Death and Resurrection

Death separates “the spirit and the body [which] are the soul of man” [Doctrine and Covenants 88:15]. That separation evokes pangs of sorrow and shock among those left behind. The hurt is real. Only its intensity varies. … The sense of tragedy may be related to age. Generally the younger the victim, the greater the grief. Yet even when the elderly or infirm have been afforded merciful relief, their loved ones are rarely ready to let go. The only length of life that seems to satisfy the longings of the human heart is life everlasting.

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” [Doctrine and Covenants 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.

Eternal perspective provides peace “which passeth all understanding” [Philippians 4:7].

Mortal life, glorious as it is, was never the ultimate objective of God’s plan. Life and death here on planet Earth were merely means to an end—not the end for which we were sent.

14:37

If the body’s capacity for normal function, defense, repair, regulation, and regeneration were to prevail without limit, life here would continue in perpetuity. Yes, we would be stranded here on earth! Mercifully for us, our Creator provided for aging and other processes that would ultimately result in our physical death. Death, like birth, is part of life. Scripture teaches that “it was not expedient that man should be reclaimed from this temporal death, for that would destroy the great plan of happiness” [Alma 42:8]. To return to God through the gateway we call death is a joy for those who love Him and are prepared to meet Him. Eventually the time will come when each “spirit and … body shall be reunited again in … perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame” [Alma 11:43], never to be separated again. …

Important as is the body, it serves as a tabernacle for one’s eternal spirit. Our spirits existed in the premortal realm and will continue to live after the body dies. The spirit provides the body with animation and personality. In this life and in the next, spirit and body, when joined together, become a living soul of supernal worth.

The aging process is … a gift from God, as is death. The eventual death of your mortal body is essential to God’s great plan of happiness. Why? Because death will allow your spirit to return home to Him. From an eternal perspective, death is only premature for those who are not prepared to meet God.

Life does not begin with birth, nor does it end with death. Prior to our birth, we dwelled as spirit children with our Father in Heaven. There we eagerly anticipated the possibility of coming to earth and obtaining a physical body. Knowingly we wanted the risks of mortality, which would allow the exercise of agency and accountability. “This life [was to become] a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God” [Alma 12:24]. But we regarded the returning home as the best part of that long-awaited trip, just as we do now. Before embarking on any journey, we like to have some assurance of a round-trip ticket. Returning from earth to life in our heavenly home requires passage through—and not around—the doors of death. We were born to die, and we die to live. …

Scriptures teach that death is essential to happiness: “Now behold, it was not expedient that man should be reclaimed from this temporal death, for that would destroy the great plan of happiness” [Alma 42:8; italics added].

Our limited perspective would be enlarged if we could witness the reunion on the other side of the veil, when doors of death open to those returning home. Such was the vision of the psalmist who wrote, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints” [Psalm 116:15].

Central to [the] plan of salvation is the Atonement of Jesus Christ. In premortal councils He was foreordained by His Father to atone for our sins and break the bands of physical and spiritual death. Jesus declared: “I … was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. … In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name” (Ether 3:14).

From the Savior’s appearance to Mary to His appearances to His Apostles in the upper room, 500 brethren at once, the multitude numbering 2,500 in the land Bountiful, and Joseph Smith in our day, His Resurrection is one of the most carefully documented events in human history. …

The Savior’s Resurrection was the ultimate triumph, the ultimate miracle, wrought of foreordination, indescribable agony, and divine power from on high. Through that incomprehensible power—made operable through the love, omniscience, and omnipotence of His Father—Jesus Christ became “the firstfruits” (1 Corinthians 15:23) of the Resurrection.

The keys of the Resurrection repose securely with our Lord and Master. He said:

“I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

“And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die” (John 11:25–26). …

I thank God for his Son, Jesus Christ, for his mission in mortality, and for his ministry as the resurrected Lord. … He brought about a universal resurrection: “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22).

Without Jesus Christ, … death would be the end. Because of the Savior and His Atonement, immortality—living forever—is a reality for all, and eternal life—living forever in God’s presence—is a possibility for all who qualify. The unchanging truths of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ can guide you to all that the Savior has in store for you now and in your future.

The gift of resurrection is the Lord’s consummate act of healing. Thanks to Him, each body will be restored to its proper and perfect frame. Thanks to Him, no condition is hopeless. Thanks to Him, brighter days are ahead, both here and hereafter. Real joy awaits each of us—on the other side of sorrow.

Eventually the time will come when you will die. Your body and spirit will be separated and, in that state, “cannot receive a fulness of joy” (Doctrine and Covenants 93:34). But thanks to Jesus Christ, you will be resurrected. You cannot help it—you will be resurrected!

Your body will be perfectly restored, never to be separated from your spirit again. You will then be an eternal soul.

Our resurrection will not be an end but a new beginning.

Resurrection is requisite for eternal perfection. Thanks to the Atonement of Jesus Christ, our bodies, corruptible in mortality, will become incorruptible. Our physical frames, now subject to disease, death, and decay, will acquire immortal glory. Presently sustained by the blood of life and ever aging, our bodies will be sustained by spirit and become changeless and beyond the bounds of death.

