Death

Watch this short video to hear why a tender experience at his mother’s grave forever impacted Greg Olsen’s art.

President Holland’s poignant words at the funeral will comfort any grieving heart.

Sy’s son Zachary was killed in an act of random violence. With the Savior by her side, Sy fought the decades-long battle to forgive his killer and find joy in her life once more.

When cancer left her a widow at 36 years old, Jen struggled to connect with the Savior. How could He understand her pain?

Shiegrid Hernandez shares how this vibrant holiday can teach gospel truths in fun, approachable ways.

Does God orchestrate our hardships in order to strengthen us spiritually? Or do all these bad things happen because we have fragile mortal bodies and mortality is just fraught with accidents?

As I look back at my life during the past year and a half since my husband died, I can clearly see that I’ve been distracted by a lie, one that has caused me to sometimes lose focus on two truths I know.

Each person’s grief is as unique and personal as their life, but we’ve compiled a few suggestions that we hope can help you as you comfort the ones you love.

As Latter-day Saints, we know that death isn't the end. But do we know what awaits us after this life?

Artist Jenedy Paige knows a thing or two about strength; she’s competed on American Ninja Warrior four times. But the greatest strength in life comes from a relationship with Christ.

He grew concerned about his status in the Church, about the patriarch’s lack of inspiration, and about the truth of the Church itself.

Former Utah Senator and Latter-day Saint Orrin G. Hatch was honored by family, politicians, and Church leaders at a memorial service held at the University of Utah’s Institute of Religion.

After my grandpa's death, I received a wilted bouquet of daffodils held together by a brown rubber band, but in my eyes, it was a personal delivery from God.

Brandon Flowers added the melody from the hymn “God Be With You Till We Meet Again” at the conclusion of the song “Be Still,” which he performed at Senator Harry Reid’s memorial service.

The leaders and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Africa South Area join hands with millions around the world in mourning the loss of South African struggle icon and statesman Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu.

My grandma, Mom-el, loved funerals so much that we used to give her a hard time about browsing the obituaries for her next social engagement. It was a joke and something I honestly didn’t understand then, but over five years after her own passing, I think I’m starting to realize why my Mom-el loved funerals so much. When someone we love is gone, we can find joy in remembering the best things about them. Certainly, there are cases that require healing, but little annoyances are cast aside after someone has passed and all we seem to remember are the things we loved about them. I have found that I especially love going to a funeral for someone I admired but didn’t know incredibly well. Such was the case two weeks ago as I attended the memorial service for Ann Crane Santini.

“Through adversity and the darkness that we sometimes experience in life’s journey there is always a light that is available. Our Saviour Jesus Christ is that light.”

Jennie Taylor has known plenty of heartache in her life. As a 10-year-old, she lost her father to suicide. Years later, when she was married with four children, her teenage brother-in-law also committed suicide. And during her husband Brent’s fourth deployment as a soldier in 2018, she found out he’d been killed in action.

An ongoing series by The New York Times called “Those We’ve Lost” highlights people who have died due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of these obituaries celebrates the life of Gary Pettus—former president of the Birmingham Alabama Temple and convert to the Church at age 27.

Heidi Swinton was a young journalist with big dreams when she felt led to start a family, but five years passed and she and her husband still had no children.

The day after his daughter’s death, Bryan Young was saying a prayer on his parents’ front porch as the sun was rising. And in that moment, he heard her voice—it was as close to audible as ever a spiritual voice had been to him.

The following is an excerpt from Ed J. Pinegar's book, The Little Book of Gratitude.

This is the second in a series of articles from Sister Wendy Watson Nelson's new book, The Heavens Are Open. Read the first part here.

On October 22, 2019, Church spokesman Daniel Woodruff made the following statement about the passing of a young missionary in the Democratic Republic of the Congo:

A young elder who died Sept. 17 following a car accident days earlier in western Canada is being remembered as a “missionary of faith” who lifted many with his humor and devotion to sharing the gospel.

