celebration of a life well lived

Last Friday night my mother-in-law, Patricia Ann Mark Conrad (shown here only a couple months befor her death with my granddaughter Samantha), died after a long, painful battle with dementia and cancer. After her mighty struggle, her last breaths were peaceful and merciful. 

Although we will miss her, as LDS-Christians, we celebrate her passing. Her funeral tomorrow won't be all sadness, as we share memories, gospel principles, music, poetry, and love. Her death was not a spiritual death, which comes as a result of disobedience to God's Word and Will. 

Sin makes us unclean and unable to dwell in the presence of God (Romans 3:23; Alma 12:12-16, 32; Helaman 14:18). It is true that all sin. Nevertheless, the Atonement of Jesus Christ offers redemption from spiritual death if we have faith, repent from sin, and strive to obey His word (Alma 13:27-30; Helaman 14:19; Articles of Faith 3). Since my mother-in-law was a faithful woman, her death was only a physical death or separation of the spirit from the mortal body. 

The Fall of Adam brought physical death into the world (Moses 6:48). Because of Jesus' Atonement we can be sure that all will be resurrected and redeemed from physical death. Whether the person is able to stay in the presence of God or not is determined by their choices and commitment in accepting the gifts of the Atonement to the fullest: faith, repentance, obedience, accepting His grace, and endurance. 

When I met my mother-in-law, she was about the age I am now. She was the most beautiful, elegant, and vibrant woman I had ever met. For several years, we lived in the same neighborhood and spent time together walking and talking. We worked together in the Relief Society (LDS Woman's Service Group), she the president and I her supervisor. I learned a lot from her and continued to see her as a beautiful, elegant woman with a lot to offer the world. The most important lesson she taught me was to accept people for who they are and not be unhappy, because they don’t perform as I imagine they should. 

As she entered her 70s, her body began to slow down. She suffered a couple nasty falls which resulted in broken hips and feet. Her health failed, cancer moved in, and dementia held her thoughts captive. To see her suffer so was frustrating and sad. But now she is free of the prison her body became, as this poem illustrates perfectly.

Fly with the Eagle 

Susan Noyes Anderson

High on the mountain’s rocky crest,
an eagle soars to make its nest––
surrounded by nature’s majesty,
riding the wind so strong and free.
And I am at peace, and my soul takes wing
as I join the eagle, circling
above the clouds in a quest for height
so urgent that we speed our flight.
Faster and faster our wings beat strong,
and the strokes that we take are sure and long…
and I am at peace, and my soul feels free
to fly with the eagle inside of me.