Mormon Bloggers

A Mormon bishop was shot and killed in an LDS Church building last Sunday. Bishop Clay Sannar was a father of six. This kind of occurrence is rare in a Mormon church building, but it has raised some concerns about the issue of safety at church — and, of course, causes reflection about how fragile and precious life is and why bad things sometimes happen to good people. Elder Quentin L. Cook, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, shared some simple and powerful thoughts in response to this tragedy. After expressing sincere condolences and an expression of support and love for those mourning Bishop Sannar’s death, he notes that: [P]rinciples grounded in moral agency sometimes result in heartbreaking consequences in this life…but all that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the primary security in this life. Our hearts go out to Bishop Sannar’s family, friends, and others who... Read the rest of this entry »

~by Heather L. A few years ago as we were finishing up driving kids to school, my four year old piped up from the back seat: “Mom, if I die, I’ll be with Jesus, and Elvis, and Donny Osmond’s dad, and Donny Osmond’s dad’s wife.” It wasn’t a question — he had just explained with conviction what he had come to know (or always knew, or hadn’t forgotten yet) was true. The Book of Mormon prophet Alma taught that same truth to his son Corianton in Alma 40:11. Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection—Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life. I know how it feels to wonder what happens after this life. My first experience with death came when I was 10 years old. We had lived with my grandparents for five years when my grandmother developed cancer... Read the rest of this entry »

How does a family deal with the tragic and sudden loss of two little girls (accidentally poisoned by pesticide)? Today the Toone family will bury these two little girls (ages 4 and 15 months). Watch the following video, or read this statement from the girls’ father, to see the strength Mormons receive from our knowledge of life after death, and of the plan of God for eternal family relationships. See also the power of forgiving hearts as the family explains that they hold no anger toward the exterminator who likely caused their deaths. “…we rejoice in our conviction that our family is bound by eternal ties that cannot be severed by death…. Our great hope is that reflection on the lives of Rebecca and Rachel will spur all of us – those close to us and those unknown – to consider more fully the eternal plan that a loving God has for each of His children. Many have questioned, ‘How can they bear it? How can they go on?’ We testify that the atoning... Read the rest of this entry »