Through the Veil

Your quiet whisperings in the dark

In longing for loved ones passed

Are heard and not distantly from afar

The veil's right here, through which all pass

As thin as a film, yes they hear you speak

And are incredibly aware

They are as angels and have no need of sleep

They still know us and our cares they share

They know and they understand

The inner workings of the mind and heart

Oh if they could take us by the hand

Of all their wisdom they would impart

All our misguided steps

Unnecessary sorrows

All that hounds us like a debt

They see through a veil that allows

So we can utter their names

And keep their memories alive

Do their work, for how that saves

As to higher things they arrive

For the temple, these kindred find!

Of the departed we are sealed to

Ministering angels are assigned

Even they can help us find new names too

[Verse 1] Your quiet whisperings in the dark When longing grips the room For loved ones passed beyond our sight Yet near us in the gloom The veil's right here, through which all pass As thin as a film, so clear And though our eyes can’t always see They’re listening close right here [Pre-Chorus] They know and they understand The inner workings of the mind and heart If they could take us by the hand They’d lead us where the healing starts [Chorus] Through the veil, through the veil They hear us speak Through the veil, through the veil They’re close to the weak Keep their names alive Keep their names alive Through the veil, through the veil Love still survives (love still survives) [Verse 2] They are as angels and have no need of sleep Yet still they know our cares All our misguided steps, our heavy debts The sorrow that we bear They see the path we cannot see The tears we try to hide And somehow in their tender light Our broken prayers abide [Pre-Chorus] They know and they understand The burden in the soul, the ache, the scar If they could take us by the hand They’d bring us closer to who we are [Chorus] Through the veil, through the veil They hear us speak Through the veil, through the veil They’re close to the weak Keep their names alive Keep their names alive Through the veil, through the veil Love still survives (love still survives) [Bridge] For the temple, these kindred find A holy place to stand Of the departed we are sealed to By heaven’s steady hand Ministering angels are assigned Even they can help us find New names, new light, new paths of peace And pull us to the divine [Final Chorus] Through the veil, through the veil They hear us speak Through the veil, through the veil They’re close to the weak Keep their names alive Keep their names alive Through the veil, through the veil Love still survives (love still survives)

https://youtu.be/zY62Pe1BjJ4?si=noQHPM5Qm2HESJ4z

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/teachings-joseph-smith/chapter-35?lang=eng

First, the spirit world is right here in incredibly close proximity to our mortal sphere. 

Second, our departed loved ones are acutely, painfully, and joyfully aware of our ongoing mortal sorrows and joys. 

Third, the sacred sealing covenant provides an unbreakable active priesthood empowered tether between us that death cannot sever. 

Fourth, our loved ones can be divinely authorized by the Lord to serve as our ministering angels in our times of most desperate need. 

Fifth, our spoken words of faith and endurance actually strengthen and empower them in their massive spiritual labors in paradise. 

Sixth, our communication is pure spirit-to-spirit interaction, validated and confirmed by the peaceful presence of the Holy Ghost.

Seventh, these vital earthly conversations are actively maintaining the eternal sociality that will seamlessly resume in resurrected glory.


The central beating heart of Joseph Smith's magnificent revelations on the spirit world is the absolute certainty that pure love is never ever conquered by death. The dark grave has absolutely no victory over the sacred bonds of family and friendship that are forged in righteousness and sealed by holy priesthood authority.


 President Russell M. Nelson taught beautifully that our currently limited mortal perspective would be massively enlarged if we could only witness the glorious joyful reunion of a faithful soul with their cherished loved ones on the other side of the veil. until that spectacular day inevitably comes for each of us. You are actively choosing right now how you will navigate the reality of the veil. You are choosing today whether to view death as an impenetrable, terrifying brick wall or as a remarkably thin, beautifully transparent curtain. What will you do differently today now that you know these magnificent truths? Which of these seven specific truths resonated most deeply with your grieving, aching heart? I invite you with all the sincerity of my soul to choose one specific actionable thing to do this very week. The next time you sit in an empty room and violently feel the aching, suffocating absence of someone you love, do not let the heavy silence swallow you whole. Speak to them. Tell them out loud of your enduring love, your honest struggles, and your unwavering faith in Christ. Sincerely thank them for the profound influence they continue to have in your daily life. Then immediately pray to your Father in heaven, asking for the comforting, undeniable presence of the Holy Ghost to carry your tender words directly to them and to translate their eternal love perfectly back to your waiting heart. Share this incredible message of restored hope with a friend, a neighbor, or a family member who currently feels lost and abandoned in the dark shadows of grief. Death is not a permanent period placed at the abrupt end of a sentence. It is simply a brief necessary comma in the middle of a magnificent eternal story. It is a temporary pause, not a tragic conclusion. May you find profound lasting comfort in the sacred revealed knowledge that they truly hear you. They fiercely love you still. And through the infinite redeeming power of Jesus Christ and his glorious restored gospel, youryoursacred relationships are divinely destined to endure forever and

How Can We Comprehend

Never ending blessings

Have been promised us

Through His atonement

The most loving gift of all, from Jesus

From time's most sacred moment of all

He freely offers each of us

Perfect joy and happiness

In the holy presence of God

In heart and mind 

In body and soul 

He claimed our sins

And pains- His role

Perfectly

What happened in Gethsemane

How can we comprehend

Or on the cross, at the tomb

For the destiny of mankind?