Taniela A. Langi passed away in Tonga on 5 September.

Church spokesman Daniel Woodruff shared with journalists Wednesday this statement about the death of one of the faith’s 399 mission presidents:

In 2002 while working as a reporter for the Church News, I spoke to a woman from Maryville, Tennessee, named Lola Reid.

The tragic death of Latter-day Saint YouTube sensation Grant Thompson has been reported by major news outlets including The New York Times, CNN, BuzzFeed News, The Washington Post, and more. With 11 million subscribers and billions of views on his videos, it is no surprise that Grant’s unexpected death has caused a stir. As these reporters review the highlights of his life, however, many are failing to mention what Grant may have considered his greatest accomplishment: his role as a husband and father in the gospel.

In the face of tragedy, President Hinckley “took the grieving family members in his warm embrace and wept with them.” Learn how his loving response led to the conversion of one woman and impacted a community by clicking the link below.

I thought the difference between living and dying would be more like a light switch: you’re there or you’re not. But my grandma has been like a dimmer

What is immortality? What happens to our bodies and spirits after we die? What is the purpose of our life and death? Learn answers to these and more questions in this recent Church video.

Like birth, death is a necessary and essential part of the plan of salvation (see Moses 6:59–62)—which Jacob and Alma both called the “great plan of happiness” (2 Nephi 9:6; Alma 42:8). Facing death can be one of the most fearful experiences of mortality. For the righteous, though, death can be sweet and need not be feared (see Alma 27:28). Indeed, the Lord revealed to Joseph Smith that “those that die in me shall not taste of death, for it shall be sweet unto them” (Doctrine and Covenants 42:46). On the other hand, for people who die not in Christ, death can be a bitter experience (see Doctrine and Covenants 42:47), and the thought of an approaching death can create foreboding, trepidation, and fear. Dreams regarding death can serve as a powerful reminder that this life is the time for us to prepare to meet God (see Alma 12:24; 34:32). . . .

The Lubian family faced an impossible decision. The doctor's wanted to know if the Lubians wanted to pursue a third liver transplant for their only son, who had spent years in and out of hospitals with little success, or if they wanted to let things run their course. "They asked us to make the hardest decision a parent can face," Sister Lubian says in a Church video. The Lubians knew they could not make this decision alone, so they hurried to the temple where they sought an answer from their Heavenly Father:

When Leslie entered the temple, she expected an answer.

Sometimes the Lord directs us to places where we never thought we would go. Discover how two women's trust in the Lord strengthened them to accomplish God's surprising will.

“They killed him on a ruck march?” I heard myself say, almost as if I weren’t the one speaking.

“I feel like I am constantly living in an alternate universe.”

Celebrated opera soprano Charity Tillemann-Dick not only stunned audiences with her awe-inspiring voice, she also motivated thousands to live truer, fuller, more intentional lives. On April 24, Tillemann-Dick passed away at 35 years old. On her Facebook page, her loved ones posted:

It was the perfect day.

"I invite you to watch this video of the experience I once shared about how the Christlike love of a friend helped one man overcome overwhelming grief in the wake of the death of his son," Elder Holland shared on Facebook.

Elder Ulisses Soares knows the timing of his recent travels was no coincidence.

Less than three weeks after a missionary unexpectedly passed away after collapsing during a soccer game with peers, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles met with the missionary’s parents in their Sao Paulo, Brazil, ward meetinghouse and in their home to console them in their grief.

The following was originally published in LDS Living magazine in February 2015. This month marks the five-year anniversary of when Jensen Parrish lost her mother, father, and two brothers while serving her mission. We are republishing this article to commemorate their lives and to reflect on the powerful lesson's Jensen shared following her sudden loss.

Don LeFevre, a frequently quoted former spokesman for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, died of natural causes Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019, surrounded by his children. He was 85 years old.