Death, Thou Shalt Die

Death is a companion that seems to want to accompany us all throughout life; some of us just have closer experiences with it than others. I myself am becoming quite familiar with him. He can be a cold creature at times, and at other times a sweet release to those who suffer. I have been a witness to both types, and also many other varying degrees in between. He’s very misunderstood, I think. He comes with his raven wings and glides away just as quietly. I’ve seen him several times, and the more exposure that I’ve had with him, the less frightening he is. He comes for his clients with a cool professionalism that is undeniable, and sweeps them away, leaving only husks in their place. But where he takes them depends on how much currency they have, and he only deals in virtuous and worthy lives.
I remember the first time that I really began to know Death was while serving as a missionary in the Mexico City South Mission. It was a dark day, even though the sun was shining brightly. A recent convert to the Church, who I will call Marcos, had found his son’s dead body hanging from the support beam in his own room. We had been at Marcos’s house all the previous day offering consolation and advising those bereaved by grief. It was exactly two years ago from tonight on April 1, 2007 that it happened. I wrote home the following words in reference to this horrible event:
“On Sunday, we went to the burial, this was one of the most horrible experiences I have ever had in my mission. I have never seen so much absolute wailing and gnashing of teeth as the scriptures describe it. There were so many people screaming and pulling at their hair, and fainting and so many things, it was an unorganized array. The burial team was callous and un-professional in the way they handled the actual burying, carelessly dropping the casket into a crudely cut out hole in the ground and then brutally threw shovel-fulls of dirt onto the remains of what was my friend's son. It was too much for him, he made as if to go over to the graveside, and some of his family grabbed him, restraining him. One of the old ladies, probably an aunt, began telling him ''Tell God to give you back your son! It's because you changed religions, God is punishing you for that! Tell Him you want your son back! It doesn't matter if God takes you, but tell him how you feel!'' The father threw them off of him and said as he ran to the side of where they were burying his son
“Don't even talk to me!'' When he got to the grave, it was an emotional burden too strong for him, and he turned to the nearest person, which as God would have it, was the bishop. He turned and began weeping on his shoulder as the clods of dirt accompanied the tortured cries of the mother and her family.
This was a very difficult thing to see, we sang a few hymns to try and make it somewhat easier, the contention of the family against us was enough to destroy any chance of the spirit taking part in this cold ceremony. This was a cold reminder of what this life is, this wasn't like any other funeral I had ever been too, where the tears shed were done so in celebration of a life well-lived, and at times, a life that had been cut short by an accident, but all had been with the sweet reassurances of the gospel, the resurrection, and the promises of covenants made in the holy temples of the Lord. These people screamed their hopeless protests against a seemingly invincible foe: Death. They knew nothing, or very little, of the hope that comes through our Savior, in these moments. Christ was a forgotten figure, something more resembling Santa Claus, not someone that could actually have the power to take away the pains of losing a loved one.
In the faith of our Lord, the sting of death is taken away, we know that it is only a temporary phase that must happen as surely as birth is a part of this plan that we all are part of. Needless to say, I am so very grateful for the Plan of Salvation that we have, that takes away the needless fear of what lies beyond this life. I hope we all realize what a priceless jewel we have in our lives to have such a knowledge.
This funeral was a blunt reminder of what we all must pass through, the great and small, rich and poor, learned and un, all must die, and many times the only ones to share our grief in this world are a few family members, and they are suffering the same and are not too great a comfort. With the Lord in our lives, we have a great comfort, that some day we will rise. Death will have no power over us, and we will be free forever. I am grateful for the opportunity I had to be able to offer some small measure of comfort to this brother by sharing somewhat with him the Plan of Salvation. I am grateful for worthy priesthood bearers such as the bishop of this ward, who were there when this brother needed him most. Mostly, I am grateful for the Comforter, which comes from our Heavenly Father that is able to help us in these difficult times. The brother is still struggling with the loss of his son, but his ward is uniting to help him, and I am sure that the Lord will not leave him alone. I feel a calm sense of assurance in saying that with time, he will be fine, through the cleansing power of the Atonement, he still has some time left in this ''Friday'' of his life, as Elder Wirthlin said in the October conference, but Sunday is well on its' way.”
John Donne, in a later portion of his life, penned the poem “Death Be Not Proud”. Its words are a stirring reminder for us to be grateful for the wonderful blessings that we possess in this Gospel, the answers to the knowledge that death is not the end. He writes: “Death be not proud, though some have called thee mighty and dreadful, for, thou art not so, for, those whom thou think’st, thou dost overthrow, die not, poor Death…” Remember that this life is not the end, and we do not have all the answers in this life as to the outcome of every single individual, we do know this: “One short sleep past, we wake eternally, and death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.” So it shall be, and we will be forever left to consider the outcomes of our decisions, whether for our eternal happiness or not is the decision that we face today. Let all our choices be those that direct us to the hope of an eternity with those we love, and let us not pawn off the difficulties of today for a moment’s sinful respite. Let us continue moving forward towards the victory. That we might be able to truly rest and be able to come forth in that great day, when all is finished and death, that sad creature, takes its final victim: itself.