He lives, and I shall conquer death!

Afn elderly friend, Rosemary, called me on the phone crying and asked that I come down to the hospital. Her husband, Bob, had been fighting cancer and wasn’t going to make it through the night.

Upon arriving, I noticed the feeling in the room was so different than the beautiful experience I had when my own grandpa died of cancer. Grandpa lived a wonderful life, and even in his last hours on the earth, he had complete faith that he would soon be in the arms of his Savior. He knew his family would be with him someday and that this was not the end. But in the room with Bob and Rosemary, it didn’t take long to realize that they both felt complete desperation and fear. Having never been religious, they believed this was the last time they would ever see each other.

After a few minutes of listening to Rosemary say her last “goodbyes” to her husband, I pulled my chair up to Bob’s bed and asked him what he expected to happen when he passed away. It horrified me to hear him say that he would just become void and never exist again. As tears filled my eyes, I testified that I knew he would soon be in a beautiful place where he could learn and grow and that he would soon find himself in the arms of people he knew and loved. I told them both that families can be eternal, and they too could someday be sealed together forever. I told Bob of our Savior’s undying love and the peace that he would very soon feel as he stood His presence.

After lots of talking and crying, the three of us held hands, and I sang them some of my favorite hymns, “Be Still My Soul,” “I Know That My Redeemer Lives,” “I Believe in Christ,” and “God Be With You Till We Meet Again.” As I sang the last verse of “I Know That My Redeemer Lives,” Bob stopped me. Between his tears and gasps for air, in a feeble, quiet voice, he repeated the words “He lives, and I shall conquer death!” again and again to himself. Then with a slight smile on his face, he said “I want you to sing that to me when I see you in heaven.”

In that moment, they experienced peace and comfort, and the spirit was so strong that none of us could doubt that what we talked about was true. Bob left this life with faith and peace. Five days later, I sang “I Know That My Redeemer Lives” at his funeral, and I can’t wait to sing it to him again someday when I return to heaven!

-Anon.