of hope and the glory of expectation. Nor are little children
kept beyond its grasp. In the words of the Apostle Paul, 'It is appointed
unto men once to die.' (Hebrews
9:27)
And dead we would remain but for one Man and His mission, even Jesus of
Nazareth. Born in a stable, cradled in a manger, His birth fulfilled the
inspired pronouncements of many prophets. He was taught from on high. He
provided the life, the light, and the way. Multitudes followed Him.
Children adored Him. The haughty rejected Him. He spoke in parables. He
taught by example. He lived a perfect life. — Thomas
S. Monson, "I
Know That My Redeemer Lives,"
General Conference, April 2007
5/8/07
I would not like to say one thing, or express a thought that would grieve
the heart of Joseph, or of Brigham, or of John, or of Wilford, or Lorenzo,
or any of their faithful associates in the ministry. Sometimes the Lord
expands our vision from this point of view and this side of the veil, that
we feel and seem to realize that we can look beyond the thin veil which
separates us from that other sphere. If we can see by the enlightening
influence of the Spirit of God and through the words that have been spoken
by the holy prophets of God, beyond the veil that separates us from the
spirit world, surely those who have passed beyond, can see more clearly
through the veil back here to us than it is possible for us to see to them
from our sphere of action. I believe we move and have our being in the
presence of heavenly messengers and of heavenly beings. We are not
separate from them. We begin to realize more and more fully, as we become
acquainted with the principles of the Gospel, as they have been revealed
anew in this dispensation, that we are closely related to our kindred, to
our ancestors, to our friends and associates and co-laborers who have
preceded us into the spirit world. We cannot forget them; we do not cease
to love them; we always hold them in our hearts, in memory, and thus we
are associated and united to them by ties that we can not break, that we
can not dissolve or free ourselves from. If this is the case with us in
our finite condition, surrounded by our mortal weaknesses,
shortsightedness, lack of inspiration and wisdom from time to time, how
much more certain it is and reasonable and consistent to believe that
those who have been faithful, who have gone beyond and are still engaged
in the work for the salvation of the souls of men, the opening of the
prison doors to them that are bound and proclaiming liberty to the
captives who can see us better than we can see them; that they know us
better than we know them. They have advanced; we are advancing; we are
growing as they have grown; we are reaching the goal that they have
attained unto; and therefore, I claim that we live in their presence, they
see us, they are solicitous for our welfare, they love us now more than
ever. For now they see the dangers that beset us; they can comprehend
better than ever before, the weaknesses that are liable to mislead us into
dark and forbidden paths. They see the temptations and the evils that
beset us in life and the proneness of mortal beings to yield to temptation
and to wrong doing; hence their solicitude for us and their love for us
and their desire for our well being must be greater than that which we
feel for ourselves. — Joseph F. Smith,
"Conference Report," April 1916, p.3
5/4/09
And it has been said that the most important event in life is death. We
live to die and then we die to live. Death is a kind of graduation day for
life. It is our only means of entrance to our eternal lives. And it seems
to me to be a very helpful procedure to spend a little time preliving our
death. That is, what kind of person would you like to be when the last
hour of your life arrives? — Sterling
W. Sill, "To Die Well," Ensign (CR), November 1976, p. 46
4/29/10
All of us have to deal with death at one time or another, but to have in
one's heart a solid conviction concerning the reality of eternal life is
to bring a sense of peace in an hour of tragedy that can come from no
other source under the heavens. —
"Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley," p. 153
7/25/11
We know each one lived in the spirit world with Heavenly Father. We
understand we have come to earth to learn, to live, to progress in our
eternal journey toward perfection. Some remain on earth but for a moment,
while others live long upon the land. The measure is not how long we live,
but rather how well we live. Then come death and the beginning of a new
chapter of life. Where does that chapter lead? — Thomas
S. Monson, "He
Is Risen," Ensign (CR) October 1981
7/7/12
Death teaches
that we do not experience a fulness of joy in mortality and that
everlasting joy can be achieved only with the assistance of the Master
(see D&C
93:33–34). Just as the lame man at the pool of Bethesda needed
someone stronger than himself to be healed (see John
5:1–9), so we are dependent on the miracles of Christ’s
atonement if our souls are to be made whole from grief, sorrow, and
sin. - Merrill J. Bateman, "The
Power to Heal from Within," Ensign (CR) May 1995
10/12/12
Remember as you attended the funeral of your loved one the feelings in
your heart as you drove away from the cemetery and looked back to see
that solitary casket—wondering if your heart would break.
I testify that because of Him, even our Savior, Jesus Christ, those
feelings of sorrow, loneliness, and despair will one day be swallowed up
in a fulness of joy. - Shayne M. Bowen, "Because
I Live, Ye Shall Live Also," Ensign (CR) November 2012
3/19/14
Though
otherwise a “lively” attribute, hope stands quietly with us at
funerals. Our tears are just as wet, but not because of despair.
Rather, they are tears of heightened appreciation evoked by poignant
separation. Those tears of separation change, ere long, becoming
tears of glorious anticipation. - Neal
A. Maxwell, “Hope
through the Atonement of Jesus Christ,” Ensign (CR) November
1998
5/24/15
Because life is fragile and death inevitable, we must make the most
of each day. - Thomas S. Monson,
"Now
Is the Time," Ensign (CR), November 2001, p. 59
3/21/17
It
is true. We live to die, and we die to live again. From an eternal
perspective, the only death that is truly premature is the death of
one who is not prepared to meet God. – Russell
M. Nelson, “Face
the
Future with Faith,” Ensign (CR) May 2011
3/26/17
Irrespective
of
age, we mourn for those loved and lost. Mourning is one of the deepest
expressions of pure love. It is a natural response in complete accord
with divine commandment: “Thou shalt live together in love, insomuch
that thou shalt weep for the loss of them that die.” (D&C
42:45.)
Moreover, we can’t fully appreciate joyful reunions later without tearful separations now. The only way to take sorrow out of death is to take love out of life. – Russell M. Nelson, “Doors of Death,” Ensign (CR) May 1992