In Memorium

This morning, right before we went to church, Jessie checked his e-mail and discovered that a friend from his mission had been on the plane that crashed in Moab, killing everyone on board. It was quite a shock for him, and for me as well. This friend was the kind of boy you knew from one meeting was a good person. Jessie always had the utmost respect for him. As we found out more, we learned that his father had also been killed on the flight, and he left behind a new wife of about a year who is a month away from delivering his first son. I thought about how hard this would be, as a young woman, and my heart broke for his widow. I gave Jessie a hug as he shed a few tears for an old friend.

My mind has been on this tragedy today, and two things have really stuck out to me. The first is this: although my heart breaks for his wife and mother, and all that they will go through, I am not sad for him. I only met him a half dozen times, but that was enough to know that he was a righteous, caring person who was ready whenever the Lord called him home. It impressed me that although neither Jessie or I has had contact with him recently, and although Jessie only knew him from his mission, his death touched our life, as well as many others whom he only knew in passing. I think it is an admirable goal to live your life in a manner that those around you are better for having just met you, and so that you are a force for good who is missed when you are gone. This boy was just that.

I also realized, perhaps for the first time, just how grateful I am for the Plan of Salvation. Although it seems tragic that he was taken while he had so much in front him, with a young wife who needed him and a son he never met in this life, there is hope for them. He will meet his son, and he and his wife were sealed for eternity. It is a great comfort to me, as I think about how grateful I am for my husband and daughter, that if anything happened to them, it would be hard, but it would not be the end. Because we have made the choice to be sealed in the temple, we will be together forever. And in situations like this, the Lord is there to comfort and heal, until they can be reunited. What a beautiful blessing.

My sympathies to the family of this young man and his father, and all the other families of those lost in that crash. May you find peace through the gospel and have the protection and love of the Lord around you.