The Sting of Death

I don't know if this is a coincidence or really good timing on God's part, but last night, I saw a production showing the scenes that followed Christ's resurrection, and this morning, I read and listened to Elder Carlos H. Amado's talk, Christ the Redeemer, which talked about Jesus' power over death.

In light of those two inspiring messages, death doesn't seem so bad as we often think it is. When we die, we lose our bodies, but we get them back, better than ever, when we're resurrected. When we die, we become separated from our loved ones, but we'll be reunited in heaven. When we die, we're forced to leave this beautiful earth, but even the lowest kingdom of heaven, the telestial kingdom, in which are found "liars, and sorcerers, and adulterers, and whoremongers" (D&C 76:103), is described as having glory "which surpasses all understanding" (D&C 76:89), so even the worst place any of us might end up when we die will be better than here (unless one of us manages to pull off a sin at the same level as Judas Iscariot, which I'm pretty sure would be impossible for any of us).

Thanks to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, most of the pains of death are only temporary, apart from the probably permanent move from one place to another, and thanks to the mercy and goodness of our Heavenly Father, the place we will move to will, in all likelihood, be much better than here. The worst pain of death that remains is the temporary separation from our loved ones, but like all trials of mortality, as soon as it has ended, we will have the perspective to see that it really wasn't so bad as it felt. Death may seem frightening, painful, and tragic now, but in reality, it is but a passing from one world to another. And the world to which it takes our loved ones, and to which it will eventually take us, is glorious beyond all description. "And the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ" (Mosiah 16:8).