Readings:
Elder Henry B. Eyring, The
Family (A BYU Address on 5 November 1995)
Elder Robert D. Hales, The
Eternal Family (Ensign, November 1996m p. 64)
Elder Tad Callister, Our
Identity and Destiny (BYU Campus Education Week, 14 August 2012)
As I have read these three
readings I was overcome with the knowledge that each and every word was from
God. These men are His prophets, seers and revelatory on earth today to speak
to us because He cannot. I know these men are inspired as they are asked to
speak to the world. I focused greatly on Elder Hales' words. I wasn't sure what
to pinpoint until I was rereading things and came upon paragraph 27. He spoke
of an Air Force pilot who crashed and died while on a training mission. He was
assigned to represent the Air Force/Government by staying with and getting his
body home. He then attended the services and presented the flag to his mourning
widow. He was aware of how sad and dark the service was. He stated, "The
funeral service was dark and dismal. No mention was made of his goodness or his
accomplishments. His name was never mentioned. At the conclusion of the
services, his widow turned to me and asked, 'Bob, what is really going to
happen to Don?'" Elder Hales explained of the Resurrection and how they
could be together eternally through baptism and being sealed in the temple.
What an amazing experience that must have been, obviously it was because it's
stuck with him ever since.
I
am grateful to know that God has placed the family unit as such importance. He
organized us from the beginning in families and that's the way we always will
be. It's sad that the world doesn't see things this way. Satan has a strong
hold on so many and has worked hard to deceive people into believing that
family is something completely different from God's way. There is sadness in death
but we understand that it is merely a separation for a time, it is not the end
forever.
