He Is Risen!, by President Thomas S. Monson
Shortly before I left for home, I had the distinct feeling that I would die if I didn't drive carefully on the way home. The feeling came as I had a quick thought about my motorcycle ride home. It was interesting to note the response feelings that came in quick succession after the initial foreboding feeling; at first I wondered if I were prepared to die. While I didn't long for "the sweet release of death," I did feel comfortable with the thought of dying (macabre as it may sound). However, this thought was almost immediately changed as I thought of my sweetheart and dear children whom I would leave behind. Finally, I felt grateful for the gifts of the Atonement of Christ, including universal resurrection and the ability for exaltation.
Interestingly, this gamut of feelings and their associated emotions was quite in line with the message from President Monson that I reviewed just hours after I arrived home alive (I should note that I felt reminded of [and heeded] the need to use caution as I rode home, particularly at a certain stretch); his message included:
Among all the facts of mortality, none is so certain as its end. Death comes to all.
The universality of death is matched by the universality of the Atonement of Christ. I'm grateful for the gifts that we celebrate and commemorate on Easter:
The empty tomb that first Easter morning was the answer to Job’s question, “If a man die, shall he live again?” To all within the sound of my voice, I declare, If a man die, he shall live again. We know, for we have the light of revealed truth.
I'm comforted by the truths of the resurrection and the pathway to exaltation. In addition, today, I'm especially grateful for the promptings that come from time-to-time that stave the certainty of death and give renewed hope for life.
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