This month marks the anniversary of my mother’s passing.
Anniversaries like this have a way of slowing the heart. They invite us to step back from the pace of life and reflect on the people who shaped us, taught us, and loved us into becoming who we are.
My mother was one of the first people who taught me about Jesus Christ and the whisperings of the Holy Ghost. Long before I understood theology or doctrine, she showed me what it looked like to trust the Savior, to pray, and to listen for quiet spiritual impressions.
When someone who shaped our faith leaves this life, the grief can feel deep and personal. Yet the scriptures invite us to see loss from a wider, eternal perspective.
Viewing Loss Through the Lens of Eternity
The scriptures remind us that death is not an end but a transition. Alma taught that when we leave this life we enter a different sphere of existence, continuing forward in God’s plan:
“The spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body… are taken home to that God who gave them life.”
— Book of Mormon, Alma 40:11
The Savior taught that God “is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” In other words, those who have gone before us are not lost to existence. They continue to live, to grow, and to participate in the great work of God.
In moments of grief, it can feel as though the story has stopped. But heaven tells us the story is still unfolding. From an eternal perspective, mortality is only a chapter in a much larger narrative. Our loved ones step into another sphere of learning, service, and preparation. The work of salvation does not pause when a life ends; it continues beyond the veil.
What Are Our Ancestors Doing?
Latter-day Saint doctrine offers a profound insight into what our loved ones may be doing after they leave mortality. The spirit world is described as a place of learning, teaching, and preparation. The gospel continues to be preached there. Many who passed through mortality without a full knowledge of Christ are taught the gospel, and the work of redemption continues.
Our ancestors are not idle. They are learning, growing, teaching, and preparing souls to receive sacred ordinances. In many ways, they are helping prepare the very people whose names we later bring to the temple.
President Russell M. Nelson has taught that the gathering of Israel occurs on both sides of the veil. This means that while we labor here on earth—sharing the gospel, researching family history, and performing temple ordinances—there are faithful spirits beyond the veil working with equal devotion.
It is a collaborative effort between heaven and earth.
What They Are Building
When we consider what our ancestors may be building, we begin to see a beautiful partnership. They are helping prepare hearts and guide descendants. They are participating in the unfolding work of redemption that connects generations together.
Scripture often speaks of hearts turning—children to fathers and fathers to children. That turning is not merely sentimental; it is deeply spiritual. It binds families across centuries and creates a chain of covenant relationships that stretch beyond time.
In this sense, our loved ones who have passed on are still helping to build the kingdom of God. They are helping build faith in us, building bridges between generations and in ways we often cannot see, they may even be helping guide us toward the work that still needs to be done.
Continuing Their Legacy
Grief often asks a question: What do I do now that they are gone?
The gospel gently answers that question. We continue their legacy. If they taught us faith, we deepen our faith. If they taught us kindness, we extend kindness further. If they taught us about Christ, we help others come to know Him.
Every act of discipleship becomes a continuation of the foundation they helped lay. When we pray, when we listen for the Holy Ghost, when we serve others, and when we help gather Israel, we are building upon the spiritual inheritance they passed to us. Their influence does not end with their life. It continues through the choices we make.
Participating in the Gathering of Israel
One of the most powerful ways we honor those who came before us is by participating in the work of gathering Israel. The gathering happens in many ways:
Sharing the message of Christ.
Helping others come unto Him.
Researching family history.
Performing temple ordinances for those who have passed on.
Every time a name is found, every time a story is remembered, every time a temple ordinance is performed, we strengthen the eternal link between generations. The work that happens on earth and the work that happens in the spirit world meet in sacred harmony. In that way, the separation we feel from those who have passed is not permanent. It is part of a much larger collaboration between heaven and earth.
A Personal Reflection
When I think of my mother, I do not first remember grand moments or dramatic experiences. I remember the quiet things. I remember her laugh, the softness of her voice when she spoke, her tone ever gentle. I remember the way she spoke about Jesus Christ as if He were someone she truly knew. I remember the way she taught me to pray and the way she listened for the gentle whisperings of the Holy Ghost. As a child, I did not fully understand how sacred those lessons were, but over time I have come to realize that those small, faithful moments shaped my life in profound ways. Even now, though she has stepped beyond the veil, the spiritual foundation she helped build in my heart continues to guide me. Her testimony did not end with her life; it lives on in the faith she planted within me
Though I cannot see her, I trust that she continues forward in God’s great work. And here on earth, I will continue the work she helped begin. Because the story of our families—the story of God’s children—is not a story that ends with death.
It is a story that continues on both sides of the veil.
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