“And I Saw I Must Soon Go Down to My Grave”

It would be impossible to describe the feelings I had when late one evening a police officer came to our door to tell my daughter and me that my husband had been killed in a one-car accident. He had left just an hour before to drive to his parents’ home, some thirty miles away. The shock seemed impossible to bear. Our loving bishop helped greatly, and the beautiful funeral and inspired talks added strength.

The day after the funeral I went to my bedroom to rest. I was still greatly moved in my feelings. For the first time I noticed my husband’s triple combination lying open on the night stand. I remembered seeing him read from it often prior to his death. I picked it up to see what he had been reading. It was open to the last verses of Enos, and I read:

“And I saw that I must soon go down to my grave, having been wrought upon by the power of God that I must preach … unto this people …

“And I soon go to the place of my rest, which is with my Redeemer; for I know that in him I shall rest. And I rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality, and shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure, and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansion of my Father. Amen.” (Enos 1:26–27.)

The message was clear. I could not question it. Although I have shed many tears of loneliness, this scripture and experience have given me great comfort and assurance and a goal toward which our entire family works.