Another Beginning

My heart spoke to her.

Go into the good night, dear one.

It is done.

So many arms wait to embrace you

through your diaphanous veil of existence.

It is time.

Her passage,

a sanctified  resolution,

of a sacred journey.

She goes into a different light.

Complete, 

though unceasing. 

She is gone,

and she is here.

Replete with 

joy and tranquility.

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.

Merrill J. Bateman, Ensign, May 1995, 13–14

Death is a necessary component of our eternal existence. 

No one knows when it will come, but it is essential to God's great plan of happiness.

Russell M. Nelson, Liahona, May 2005, 16–18; or Ensign, May 2005, 16–18

Death, though bitter to observe, is not the end, but is, rather, 

only another graduation 

from which we go on to a better life.

Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, May 1988, 65–68

I love my Heavenly Father

Children of the heav’nly Father
Safely in His bosom gather;
Nestling bird nor star in Heaven
Such a refuge e’er was given.

God His own doth tend and nourish;
In His holy courts they flourish;
From all evil things He spares them;
In His mighty arms He bears them.

Neither life nor death shall ever
From the Lord His children sever;
Unto them His grace He showeth,
And their sorrows all He knoweth.

Though He giveth or He taketh,
God His children ne’er forsaketh;
His the loving purpose solely
To preserve them pure and holy.

Lo, their very hairs He numbers,
And no daily care encumbers
Them that share His ev’ry blessing
And His help in woes distressing.

Praise the Lord in joyful numbers:
Your Protector never slumbers.
At the will of your Defender
Ev’ry foeman must surrender.

Words: Kar oli na W. Sandell-Berg, An del i ga dagg drop par, 1858 (Tryggare kan ingen vara); translated from Swedish to English by Ernst W. Ol son in The Hymn al, 1925. Shortly before writing this hymn, San­dell and her father were on a boat trip, when he fell over board and drowned be fore her eyes. It is thought this tragedy gave birth to the lyrics.

Music: Tryg gare Kan Ing en Va ra, Swed ish melody, ar ranged by Os kar Ahn felt (1813-1882)

I love my Heavenly Father. 

Without Him, I am nothing. 

He is my Friend, my Protector,  my Teacher,  my Everything.

My dear, sweet, kind, tender Father.

I am grateful to my Heavenly Father.

I pray I can be a daughter 

He can be proud of, 

can count on,  

can trust, 

can use

as an instrument  in His hands.

I pray we can walk as child and father,

hand in hand,

towards a common purpose,

with unconditional love, 

towards all mankind.

I love my Heavenly Father...

dear Father.

Going Into the Good Night...

What is this occurrence? 

The blossoms of early spring just faded

and newly shaped fruits have begun 

to take form.

Soon  round, red, delightful

apples

will be plucked or dropped from the branch.

Eventually...

fruit decays.

Seeds take hold.

Winter snows atop the soil.

Spring will sprout

once more.

There is hope in this cycle;

the eternal pattern of repetition.

And  our lives,

are as the apple tree.

One earthly season

of birth to decay,

to rise again

from the seed of our

mortality,

and 

to live

forever more.

Let children walk with Nature, let them see the beautiful blendings and communions of death and life, their joyous inseparable unity, as taught in woods and meadows, plains and mountains and streams of our blessed star, and they will learn that death is stingless indeed, and as beautiful as life.  ~John Muir

For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?  

~Kahlil Gibran

Ps. 107: 10, 14

  Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron;

      •  •  •

  He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.

Mosiah 15: 7-9, 20, 23

  Yea, even so he shall be led, crucified, and slain, the flesh becoming subject even unto death, the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father.

  And thus God breaketh the bands of death, having gained the victory over death; giving the Son power to make intercession for the children of men—

   Having ascended into heaven, having the bowels of mercy; being filled with compassion towards the children of men; standing betwixt them and justice; having broken the bands of death, taken upon himself their iniquity and their transgressions, having redeemed them, and satisfied the demands of justice.

      •  •  •

   But behold, the bands of death shall be broken, and the Son reigneth, and hath power over the dead; therefore, he bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead.

      •  •  •

  They are raised to dwell with God who has redeemed them; thus they have eternal life through Christ, who has broken the bands of death.

What is this thing that men call death,

This quiet passing in the night?

'Tis not the end, but genesis

Of better worlds and greater light.

O God, touch thou my aching heart,

And calm my troubled, haunting fears.

Let hope and faith, transcendent, pure,

Give strength and peace beyond my tears.

There is no death, but only change,

With recompense for vict'ry won.

The gift of him who loved all men,

The Son of God, the Holy One.

'What Is This Thing That Men Call Death'

By President Gordon B. Hinckley

“What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well.”
Antoine de Saint-Exupery

I ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders.  ~Jewish Proverb

Adversity is like a strong wind.  It tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that we see ourselves as we really are.  

~Arthur Golden,

Sometimes I think it is easier to suffer adversity

than to watch others suffer.

I know we all must go through the fire

to create clarity and authenticity.

I know the pressure will create

a diamond. 

I know the sorrows 

bring sanctification.

I know.

I just wish I could 

spare those I love,

as selfish as it may sound.

*****

Though deepening trials throng your way,
Press on, press on, ye Saints of God!
Ere long the resurrection day
Will spread its life and truth abroad.

Though outward ills await us here,
The time, at longest, is not long,
Ere Jesus Christ will reappear
Surrounded by a glorious throng.

Lift up your hearts in praise to God,
Let your rejoicings never cease.
Though tribulations rage abroad
Christ says, "In me, ye shall have peace."

Hymn:  Though Deepening Trials

 My son, peace be unto thy soul; 

thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a 

small moment.

D&C 121: 7