Here is an obituary I prepared in honor of Jamie. I tried to make this the best masterpiece I could for her, thanks to many of you who unkowingly and knowingly contributed. I wish I could have mentioned all of you. It will be posted online in a couple days at afcfuneralhome. Ill try to post it here, but it only has text: Jamie Diane Gibson Hartley’s Obituary From an aching, but also truly happy husband who is filled with love from his dearest treasure, I’ll try my best to capture highlights of my divine wife, Jamie Diane Gibson Hartley (August 27, 1977 – July 10, 2014), here in this obituary so that those who read this can have a taste of the sweetness I’ve felt for so long. I’m going to detail not only what she did in life, but also what she stood for. But, before I get carried away, know that she’s survived by her dear parents, who were as ministering angels to her, Jim and Sheila Gibson, her two older brothers, Troy and Aaron, and she was predeceased by her next older brother, Ben, who passed away with the same disorder as she. A memorial in her honor will be held on Saturday, July 19, at 10:00 a.m. A viewing of a memory room with her picture and other personal items will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. for all to see. Altruism Altruism is real. It is not just a term to describe an idea. It is what it claims to be: “the belief in or practice of disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others.” It is not rooted in any form of self-interest to any degree. It is a divine attribute of God. Jamie possessed this attribute nearly perfectly, both in life and in death. I saw it firsthand, repeatedly. One example of her altruism can be seen in her most expansive work of compassion: the United Survivors with Epidermolysis Bullosa (USeb), which she founded in 2008 (ebsurvivors.org). Desiring to help people who struggle with her same incapacitating disorder of Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), Jamie sought to teach them by example and through summer camps and winter retreats to become more self-reliant. She did her best to get as many of her extended EB family to Park City, Utah, and join her for several days at the National Ability Center. Jamie arranged activities for them that they could never imagine doing on their own, like rock climbing or other adventurous things such as horseback riding, water sports, and even skiing! These activities were not just meant to be entertaining. She was training them to be independent, explore their abilities, gain greater confidence in themselves, and achieve tasks that would otherwise have been too monumental for them to do in their personal circumstances. Said one of the participants: “I know she had an impact on a lot of people, and Id like to share her impact on me. At a younger age, Jamie made me realize that anything in life is truly possible. Despite battling a severe form of EB, Jamie taught us how to be self reliant individuals realizing our fullest potential. I will never forget that four summers ago I was apprehensive about leaving home for a week to go to a camp and meet other people with EB. I am forever grateful that Jamie reached out to me and encouraged me to go. Jamie will always be a huge inspiration to me. She has inspired me to pursue my dreams, to never let anything go. She inspired and encouraged me to be politically active. I can still hear the sound of her lovely singing voice. Her impact on all of us will forever be remembered, I am sure….I will never forget you Jamie. I hope one day we will meet again.” Others spoke of her altruism like this: “The most selfless loving friend of mine and many.” “Jamie Gibson Hartley was one who suffered daily and yet found ways to live through it and truly gave her life to serving and loving everyone in her path.” “Being your visiting teacher was for my gain. While I was with you, you taught me about beauty, strength, resilience, faith, and enduring love in its purest form.” Novelette Munroe: “I admired her leadership, her faith in humanity, her aptitude to forgive, her capacity for love, her compassion to help others.” Beauty Beauty is real. Jamie possessed a tremendous amount of beauty in spirit, in mind, in person, and in heart. She reflected it in her angelic voice, singing praises to our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ the Crucified. My favorite is “He Shall Be Born.” This song was based on the prophecy of Christ in the Book of Mormon, recorded in Alma 7. Jamie collected beauty and splashed it on canvas, making over 60 gorgeous, colorful, and optimistic paintings in a matter of just months when she found out that she might lose her arm to cancer and not be able to use it (which ended up happening). Jamie tried to paint until only weeks before she died. I had to tape a paint brush to her that she could no longer grasp in her better hand, the left hand, although she was right handed from birth. She left an unfinished work, depicting a lush forest of green leaves and trees with a mountain-side in the background that was all going to have bright red poppies dotting the scene. She wasn’t a painter before she did these works of art. She developed a talent for painting at a rate few of us can match. She seemed to effortlessly learn in an instant how to do it from online tutorials. Then, she had at it, going to Hobby Lobby and gathering the various paints she thought she would need, bringing them home, and impressing her soul on all her pictures. She regularly finished entire canvases in one day. She did the same thing in her talent for singing when, as a young teenager, her fingers webbed together with scare tissue from the genetic skin disorder she had. As a result, she could no longer play instruments. So, instead of becoming paralyzed with disappointment, she determined to make her voice an instrument and learn to sing. And she did. Her voice is a marvel to so many who hear it, especially considering that her mouth