Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Latter-day Saint
History and Religion
A couple of notes on the Hereafter

A couple of notes on the Hereafter

Last updated on: January 19, 2026 at 8:27 pm by Dan Peterson

0 Comments

A couple of notes on the Hereafter 2026-01-19T20:27:23-07:00 Dan Peterson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A sunrise in Ireland, where Sarah Allen spent a short period doing social work (Wikimedia Commons public domain image)

The righteous perish,
and no one takes it to heart;
the devout are taken away,
and no one understands
that the righteous are taken away
to be spared from evil.
Those who walk uprightly
enter into peace;
they find rest as they lie in death. (Isaiah 57:1-2)

Today was the funeral for Sarah Allen. I wanted to attend, but I found myself at home without a car. However, thanks to technology that would have been unthinkable when I was growing up, I was able to watch her funeral service.

I didn’t know Sarah well. In fact, I’m not sure that we ever spoke more than a few words to each other, if even so many. But I was very much aware of her work, and for quite a while. And I’m acutely aware of the grievous loss that her sudden and untimely death represents, to her family and her friends and to the cause of defending the claims of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, to which she devoted herself so effectively. With others, I wonder why this had to happen.

The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. (Job 1:21)

Wikimedia Commons public domain image

To me, one of the finest moments of the funeral service came with something that one of her brothers said. Powerfully and painfully feeling her loss a day or so after her passing, he prayed to know whether she was alright, whether she was happy. For a brief moment, he reported, he powerfully felt the answer: Yes, she is happy, and she is well. And all will be well. With that in mind, I think of these words from Henry Van Dyke (1852-1933):

“Gone From My Sight”

I am standing upon the seashore. A ship, at my side,
spreads her white sails to the moving breeze and starts
for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength.
I stand and watch her until, at length, she hangs like a speck
of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.

Then, someone at my side says, “There, she is gone.”

Gone where?

Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in mast,
hull and spar as she was when she left my side.
And, she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port.

Her diminished size is in me — not in her. And, just at the moment when someone says, “There, she is gone,”
there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices
ready to take up the glad shout, “Here she comes!”

And that is dying . . .

Tiffany glass windows featuring a sunrise in a forest in springtime and an autumn sunset (both created in 1905), in the collection of the Brooklyn Museum
(Wikimedia Commons public domain image)

In a telephone conversation roughly two weeks ago, a retired academic friend of mine who is not exactly the stereotypical sentimental Latter-day Saint — if anything, I might have categorized him as a cynic but certainly as a skeptic — told me of a vision that he had experienced some years back in one of the Church’s temples. He says that he saw a deceased relative for whom he was officiating, and that he was given to understand that that relative had accepted the ordinance that had just been performed on his behalf. With regard to another relative whose work had also just been done, however, he received no such assurance. Instead, he felt that that person had not accepted the ordinance performed vicariously for him — but also understood that, while that individual wasn’t ready to accept the ordinance, he might yet be prepared, at some point, to do so.

This was very striking to me. Not only because of the identity of the person relating the experience to me, but also on account of its content. My friend and I agree that there will be opportunity, in the spirit world, for growth and for a change of heart. I’ve described myself here, on several occasions, as a quasi-universalist. I do not, unfortunately, believe that absolutely everyone will be saved. But I believe that the offer of salvation and exaltation will have been genuinely extended to everyone and that the offer is entirely genuine. (As is sometimes said, when and if we make it to the celestial kingdom, we should not be startled and stare if we encounter someone whose presence there surprises us. Others there may be just as surprised to see us as we are to see them.)

C. S. Lewis once stated it as his opinion that, in the end, the dividing line as pertains to the Final Judgment will be between those who say to the Lord “Thy will be done” and those to whom the Lord sadly says “Thy will be done.”) I suspect that that may well be true. I doubt, though I could obviously be wrong — I am not the Lord — that God will not deny his blessings to those who genuinely desire them and who are willing to make the changes required to receive them.

But there will apparently be a small number of souls who will angrily (and stupidly) shake their fists at the Almighty and defiantly, proudly, refuse to accept what they are offered at His hand.

This is the nearly-final version of the “key art” for the Interpreter Foundation’s series of weekly mini-documentaries, Becoming Brigham, which will have its debut on Monday, 26 January — less than two weeks away.

This is the link to the YouTube channel where the various episodes of Becoming Brigham will be posted, beginning on Monday, 26 January, and continuing through the rest of 2026 and, most likely, well into 2027: https://www.youtube.com/@becomingbrigham.

And here is the website for Becoming Brigham, where, in fact, some content has already been posted there that you might find of interest even now: https://becomingbrigham.com/.

I hope that you’ll watch this series of ours, Becoming Brigham, and that, if you like it, you’ll spread the word about it to people who might also find it interesting. Of course, if you don’t like it, I hope that you’ll erase it from your mind. Just fuhgeddaboudit. These aren’t the droids you’re looking for.

History and Religion

Travel and Religion

Previous Post

January 18, 2026

Mark Your Calendar!

Next Post

January 20, 2026 Media Matters

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"Sutherland's lecture sounds interesting. He seems to restate the Washington consensus that trade brings peace ..."

B. Wilson

Learning more about a region of ..."

"In a meeting today, I learned another important reason why accurate (or at least as ..."

the PROBLEM

From Serbia’s “White City,” Belgrade

"I've been watching a lot of video interviews of NDErs and researchers. I think in ..."

brotheroflogan

Accounts of Premortality?

"PL: "Let's hope he doesn't have your address..."I have to frankly confess that a few ..."

DanielPeterson

From Serbia’s “White City,” Belgrade

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 March 2014 August 2013 February 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who saw the vision of the valley of dry bones?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Ezekiel Daniel Isaiah Jeremiah