God is omniscient. He knows everything. His Spirit is omnipresent. He can be everywhere. This is the way that it should be. But what about the Spirits of those who have departed this mortal existence? We know from revelation that they go to a place we call the Spirit World to work, and prepare for the inevitable day of resurrection.
We are taught that the Spirit World is in our midst here on this earth. We also know from teachings, and many from personal experiences, that the veil between those two “worlds” – the mortal, and the Spirit – can be very thin at times.
There is great comfort in the idea that our loved ones who have passed on before us can sometimes see us. They are near at hand, loving us, supporting us and watching us – even to the point of being able to occasionally witness important events as they unfold in our lives.
Our family is still our family, even after death. They love us, they worry about us, they can see us, and they can be with us.
However….
I hope they have some pretty tight restrictions on the whole watching and visiting part.
I am totally fine knowing that God can see me at all times- he created me, he knows me better than I know myself. I can’t hide anything from him. I get that.
But I wouldn’t be as comfortable with the idea that my departed ancestors can pop in and check up on me whenever they want. I’m sure they would mean well, and that they love me, but it would be just a little..
Awkward.
Hopefully there are rules about this type of trans-veil travel. Not that I don’t love my ancestors, but I sure don’t need my Uncle James reading over my shoulder while I play Words With Friends on my phone in the bathroom.
And as much as I love my dearly departed parents, I don’t want them to accidentally observe anything that might make them tilt their heads and say “Aren’t they so cute together.”
My Grampa doesn’t need to be in the car when I am screeching along with Classic Rock, nor does my Aunt Sarah need to witness me clipping my toenails when I get out of the shower. How about a little privacy here?
Sure, perhaps they are in a state of “awareness” where the trivialities of vanity and pride have been stripped away, but those qualities are still here – and flourishing.
We think of the great reunion that awaits us with family and friends when we leave this mortal existence. I don’t need my cousin who worked for the IRS saying, “Hey, I saw what you did on your 1040 last year, you might want to tighten that up before the final judgment.
Even worse, I don’t want the grand greeting on the other side of the veil to be a moment filled with awkward pauses and occasional giggles.
I am probably worrying about nothing. I imagine that those on the other side have more important things to do than clip nose hairs, or eat donuts. Hopefully they are plenty busy doing their work, and can leave me alone except when it really matters.
Well, I’m off to take a shower. Have a great day.
Part 2 –
I also think and hope that he should be able to be present for the difficult times in our family, too, which we don’t hear as much about – when I had to appear in bankruptcy court, for instance. That was a very difficult time for me, and I really needed to know that he was aware of our challenges after his death, and thankfully, I did not feel that I was alone that day.
I’ve also thought about times I would rather he not “peek” in on – moments of doubt, or times when I’m wrestling with some personal struggles, etc. Surely he’s busy with missionary work during the times I need privacy, don’t you think?? 😉
My main question, though, is this – do you think people sometimes interpret experiences in the way they choose? An example of a time people have mentioned him and what he might be doing is the shootings in Newtown, Connecticut. Someone called me and told me that they were just sure that my husband was there with those children, comforting them during that difficult time. I’m not so sure he would have been there – I think the Lord have been there with them, and if additional angels were needed, I would think it would be the children’s grandparents and other loved ones, not a well meaning stranger. I know that my husband’s presence was a comforting thought, but it almost seems that sometimes we replace God with someone we love, just because we want to attribute all good things to them.
I wondered if you had had similar experiences, and what your opinion on this might be, particularly with the recent death in your own family.
Personally, I’m sure that my husband loves each of us dearly, and is concerned for us, but I tend to think that each of us needs to keep moving forward as best we can – and that includes him. He’s been called on a mission, and I don’t expect to hear from him every day. I think the moments that we are able to connect with our loved ones are relatively rare, given at appropriate times when especially needed. We’re told that we will be busy in the next life – that there will scarcely be time to get all of the work done, so I think his heart and mind are engaged in that work, but that his heart is drawn out to us also.
I’m just thankful for the times he is able to be with us, however often they are, and I’m also thankful to know that he is engaged in whatever work is needed in the next life – he was a good missionary here, and I’m sure he’s sharing the gospel there as well. Any thoughts?
Cindy: I am sorry to hear of your personal loss. Thank heavens we know what we know.
Before all the comments were wiped out, I had remained strangely silent on the deeper aspects of these question – first, because it is really personal and important to many people, but 2nd, I don’t really have any knowledge – just ideas.
One thing I believe, is that God’s house is a house of order. My guess is the opportunities for those on the other side to associate and witness things on this side are rare, and carefully guarded events. It seems incongruous to our experience to think that spirits could just pop over as the mood strikes them. On earth, we have to get interviews and a recommend to enter the temple…
I agree that people are often more comfortable substituting people and mortals for the immortal. (Which explains the Virgin Mary and the Saints) I imagine the Holy Ghost causes the bulk of these promptings. Personally, I am not spiritually sensitive enough to distinguish and identify the difference between good spirits other than the Holy Ghost – but that’s just me.
2 part comment – sorry about the length:
Actually, you bring up some interesting points.
My family has had a rough couple of years, with my husband being diagnosed with a brain tumor almost 2 years ago. He made it 15 months, and that is with 4 brain surgeries, 2 types of chemo, radiation, and state of the art medical treatment. Needless to say, it was a long, stressful period of time.
Our son was serving his mission when my husband was diagnosed, and fortunately, my husband lived long enough to see our son complete his mission and be married in the temple, and was also able to be there when our daughter received her endowment. These were sacred moments, and we are incredibly thankful to have been able to share them with him.
Since my husband’s death last June, our first grandchild has born, I’ve had to sell our home and declare bankruptcy because of the medical bills, and I’m currently staying with friends while I try to regain my footing – spiritually, emotionally, and every other way. We have been blessed and sustained by friends and family on both sides of the veil, and have had some very sacred experiences.
However, since my husband’s death, numerous people have shared spiritual experiences relating to my husband with me – which, of course, I appreciate. I also recognize that such experiences are completely individual and that I am not able to understand them in the way they do.
I’ve wondered quite a bit about how much of our lives he actually can see – I know that we’re told, for instance, that he should be able to be present when our daughter marries, and at other special times in our family. I know that several of us felt his presence when our grandson was blessed, for example, and it was a tender mercy.
All the comments got wiped away somehow – I am blaming an unhappy spirit that wasn’t pleased with this direction that this conversation went it. Sorry about that!