When I wrote about being happy to have another birthday, I said that I wasn't afraid of dying. I thought I should explain why I said that.
I think most people are afraid of dying because they don't know what will happen to them. Some people think they will just cease to exist. Many people envision their spirit continuing in a place where there is not any suffering or pain, but where they will be single without their family. Though they have hoped and promised in this life that "their love will continue forever", they aren't sure it will.
What does happen after you die? Will you really cease to exist? Will you lose your body and be just be a spirit forever? Will your marriage and family be gone?
This video reminds me of not only that we can live forever because of the Savior's sacrifice, but reminds me how to live now. I am so impressed by the Savior's great love and willingness to suffer the consequences of our mistakes, so that we can learn and grow. He does not waver from what He knows must be done to help us, even when socially persecuted and threatened with death. He is the perfect example. He is who I desire to become like.
Why do I rejoice that our Savior came to the earth, laid down His life for us, and took it up again? Because it gives me hope. Because of Him, I look forward to seeing my grandparents again, and being with my husband and children forever. When I make a mistake, it isn't permanent. With His help, I can try again and become a better person. I couldn't bear not to be able to progress and grow. I couldn't live without the hope our Savior gives us.
https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2011-06-04-we-can-live-with-god-again?lang=eng
A friend asked me how I can believe in the Resurrection. How can I not? She states that bodies decompose after death and that is that. Of course our bodies break down and return to basic elements. It would be a pretty scary (and smelly!) world if this didn't happen. Personally, I wouldn't want my body to be preserved and just brought back to life. I'm old now. I don't want to be stuck in this aging body forever! What I want is my spirit to return to a new body, an eternal body, one that will not age or decompose. Now that would be good. Spirits can not decompose. You feel the spirits of the people around you all the time. Their spirits either attract or repel you. We've all seen people who are beautiful on the outside, but you are repulsed by their spirit, another person you just immediately trust. Why, because our spirit is sensing their spirit.
I have seen death. One moment you feel them there, then they are gone. The body is there, but they are not there anymore. We call it death when the spirit leaves the body. Even when the body is kept working by machines, you can feel a difference when the spirit leaves. The spirit enables the body to have life on its own, it is what makes you, you. It is what makes a baby a live being, it is your personality, your thoughts, your feelings, it is you. If you have ever felt someone's presences, you have felt their spirit. The spirit is not physical and therefore can not put in the gave to decompose, but continues to live with other spirits.
I believe that a God who has the power to create this world, can recreate our bodies, make them so they will not be subject to destructive powers, and put our spirits back in them, never to suffer or die again.
A Jewish friend of mine told me that Jesus Christ can't be the Savior, the Messiah, because all he did was die. After a long history of oppression, the Jews were desperately looking for the true Messiah who would free them. But, as the Savior declared to Pilate when asked if he was trying to set up a political government, "My kingdom is not of this world".
I was very touched by this video. John the Beloved, one of Jesus Christ's twelve disciples, shares his memories and the meaning of the final days of the Savior's ministry.
by Cheryl Merrick In submission to His Father’s will, He, who possesses the power to create worlds, allows nails to be driven into his flesh that He might save His friends.
I just saw this new Easter video. It is wonderful! It reminds us of the hope we have because of Him. #BecauseHeLives (I think I just did a hashtag!) This is a great site. Besides the video, it has pictures and a summary of the last week of the Savior's life. At the bottom of those pages are a question and answer and the opportunity to chat. it is great!
Some may think it strange to talk about death at Christmas time. They say this is a time to be merry- not to think of dying, but overcoming death is what we rejoice about at Christmas.
The authors of our Christmas carols understood this as shown in these words from Hark the Herald Angels Sing:
Born that man no more may die. Born to raise the sons of earth. Born to give them second birth. Hark! The herald angels sing "Glory to the newborn King!"