Eternal perfection is reserved for those who overcome all things and inherit the fulness of the Father in his heavenly mansions. Perfection consists in gaining eternal life—the kind of life that God lives.

For God’s children, resurrection means that aging, deterioration, and decay will be done away. “This mortal shall put on immortality” (Mosiah 16:10), and “the spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form” (Alma 11:43).

Resurrection also makes possible another reuniting—the reuniting of families. We live together in love, so we weep when a loved one dies. But like Mary Magdalene, we can have our tears of sorrow turn into tears of joy as we anticipate the future from the perspective of an eternal family.

Death is premature only if we are unprepared to meet God. So, we must prepare.

We prepare by keeping our focus on the Savior and His gospel.

We prepare by exercising faith, applying “the atoning blood of Christ” (Mosiah 4:2) through repentance, being baptized, and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost.

We prepare by being endowed and sealed in the holy temple.

We prepare by placing reason over appetite, caring for our body so that we can “present it pure before God in the celestial kingdom.”

We prepare by developing Christlike attributes and loving God and our neighbor (see Matthew 22:37–40).

We prepare by honoring our covenants, letting God prevail in our lives, gathering Israel on both sides of the veil, and enduring to the end of our days.

After judgment comes the possibility of eternal life—the kind of life that our Heavenly Father lives. His celestial realm has been compared with the glory of the sun. It is available to all who prepare for it, the requirements of which have been clearly revealed: “Ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life” [2 Nephi 31:20].

Meanwhile, we who tarry here have a few precious moments remaining “to prepare to meet God” [Alma 34:32]. Unfinished business is our worst business. Perpetual procrastination must yield to perceptive preparation. Today we have a little more time to bless others—time to be kinder, more compassionate, quicker to thank and slower to scold, more generous in sharing, more gracious in caring.

Then when our turn comes to pass through the doors of death, we can say as did Paul: “The time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” [2 Timothy 4:6–7].

We need not look upon death as an enemy. With full understanding and preparation, faith supplants fear. Hope displaces despair. The Lord said, “Fear not even unto death; for in this world your joy is not full, but in me your joy is full” [Doctrine and Covenants 101:36]. He bestowed this gift: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” [John 14:27].

As a special witness of Jesus Christ, I testify that He lives! I also testify that the veil of death is very thin. I know by experiences too sacred to relate that those who have gone before are not strangers to leaders of this Church. To us and to you, our loved ones may be just as close as the next room—separated only by the doors of death.

With that assurance, brothers and sisters, love life! Cherish each moment as a blessing from God. Live it well—even to your loftiest potential. Then the anticipation of death shall not hold you hostage. With the help of the Lord, your deeds and desires will qualify you to receive everlasting joy, glory, immortality, and eternal lives.

Without Jesus Christ, … death would be the end. Because of the Savior and His Atonement, immortality—living forever—is a reality for all, and eternal life—living forever in God’s presence—is a possibility for all who qualify. The unchanging truths of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ can guide you to all that the Savior has in store for you now and in your future.

The gift of resurrection is the Lord’s consummate act of healing. Thanks to Him, each body will be restored to its proper and perfect frame. Thanks to Him, no condition is hopeless. Thanks to Him, brighter days are ahead, both here and hereafter. Real joy awaits each of us—on the other side of sorrow.

Eventually the time will come when you will die. Your body and spirit will be separated and, in that state, “cannot receive a fulness of joy” (Doctrine and Covenants 93:34). But thanks to Jesus Christ, you will be resurrected. You cannot help it—you will be resurrected!

Your body will be perfectly restored, never to be separated from your spirit again. You will then be an eternal soul.

Love life! Cherish each moment as a blessing from God. Live it well—even to your loftiest potential. Then the anticipation of death shall not hold you hostage. With the help of the Lord, your deeds and desires will qualify you to receive everlasting joy, glory, immortality, and eternal lives.

Death is premature only if we are unprepared to meet God. So, we must prepare.

We prepare by keeping our focus on the Savior and His gospel.

We prepare by exercising faith, applying “the atoning blood of Christ” (Mosiah 4:2) through repentance, being baptized, and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost.

We prepare by being endowed and sealed in the holy temple.

We prepare by placing reason over appetite, caring for our body so that we can “present it pure before God in the celestial kingdom.”

We prepare by developing Christlike attributes and loving God and our neighbor (see Matthew 22:37–40).

We prepare by honoring our covenants, letting God prevail in our lives, gathering Israel on both sides of the veil, and enduring to the end of our days.

We who tarry here have a few precious moments remaining “to prepare to meet God” [Alma 34:32]. Unfinished business is our worst business. Perpetual procrastination must yield to perceptive preparation. Today we have a little more time to bless others—time to be kinder, more compassionate, quicker to thank and slower to scold, more generous in sharing, more gracious in caring.