Infinite the souls He atoned for

How can we comprehend

How and what He suffered that His blood did pour

And all He endured to the end

Everlasting suffering

And estrangement from God

He redeemed freely, offering

The ransomed the effects of the Fall

[Verse 1] Never ending blessings Have been promised us Through His atonement The most loving gift of all, from Jesus From time's most sacred moment, for all, He freely offers each of us [Pre-Chorus] Perfect joy and happiness In the holy presence of God In heart and mind In body and soul He claimed our sins And pains- His role Perfectly [Chorus] How can we comprehend What happened in Gethsemane How can we comprehend Or on the cross, at the tomb How can we comprehend For the destiny of mankind? [Verse 2] Infinite the souls He atoned for How can we comprehend What He suffered that His blood did pour How and all He endured to the end Everlasting suffering And estrangement from God He ransomed freely, offering Redemption from the effects of the Fall [Pre-Chorus] Perfect joy and happiness In the holy presence of God In heart and mind In body and soul He claimed our sins And pains- His role Perfectly [Chorus] How can we comprehend What happened in Gethsemane How can we comprehend Or on the cross, at the tomb How can we comprehend For the destiny of mankind?

https://x.com/AndersenNeilL/status/2070144987338092890?s=20

A War Survivor

A war survivor
Battered and torn
Her best endeavor
Tossed away worn

It was her marriage
Verses Satan
Fought to the edge
Till she caved in

A once loving husband
Abandoned ship
Something he'd not withstand
Caused him to flip

What of the sealing
And the children?
Can there be healing?
How will it end?

With faith and some time
She will not descend
She will conquer the climb
As love steps in

She with a new life
That is not bitter
Again she is called wife
For this role fits her

From what was trampled
Two homes now blend
From their example
The children mend

And to their surprise
Her ex changed too
To repent and rise
And become new

As foundations build
With blessings sent
Who now will be sealed
For their ascent ?

With homes as Swiss cheese
Who has what name?
Are there remedies?
And who is to blame?

This war that we're in
Has casualties
Like walls of Berlin
An end one sees

Thanks to our Savior
We have full hope
We fall from grandeur
He sends a rope

And of that question...
Who's sealed to who?
The next life's session...
For what to do

That survivor is me
How I have been blessed
I am like too many
This life is a test...

I wrote this on my journey
At the start of the day
While unbeknownst to me
That night the letter came my way

My ex was sealed to his wife and started a beautiful family. Still, the Lord provided a tender mercy for me.  I was crying and writing and driving to work writing this and came home to the letter.

Swiss cheese is a term from Neal A. Maxwell who was a great man of deed and words.

Conversion- Who We Are Becoming- Christians

 

Becoming a Christian today

Is both a choice and a process. 

That joyful journey begins with faith,

Repentance and baptism to progress

The Spirit of the Lord converts us

Into something better than we were before

To become but a new creature, thus

With our hearts changed to do evil no more

We are transformed through conversion

The Holy Ghost confirms this always

From our old sins we gain a remission

And, through faith, the old things in us pass away

But what of my past?" Some might say

Being filled with a lifetime of regret and remorse

God cares a lot more about who we are 

And who we are becoming than about who we once were

From here our discipleship continues

Learning and growing in faith

Repenting daily trying to choose

The path that our Savior has laid

Verse 1] Becoming a Christian today Is both a choice and a process That joyful journey begins with faith Repentance and baptism to progress The Spirit of the Lord converts us Into something better than we were before To become but a new creature, thus With our hearts changed to do evil no more [Chorus] We are transformed As Christians Through conversion The Holy Ghost confirms this always We gain remission The old things pass away [Verse 2] But what of my past? Some might say Being filled with a lifetime of regret and remorse God cares a lot more about who we are And who we are becoming than about who we once were [Chorus] We are transformed As Christians Through conversion The Holy Ghost confirms this always We gain remission The old things pass away [Bridge] From here our discipleship continues Learning and growing in faith Repenting daily trying to choose The path that our Savior has laid [Final Chorus] We are transformed As Christians Through conversion The Holy Ghost confirms this always We gain remission The old things pass away Through Christ's atonement always

 because someone was raised in a Christian home, or it can result from a believer sharing their faith with someone who is unsure about God or Christ. Regardless, each of us will be affected in our faith journey by the beliefs and examples of others. As we seek to become disciples of Jesus Christ, we can feel the Holy Ghost bearing witness to our souls that we are children of a loving Father in Heaven (see Acts 17:28–29) and that Jesus Christ is our Savior who offers us eternal life. And from there, our discipleship continues.

