Camille Kathleen Waite 6 days before she drowned.
I am a firm believer in life after death.
When the energy of our spirits leave our mortal bodies, we do not cease to exist. I know this because every bit of my being tells me this is Truth. I know this because, at times, I can feel my daughter's presence right next to me, though her body is miles away decaying in a coffin.
Some Truths are so vital for our happiness here on Earth that our loving Heavenly Father seems to have implanted in our souls a detector to recognize them when we are presented with them.
This detector lets us know when we are reading, hearing, speaking, thinking or feeling Truth. It gives us a warm peaceful sure feeling as we ponder Truths.
In the last two months, I have been presented with many versions of what life after death is like. In sifting through all this information, I have come to know some great Truths. The Truths about life after death that I have come to know are closely tied to other Truths previously established in my belief system. I have listed these foundational Truths below.
Some Foundational Truths I know for sure:
God lives.
Jesus Christ is His Son.
We are all the spirit children of God.
God loves us as a Father.
God wants us His children to know of Him.
God loves us in this age as much as he loved his children in the times of the Bible
God speaks to prophets like Moses and Noah to teach His children more about Him.
After the death of Jesus Christ the apostles were killed.
In 1820, in answer to a young boy's prayer, God and Jesus Christ appeared.
This young boy, Joseph Smith, grew up and became a great prophet.
He had many, many revelations to help him restore Christ's original church on the earth.
God and Jesus Christ speak to a prophet today.
I came to know these foundational Truths because I have followed the counsel in James 1:5, just as Joseph did. I have asked God in faith and that detector of truth, the Holy Ghost, has witnessed to my spirit that these things are indeed true.
Now on to the Truths I have found about life after death.
Many of the prophet Joseph Smith's visions dealt with life after death. The truths he taught about what happens to us after we die resonate with truth throughout my entire being. He taught that families can be sealed together by the same power to bind in heaven what is bound on Earth that the Savior gave to Peter. See Matt 16:19. So while earthly marriages are until death do we part, the Lord wants us to be married by one who holds that divine sealing power that transcends the bonds of death and binds you to your spouse through the eternities. When a couple is sealed together by that divine binding power of God, their children are also bound to them in the eternities. Those family relationships go with us beyond the grave.
I know now more than ever that heaven -- life after death -- is all about family. It is enjoying perfected versions of the familial relationships we had here on earth. It is about remembering our place in the great family of our God.
We all have the ability to follow that invitation in James 1:5 and ask God, who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not. We all can find our own answers to our own questions. We can learn what a dream meant or if we can be with our family forever. All we need to do is seek to find answers, gather information, and ask which answer is Truth. God loves us. He will let us know.
My knowledge of these Truths, given to me through personal witnesses of the Spirit, gives me peace. In this peace there is, for me, a way to enjoy my life after her death. My life after her death revolves around one thing--Family.
I am a firm believer in life after death.
Sabrina took this photo of Lauren and I today
