No Haters In Heaven

We are a product of the experiences we have in life.  Just like a study of your DNA will reveal what nationalities you hail from; your current opinions and beliefs are in some ways a product of the experiences you have had up to today.  Those experiences don't dictate what we do, but they have a great influence on how we think and act in our daily lives.

Right before I was to speak one Sunday the bishop stood up to announce that he had just received word that a young man in the congregation had been killed riding his bike the night before.  An audible gasp and then a hush went over the congregation as the news shocked each of us.

I was almost as shocked to hear him say that the parents of this young man wanted to say something.  His loving parents came to the pulpit; softly and with tears in their eyes they bore the most powerful testimony I had ever heard about eternal families and how we will see our families again in the next life.  There was not a dry eye in the room.

As I stood to speak, I realized that the topic I was prepared to speak on was suddenly and completely inappropriate.  I stood silent in front of the teary-eyed crowd, struggling for how to begin or even what to say in that heart-wrenching moment; when a profound thought struck me...there are no scars in heaven.

Here on earth events have an emotional impact on each of us that bolsters or scars us emotionally and thus influences our daily existence for great lengths of time, if not our whole lives.  Some extreme examples would be how seniors who grew up in the Great Depression won't throw away used band-aids for fear of being wasteful, the heroes that serve in the armed forces often come home with PTSD, or someone we love passes away far too early.

These are major events, but even the smaller ones become part of our existence; manifesting themselves in our views of the world and how we react to future events.  It is a natural part of being human.

In the next life, there will be no such thing as PTED (Post Traumatic Earth Disorder).  It is not that we won't remember the pain we had here; we just simply won't have any use for it anymore.  How can you be sad about death when everyone you ever knew is alive and well.  How can you be sad about suffering when all physical ailments have been abated forever?

The suffering of this life is simply a means to an end; a way of teaching us the difference between happiness and sadness, good and evil or right and wrong.

Eder Joseph B. Wirthlin said, “The Lord compensates the faithful for every loss...Every tear today will eventually be returned a hundredfold with tears of rejoicing and gratitude.”

Unfortunately, I think there are a few things from this life that can transcend the joy of that post-mortal existence; one of them is hatred.  Those who will not forgive others can carry that hatred into the next life unless and until they decide to give it up.  Just like the way you cannot smile and frown at the same time, you can't hate and love at the same time.

There is no day coming where we will watch gleefully while revenge is meted out to those who offended us.  The Lord has said, "Vengeance is mine..."  Yet, have you noticed that there are people, even now, who are so consumed by hatred that they can't see how blessed they are?

Many years ago I visited a less active member of the church who told me that she would never come back to church because of what Bishop White had done.  I had just moved to Paradise and the name didn't sound familiar, so I asked who he was.  She told me that he was her bishop in San Fransico. I asked when she had moved to Paradise and she told me about 30 years earlier.  Its been about 15 years since she told me that and she has still not come back to church.  So for some 45 years she has been depriving herself of the gospel of Jesus Christ because she was offended by a bishop in San Fransico; who probably didn't even know he offended her.

I wonder if there will be people in the next life residing in kingdoms below their potential, telling this same story about how they were offended back on Earth?  It seems possible when you consider "...that same spirit which doth possesses your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world."

The pains of this life will be alleviated in the next, but you have to decide to forgive.

One thing I am sure of is that there will be no haters in heaven.  If you have any unkind feelings towards any member of heaven you will be asked to withdraw so that the Lord can be present.

Forgive.  Move on.

Matthew 5:46-48
46. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? 47. And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so? 48. Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.