Elder Strong, Elder Walker, and their Ministry beyond the Veil

At the funeral service for Elder Strong, who was killed last week in a hit-and-run accident in Texas, Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles comforted the family of the slain Missionary by saying, "To get through this we need to couple forgiveness with faith . . . be faithful . . . live our religion . . . and one day you will see Trevor as he is: a brother, a saint and a son of the living God" ("'He is still a missionary'", Deseret News, Tuesday 15 November 2011, B5).  Also, during the funeral services for Elder Walker up in Idaho, Elder Craig A. Cardon of the Seventy remarked, "[Elder Walker] loves his family, but he wants them to know he is happy, engaged in the work on the other side" (Ibid.).

Location of the Spirit World
Many have wondered where the spirits of the disembodied go after death.  President Ezra Taft Benson taught, "Sometimes the veil between this life and the life beyond becomes very thin. Our loved ones who have passed on are not far from us” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1971, p. 18; or Ensign, June 1971, p. 33).  President Brigham Young taught, "How frequently the question arises in the minds of the people—‘I wish I knew where I was going!’  Can you find out?  Well, you will go into the spirit world" (Deseret News: Semi-Weekly, 28 July 1874, p. 1).  He further taught, "Where is the spirit world?  It is right here. . . . Do [spirits of the departed] go beyond the boundaries of the organized earth?  No, they do not. . . . Can you see it with your natural eyes?  No.  Can you see spirits in this room?  No.  Suppose the Lord should touch your eyes that you might see, could you then see the spirits?  Yes, as plainly as you now see bodies" (DBY, p. 577).

Duties of the Righteous Dead
President Young was a masterful preacher on things of the Spirit.  He taught concerning the righteous in the Spirit World, "What are they doing there?  They are preaching, preaching all the time, and preparing the way for us to hasten our work in building temples here and elsewhere" (DBY, p. 378).  President Wilford Woodruff taught, "The same Priesthood exists on the other side of the veil. . . . Every Apostle, every Seventy, every Elder, etc., who has died in the faith as soon as he passes to the other side of the veil, enters into the work of the ministry” (Deseret News, Jan. 25, 1882 p. 818).  This is exactly what Elders Strong and Walker are doing - preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all who desire to hear them.  Their success will be far more than they ever had in Texas, because the only Church in the Spirit World is The Church of Jesus Christ.

The revealed word has come to the Latter-day Saints upon this subject, and to no other religion.  Only The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has the Authority to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Elders Strong and Walker knew this, and are continuing their missionary labors diligently in the Spirit World, eager to serve Him who so loved them unto death.  I know this is true.  In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Two LDS Missionaries killed in Texas

Today's Deseret News reads, "Two LDS Church missionaries were killed while riding their bikes in this southeast Texas town [of Donna] Tuesday, and a third was critically injured in the same apparent hit-and-run accident" ("Two LDS missionaries killed in Texas", Deseret News, Wednesday 9 November 2011, A1").  The Elders who were killed were Elder Trevor Reinhold Strong of Taylorsville, Utah, and Elder Derek Jason Walker of Fairfield, Idaho.  The third Elder in the group, Elder ZacharyTodd Harris of Huntsville, Alabama, was taken to a nearby hospital where he is expected to have a full recovery.

The families of the slain Elders Trevor Strong and Derek Walker need not mourn, for as the Prophet hath said, "If you are called to lay down your lives, die like men . . . Should you have to walk right into danger and the jaws of death, fear no evil; Jesus Christ has died before you" ("Declaration of the Twelve, circa 1844", LDS Archives, www.josephsmith.net).  Even the Lord stated the most important things anyone could ever be doing in this life.  Saith He, "And now, behold, I say unto you, that the thing which will be of the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my Father.  Amen" (D&C 15:6).

The Mormon Eagle expresses its condolences to the family of the slain Elders, and declares that all will be made well.  President Joseph Smith, Jun. taught, "Those who have died in Jesus Christ may expect to enter into all that fruition of joy when they come forth, which they possessed or anticipated here. . . . All your losses will be made up to you in the resurrection, provided you continue faithful.  By the vision of the Almighty I have seen it" (History of the Church, 5:361–62).

I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and through Him all things consist, have a meaning, and the true purposes and missions of the children of men are fulfilled.  Search the scriptures, the words of the Prophets and Apostles, and pray unto God continually for comfort at the time of mourning.  The Spirit of the Lord will whisper and answer those strained prayers, questions, and desires the body has not power to express.  May the families of the slain Elders find consolation through this essay.  In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.