The writer of Ecclesiastes said, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven… A time to be born, and a time to die.” (Eccl. 3:1–2; see also Alma 12:27.) Spencer W. Kimball taught: “Death may be the opening of the door to opportunity. Of course, we are never quite ready for the change. Not knowing when it should come, we fight to retain our life. Yet we ought not to be afraid of death.” (Spencer W. Kimball, “Friend to Friend: Tragedy or Destiny?,” Friend, Apr 1974, 6). Everyone must die, but the tragedy is not found in the occurrence of death, only in the action of sin, again the “sting of death”.
The Book of Mormon prophet, Alma reflected that through the Fall “all mankind became a lost and fallen people” (Alma 12:22). He expounded to his son Corianton that “as … the fall had brought upon all mankind a spiritual death as well as a temporal, that is, they were cut off from the presence of the Lord, it was expedient that mankind should be reclaimed from this spiritual death” (Alma 42:9; see also Alma 12:16, 32; Alma 40:26; Hel. 14:16). Again, we see that a through the Fall, a need for an Atonement occurred. Only by and through Jesus Christ could one be reclaimed from both physical and spiritual death. And only through Jesus Christ and his Atonement for all of humankind could stop avoiding the spiritual concern of death, and learn to gain mental wellness through a reliance on Him who is eager to save.
Some avoid death by atheistic view of non-existence after death. Thomas S. Monson stated: “(Need to add portions of Pres. Monson’s April 2007 conference address “I know that my redeemer lives” in regards to those who don’t believe in life after death)
Gaining purpose from death
Eve, the great mother of us all, stated profoundly to Adam: “Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.” (Moses 5:11.)
Eve rejoiced in the Fall, and the knowledge that the mortal test had begun. Now, because of their transgression, children could be born. They could now experience all of the pain, yet all of the joy that could be known as they traveled up the road to exaltation. And they now could also know the profound impact of physical and spiritual death.
As with Eve, so Adam likewise, blessed with the gift of the Holy Ghost, “blessed God and was filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying: Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God.” (Moses 5:10.)
Adam and Eve’s eyes were open as they contemplated the need for a Redeemer after their Fall. Similarily, when we realize the fragility of life itself we can gain spiritual insight and purpose. Moreover, our realization of the finite nature of life can lead us to change our lives, when confronted with the notion of spiritual and physical death. We have many literary allusions of this: The story of War and Peace is one example. In this work, Tolstoy, the character, Pierre feels the purposelessness of his life as a Russian aristocrat. The crux of the book occurs when Pierre, after searching for his purpose in life, is captured by Napoleon’s army and sentenced to death. After watching the execution of other men, and as he prepares himself to die, he is unrepentantly reprieved. This experience gives him the purpose he was looking for. Because he was faced with his death, he came to an awareness his meaning in life, and through giving himself more completely to relationships and attempting to effusively experience every moment of life, he lives the remainder of his life full of purpose.
Many of Tolstoy’s works had these themes of ultimate concern. In “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”, Ivan is a relentless tyrant who develops a fatal illness. After his diagnosis and his realization that he was going to die, he spends the last remaining days of his life full of purpose, for he realizes “[I will] die badly because [I have] lived badly”. Truly sin is living badly, and gaining purpose in life, especially through an understanding of the gospel, is to live life full of meaning.
(next: "the Atonement's answer")
1 comment:
The song "Live like you were dying" recorded by Tim Mcgraw was so successful I think because of just what you wrote about. It saddens me that society has perpetuated death as a negative event. I have long felt and shared that for Christians, eternity (through death) is the ultimate reward! If we all accepted and believed what God has promised in eternity we would be looking forward to it! I understand the loss felt by those left behind and of course this is natural and needs to be felt and processed but I do wish it would not overshadow the victory in death! At least in my area of the country, the African American churches call their funerals Homegoing services and they are usually quite a celebration of praise and song. I much prefer that.
I have worked my whole career at a children's hospital and one of the things I love about children is their love of life. They are fighting cancer but their main concern is when does the playroom open! This is why Jesus said we should come to him like children--excited about the day, its possibilities.
I just came across a most wonderful little story called, "The Brave Little Soul" by John Alessi. Google it. In it God says, "Little soul, do not be sad, for the suffering you see, unlocks the love in people's hearts." This is certainly evidenced in the response to Haiti. God bless all.
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