Our First Presidency message for the month of August comes to us from our new prophet, Thomas S. Monson, and speaks of the tragedy of death. He begins by mentioning the deaths of those who were killed on 9/11 almost seven years ago, and the sorrow that was felt not only by their friends and loved ones, but by the entire nation.
He then goes on to speak of the death of Jesus Christ, and how, because of that death, we can be comforted when one close to us dies. We have a hope of a resurrection. We know that we can see that loved one again. We know that we can pray for an ease of our suffering and loneliness, because Christ takes the darkness out of death.
We know that death will come to all of us eventually, but for those of us who may fear death, we can focus on today. We can ask ourselves what good things we want to accomplish while we are still here and vital on the earth, and then go out and do them. We can spend our time in service, in cheering up others, and we can make our lives truly meaningful.
We’ve each been given opportunities while here on the earth, and we can use them, or misuse them. We can hold grudges and make enemies, or we can forgive and move forward.
He illustrates with the story of a woman whose next-door neighbor was her worst enemy and thorn in her side. She blew off steam by corresponding with a pen pal through her daily newspaper, and although she never met her correspondent, they were fast friends for twenty-five years. When her neighbor died, she learned that her pen pal was in fact her neighbor, and all those years they had spent hating each other, they could have been sharing a wonderful friendship instead.
President Monson encourages us to so live that each day will be of worth and value, that we might fill our hearts with love, to serve and give of ourselves. He says, “May we live so that when that final summons is heard, we may have no serious regrets, no unfinished business, but will be able to say with the Apostle Paul, ‘I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.’”
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