Salvation is a family affair, and it is to this plan of happiness that we now turn our attention. Here we find comfort from the darkness of the unknown future, and here we can turn our hearts to Jason, the Jason who quietly eluded us in this life.
The pioneers of the Handcart Companies have been on my mind of late. The trek was a brutal test of physical stamina, and not only in the ill-fated Willie and Martin companies. Rations were never nutritious, sometimes scarce, and, on the endless plains, death was not uncommon. A man might help in a burial party in the morning, push and pull his wagon all the day, exhausting the last residue of his strength, and – with his life force ebbing – quietly expire during the night.
I see Jason’s passing in a similar light. The conditions of his illness left him bereft of hope, withdrawing from family and friends, and man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, overcome by the ennui of his work-a-day world. Depression drained the last remnants of his life force, though his challenge was more mental than physical, and left him without the will to carry on. It is a fearsome thing when the demons of the night prey upon one’s thoughts, until the dawn brings not the hope of a new day, but rather a growing dread.
Like the handcart pioneer, Jason also expired, quietly, in the night, his life force exhausted as he pulled his own personal handcart with its heavy burden, up the long, long trail. He carried on for some years, where for the pioneer it might be weeks, but I see the outcomes as not so different. And any pioneer that understood the heavy burden of Jason’s (lifetime) illness, would have cheerfully chosen his own (weeks of) trials on the Pioneer Trail.
This, then, is the context for reading these thoughts by Bruce R. McConkie:
“…No man has the right to run away from [the test of life], no matter how severe they might be, by taking his own life. [However] persons subject to great stresses may lose control of themselves and become mentally clouded to the point that they are no longer accountable for their acts. Such as not to be condemned for taking their own lives. It should also be remembered that the judgment is the Lord’s; he knows the thoughts, intents, and abilities of men; and he in his infinite wisdom will make all things right in due course.” (McConkie, 1966, p 771)
Let no one judge Jason, for we have not lifted his burden, nor have we walked in his footsteps. The Lord knows Jason, he knows his name, and he understands Jason’s burdens. And He shall embrace him with His mercy. I believe this.
Pre-mortal Life
The [Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints] are unique among the world religions in recognizing a life before this, a pre-mortal existence where the foundations for this world were laid.
God taught his to the prophet Jeremiah: “before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee…” (Jeremiah 1:5)
The Apostle Paul refers to the “hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.” (Titus 1:2)
Abraham told how the Lord had shown unto him “the intelligences that were organized before the world was …” (Abraham 3:22)
This prior ordination and knowledge of mortal life was understood by William Wordsworth:
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting
The Soul that rises with us, our life’s Star,
Hath had elsewhere its setting,
And cometh from afar,
Not in entire forgetfulness,
And not in utter nakedness,
But trailing clouds of glory do we come
From God, who is our home.
So this is our belief and our doctrine, that:
This is affirmed in Genesis: “So God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness … So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created He him.” (Genesis 1:26, 27)
David, the writer of the Psalms, spoke of this divine nature when he wondered: “What is man that thou art mindful of him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and has crowned him with glory and honor.” (Psalms 8:4, 5)
Mortal Life
Notwithstanding our divine nature, we were created with flaws which could be fatal: “I give unto men weakness that they may be humble … And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness…” (Ether 12:27)
So the Lord is also the creator of our most human frailties – they are part of our burden in this life – and they can come as demons in the in the night to confuse us and lead us astray. Jason could explain this better than nay of us.
But we believe, it is our doctrine, that we looked forward to the challenges of this world, that we were not only willing, but wanting, to test our mortality. We understood something of what was to come, and voted to take it upon ourselves.
Jason experienced all this, going forth as the boy described by Walt Whitman:
There was a child that went forth every day,
And the first object he look’d upon, that object he became,
And that object become part of him for the day, or a
Certain part of the day.
Or for many years, or stretching cycles of years.
The pat of our lives, and our salvation, runs through three gardens:
The Lord placed Adam and Eve in a garden, the Garden of Eden., where stood the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil,” with its forbidden fruit. And commanded them to “be fruitful, to multiple and replenish the earth,” without giving them the means. They were forever young, but forever innocent too. It was the first woman Eve, driven by her maternal instincts, who tasted of the fruit, and Adam followed. They became mortal, subject to death and the sure knowledge that they must one day return to their maker, but also able to create life and be tested in a world were they would earn their bread by the sweat of their brow.
The next garden is Gethsemane, upon the Mount of Olives, where Christ paid the ultimate price when he “suffered the pain of all men, that all .. might repent and come unto him.” (Doctrine and Covenants 18:11). Paul summarized it this: “As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1st Corinthians 15:22)
Finally, in the Garden of the Empty Tomb, what had gone awry in The Fall, was set aright by the Messiah, the breach was healed, the Atonement made complete. Death was overcome, immortality given to all mankind, and eternal life promised to all who would repent. Nephi spoke to this: “For we labor diligently … to persuade .. our brethren to believe in Christ … to be reconciled to God, for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” (2nd Nephi 15:23)
Post Mortal Life
We know from scriptures that there shall be:
Conclusion
Jason has moved on, beyond the pains and trials of this world – which he endured as long as he was able. He has found the peace he sought, the peace promised by the Savior, which Paul describes as the “peace … which passeth all understanding.” (Phillipians 4:7)
I believe that Jason’s eternal progression continues, for Joseph F, Smith saw the post-mortal world in a vision, with the faithful brethren who had passed on continuing their work of preaching the gospel of repentance and redemption to those in need. President Smith, in his vision, saw redemption coming to those who repented, through obedience to the laws and ordinances of the house of God. (Doctrine and Covenants 138:57, 58)
I can see this in my mind’s eye: Jason – who for several years had been drawing away from the society of family and friend – now warmly embraced by his grandfathers – Glen Hellewell, our father [ Bob Hellewell], and [Don] Kent. They take him in their arms and
In his new world Jason is joined together with other family members whom we all know:
In the circle of their love, Jason is now free from the tribulations of his disease, and his is with his Lord, the good shepherd:
(taken from the 23rd Psalm.)
I believe Elder [Bruce] McConkie, that
This is my testimony.
Amen.
Robert “Skip” Hellewell
May 25, 2006