True conversion to Christ always consists of the Spirit of the Lord converting or changing us into something better than we were without Him. As the Apostle Paul explained, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles described the fruit of this ongoing transformation: “Our hearts are changed, and ‘we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually’ [Mosiah 5:2]. … God cares a lot more about who we are and who we are becoming than about who we once were” (“Lifelong Conversion” [Brigham Young University devotional, Sept. 14, 2021], 4, speeches.byu.edu). Ultimately, this divine transformation—rooted in faith in Christ’s divinity and His sacrifice on our behalf—is at the core of what it means to be a Christian.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/learn/articles/what-does-it-mean-to-be-christian?lang=eng

Isaiah 53

 

He grew up

like a tender shoot,

Quietly

And steadily, too

like a root

out of a dry ground.

No beauty

 
No crowd was around

There was naught

a sign of

Majesty

There was naught

That we should desire Him


His ministry-

 He was despised

and rejected by man

So familiar was

Suffering and pain

He was despised

People hid from Him

Yes, He was held

Of low esteem

Too, He took

Up all of our pain

And He bore

Our suffering weighed

In return

We weighed Him

As punished by God

Afflicted

And stricken, then

 He was pierced

For our transgressions,

he was crushed

for man's iniquities;

This, that peace

And healing would come

Upon us

The atonement done

We like sheep,

All have gone astray,

each has turned

Thanklessly away;

Afflicted

He was oppressed

Naught He said

He was led

Like a lamb

To be slaughtered

Like a sheep

Sheered, He stood silent

Afflicted

And stricken, then

He was pierced

For our transgressions,

he was crushed

for man's iniquities;

This, that peace

And healing does come

Upon us

The atonement won!

This is Our Time

This version, I'm going to use in my classroom.

This is our time
For our greatest good
With gifts and talents
We've room to improve

Sincere respect
For ourselves and others
Our lives a project
Let's see what faith offers

More quick to be kind
And less quick to judge
We look inside and find
What we are made of

The love we've inside

Shows in how we act

It's why we are kind

In this we don't lack

The joy we've inside

Bubbles outward

It shows in our smile

Looking upward

[Verse 1] This is our time For our greatest good With gifts and talents We've room to improve

Sincere respect For ourselves and others Our lives a project Built with one another

[Pre-Chorus] More quick to be kind And less quick to judge We look inside Then rise above [Chorus] This is our time God given time For our greatest good For our greatest good (This is our time) (For our greatest good) [Verse 2] With each small choice We shape the day A honest word Can light the way We fall, we learn We start again Faith in the work Begins within [Pre-Chorus] More quick to be kind And less quick to judge We look inside Then rise above [Chorus] This is our time God given time For our greatest good For our greatest good (This is our time) (For our greatest good)

[Verse 3]

The love we've inside

Shows in how we act

It's why we are kind

In this we don't lack

The joy we've inside

Bubbles outward

It shows in our smile

Looking upward

[Pre-Chorus] More quick to be kind And less quick to judge We look inside Then rise above [Chorus] This is our time God given time For our greatest good For our greatest good (This is our time) (For our greatest good) [Bridge] What are we made of? What will we give? In the quiet search We learn to live Not perfect hands But willing hearts

We take the step And do our part [Chorus] This is our time God given time For our greatest good For our greatest good (This is our time) (For our greatest good)

Elder S. Gifford Nielson in April 2021 called This is Our Time!

Saving Each Precious Lost Fruit

A farmer drove his open bed truck
Filled to capacity with sugar beets
But, he lost some each time it was struck
With such potholes that also unseats

He stopped often to rest his back
Stiffening from all of his labor
And took with him a large gunny sack
To pick up all the beets that did neighbor

For each fruit was of such great value
That he wanted not one to be wasted
And we have a similar work to do
For each whom of the gospel once tasted

We should lift up those on the roadside
Who've been caught in the current so deep
And, too, turbulent times tear like a tide
While swirling whirlpools of sin do not sleep

But, all of this just needs not be!
For we have the doctrines of truth
We have the programs and the power to be
Saving each precious lost fruit

Of those who are now the wandering lost sheep
It is time to take a hand and reach a heart
For each is in need of our rescue, love, and watchkeep
There to restore what was engraved at the start

President Thomas S. Monson
Sugar Beets and the Worth of a Soul
Ensign, Jul 2009, 4–7