Most of us still living, seldom think of those who are dead, We mourn them for a while and then, only on the date of their birth, the day of their death and/or Memorial Day, do we think of them and maybe shed a tear for our loss. Other times when we see a picture of them or see something that they have written that reminds us, it will bring a tear as well. Yet! They are still family, family that we, for now, can no longer interact with as we did before. Some of us who think we have a knowledge of the spirit world and where our family dead are right now, are probably going to be surprised in some way because what we think we know is primarily conjecture, only our wish, and our hope. There are some who believe the body and the spirit of those who have gone ahead become a part of a greater whole and that all will lose their personal identity in some all encompassing cloud. I am pretty certain that will not be the case. Prophets in these Latter Days believe and tell us a different scenario. They tell us, and the scriptures tend to support the belief, that we will always maintain our individual identity. Too, that we will be family again; brothers and sisters and parents together. Jesus Christ was even identified as a brother, our elder brother, at the time that the foundation of the earth was laid. If in fact, God the Father, is the Father of us all, then we are all a universal brotherhood and sisterhood. Won’t it be an interesting time when the end comes and for the first time since our mortal birth will we know and understand exactly how everything fits together for certain? Job was more confident than are most, he said, “After my skin hath been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh shall I see God.” I’m sure it will be a real eye opener for many of us earth dwellers when that time does come.
The current donor program brings that ‘brother/sister all’ idea together even stronger, to know that we can exchange body parts when necessary. Many years ago, my younger sister contracted Leukemia and needed a bone marrow transplant. I was the only one who was a perfect blood match to be the donor. The transplant was a success but a few months later she caught pneumonia and passed away. I believe it was just at the beginning of the idea that body parts could be transported from one person to another if enough things were compatible, such as blood type, etcetera. That does somehow tie us all together like brothers and sisters. My third son contracted Hepatitis C years ago and eventually, it destroyed his liver. Just before he was about to meet his family on the other side of the veil, he was fortunate to receive a liver from a donor. It meant that someone had to die for him to live. In this case, it was a young man who was killed in an accident, who performed a ‘savior like’ circumstance. It was a mother’s terrible loss but as a result, several people were given parts of his body that some would have died had it not been for his misfortune. Nobody prayed for someone else’s death to save their life but during the normal course of life people die every day. My son was fortunate and to this day, 12 years later he is healthy and living a productive life – thanks to the young man who died accidentally. My boy wrote a letter regarding his transplant experience: My name is Keith and I am a grateful living transplant recipient after receiving a liver from a donor in July of 2007. I haven’t had any complications from the surgery or any post-transplant issues. I’m a true believer in miracles and there were several things that happened to get me to the point of being in the position to receive my transplant at the time I did. I am blessed to have a loving wife, kids, and since my transplant, I have been blessed with four awesome grandkids! I was raised by awesome parents and have siblings that are happy that I’m still alive. I wrote a letter to my donor Mom, Cindy, and after a few days, she contacted me and agreed to meet. We met and then we talked and cried and talked and cried some more. We had a great ‘get to know each other’, get together. She was invited and came to our family dinner and met all my family and everyone was very grateful, along with me, for her decision to donate her son’s organs. I found out his organs saved seven people’s lives and other useful tissue including his corneas which helped a girl who had never seen to receive her sight! I cried big time when I heard that story. I found out his name was Nathan and one night when I was lying in bed I thought to myself, I wonder what the name Nathan means. The next day I looked it up and it said, “Gift From God” and I just cried and was overwhelmed with gratitude. He truly was a gift from God. Thanks, LDS hospital for all you do to help save lives! Gratefully yours, Keith