and throat were constantly filled with painful, open sores. According to longtime friend, Novelette Munroe, “She is everything any woman would aspire to be. Her beauty transcends age or skin deep. I looked up to her in every way. I admired…her strength as an intelligent woman, her sharp wit and stunning humor, her ability to nurture, her quality to inspire something better than you could dream for yourself, her talent for the arts, her adept nature for planning events and fundraisers, and her belief in a higher power that loves us more than our finite minds can comprehend. She believed in me when I couldnt. She hoped for me when I wouldnt. She dreamt for me when I couldnt sleep. Best of all she loved me back just as fiercely and got me in ways very few do. I always wanted a big sister exactly like her, someone I would be proud to be associated with. I am grateful that God blessed me with her and gave us a little over a decade together….My darling big sis. I miss you more than words can express. Thank you for teaching me so much about life: How to carry myself as a woman. How to cook. Thank you for your support and dedication to my health and wellness. Thank you for your unwavering love and constantly encouraging me to be the person you saw me capable of being. Thank you for your compassion and never making me feel stupid or scared. Thank you for all the hugs. For celebrating my successes. What else can I say, I love you!” Here are samples of her music and paintings to view to see the beauty she sought to give out: Longtime and dear, dear friend, who helped Jamie produce her music, April Meservy, said, “Many of you know Jamie worked hard to fundraise for those who also suffered with EB - this is a video from 2008 of her singing Nella Fantasia at this event. Just beautiful”: youtu.be/CWpr_4dbxjs Masa Fukuda, One Voice Children’s Choir director, said, “You cant deny the existence of heaven when you hear this recording”: onevoicechildrenschoir/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/One-World-Jamie-April.mp3 “Noteworthy and Hazelwood at another benefit she put on for USeb at the Covey Center a year earlier (2007)”: https://youtube/watch?v=ymMJKMngzUw See most of her paintings in her art gallery at jamiehartley.net/ Catherine E. Getz said to another of Jamie’s longtime friends: “Angela [Hawkins], I am one of the people that was at camp with Jamie and in fact she was my counselor when I was a camper and then last year I was a co-counselor with her. Even through it was rough for her to be there because she was tired it was amazing that she came despite everything she was going through at the time. I think all of us at camp somehow knew that it was going to be the last time we would get to see her in person so it was a very special week having her there. Thank you for writing this tribute to her, I cried because of her loss and of all the other people I have lost that have suffered from EB. It only brings comfort to me that I know she is not in pain, and has no more bandages, and is singing her voice aloud in the clouds.” At Jamie’s own camp with USeb, the following dear friend put on this beautiful face, symbolizing the beauty Jamie made possible to be instilled in others: “Bobbi did Stevies Makeup at the EB survivors camp, What do you think?” Jamie Gibson Hartley: “oh my word....no words! that is enchanting.” Love Love is real. Love is a rainbow of virtues combined together. It is light, truth, beauty, goodness, and altruism all wrapped up wonderfully together. Jamie loved. She loved so intensely. She possessed such love that when she died, it was as if a supernova burst of caring and compassion rippled through the community of family and friends. It puts me in absolute awe. It’s hard to feel so much sadness when so much inspiring and enthusiastic good came from her life and the responses to her death. In life, one of the examples of a person she loved was Lorien. Jamie traveled to Cincinnati to be with her during troubled times. Lorien lived in poverty and unsanitary conditions. Jamie sacrificed her own health and well-being to be with her and to love her like family. I’m grateful to Lorien because she was even instrumental in encouraging Jamie to love and marry me. I will always have a tender place in my heart for this exceptional young woman who left the hospital, flew in a plane, and got in an ambulance to attend the happiest day of my life: our wedding. Our Love Story We had a Walt Disney fairytale love story that will continue forever. I’m convinced God directed me to this verse, before I ever married her, speaking to me specifically about Jamie and what she will do to others: “And they that be wise shall shine…and…turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” (Bible, Old Testament, Daniel 12:3). She’s done this and continues His work, radiating His light and love as the stars forever and ever, just as one of her kindred friends, Sheryl Jepson, said, describing Jamie as “so beautiful....She did radiate the light of Christ. I think everyone fell in love with her with just one meeting! I adore her and am so grateful to have known her. You are one blessed man to be stuck with such a gorgeous girl for eternity!” And another friend verified this witness by these words about Jamie: “You were an angel here on earth. A glimpse of a heavenly being who showed what it meant to live a meaningful and beautiful life.” I loved Jamie because she was a missionary at heart. She even directly served the Lord on a Church service mission. Not only that, but she went on to serve other people with a variety of skin disorders at Camp Discovery and Camp Wonder—other endeavors I cherished her for. Terrance Fudge, one of the co-councilors with Jamie at camps said things here that I feel, too, and love about Jamie: “I will never forget the sound of your beautiful voice nor the kindness you showed towards everyone you ever met at Camp Discovery. You were such an inspiration and you will be dearly missed….Jamie performed every year in the talent show at camp! And I would give warning to the new guy counselors that they would cry when she sings! They always said ‘no I wont!’ But by the time she finished, theyre wiping their manly tears from their eyes! Man Im going to miss your voice!” Speaking of this same voice at other events, another said, “Her voice was amazing and would have the whole audience in awe and filled with emotion.” Her voice was what seriously attracted me to her from the beginning—the voice of a coloratura soprano and witness of Christ in her Christmas songs. In testimony to the beautiful person Jamie was as she developed more and became active even in politics, two people from the Democratic National Convention in 2012 that I got to attend with her observed, like I observe, and also loved about Jamie: “What an amazing person you were, certainly destined to be amazing in spirit. So happy to have met you and spent time with you as a delegate. You honored us and the world with your presence.” “Although we are not close, meeting Jamie and you at the DNC was one of the most important events of that trip and in my life. Jamies courage and your devotion while I was crying my eyes out was a testament to both of your lives and the beauty of your relationship. I am so sorry about your loss, Taylor, but Jamie lives in all of us, and we are all better people for having had her in our lives.” Jamie struggled with EB her whole life, which makes her story all the more profound. It is another powerful feature of her that made my love for her gush. As longtime friend Angela Hawkins noticed, I have felt similarly from the beginning of knowing my truest love: “Jamie was the kind of person who never accepted limitations that the world might have given her,” and, as a result she soared. Jamie’s last public words about life, which I treasure and which reflect the woman I love, were as follows: “I simply cannot wait for payback, when my chains are unlocked and my abilities are fully unleashed, and i am able to more fully thank those who have helped me along this path. When these hands are made to be like the Savior’s hands and i can finally follow the example of those who have so thoughtfully and painstakingly served me. I have been tutored by some of His best, so i will better know how to serve. I can’t wait!” —on May 29, 2014. Idealism The ideal is real. Jamie exemplified it. She personified it. She epitomized it. See for yourself: Facebook at https://facebook/jamershartley, jamiehartley.net, and ebsurvivors. In my book, Jamie was the ideal soul. Here are other witnesses to this fact that are typical of the many common compliments about her: Angel “The world has lost a lovely, beautiful angel of a woman. She was and is a wonderful example of the good in this world and I will miss her.” “You are a truly sweet angel who has touched many lives.” “If anyone ever asks me if I have ever met an Angel here on Earth? The answer would be YES, Jamie Gibson Hartley. I was blessed to have known her.” Inspiring “Jamie you are truly an inspiration to all!!” “Im grateful to have known Jamie Gibson Hartley and was so inspired by her unfailing kindness, musical talent, activism, and sense of humor.” “Inspired me to keep fighting in life, the fight against E.B. Much loved by all.” “There will always be stars in our night sky that shine bright, but now by far and for always your Star will be of the most bright and beautiful.” Longtime friend and a sister of Jamie’s, as she calls herself, Elizabeth Dixon, said, “I was friends with Jamie for 19yrs. She inspired me to keep fighting in life. I knew God had sent her down to earth to show people how pure and loving a person can be.” Grace “Though not whole in body, Jamie embodied Gods grace.” Positive “[S]eeing how she lived with her pain and everything, never complaining, made me have so much respect for her.” “[E]ven through her struggles we found ways to laugh.” “I used to go the temple each week & Jamie was always there with a smile on her face. We became good friends. I will never forget her kindness.” “A mentor, a friend, a light brighter than the sun at noon….I am so thankful that I met such an optimistic, life changing person. I hope to see you again some day.” “She was so funny and so positive about life.” “Jamie, Ill miss your uplifting Facebook posts and positive outlook on life! Im sure youre so happy to be free from mortal ailments and I wish you the best in your new heavenly mission!” Kind “Youve touched so many people with your kindness, bravery, and generosity.” Example “What a beautiful example her life is of love, music, generosity, strength, and kindness! I have been blessed by knowing her.” “We will miss your light and your constant example of strength and positivity.” Gentle “I remember how gentle she was encouraging me to sing. She said pick any song and I will sing with you. My first memory with her sure was a great one. I wanted to post about this the day I heard...but, I just couldnt breathe.” Lovely “Jamie was lovely to me when I joined the EB community 8 years ago—supportive, informative and generous with her time—I am blessed to have known her. ‘Thank you’ just never seemed enough.” Bettering Others “I am a better person for knowing her.” “I had no idea how lucky I was the day I walked into my new apartment in Provo to find that I got to not only share an apartment with you Jamie, but also a room….Thanks for making my terrifying moment of moving away from home to having roommates I wasnt related to one of the most life changing events. Because I knew you Jamie I have been changed for good.” Longtime friend and BYU roommate, Tiffany Peterson, said, “You have enriched my life so much, helped me make some of the best decisions in my life, and still continue to help me through your example and courage. I will always use your story and life as an example when my children are struggling with their own challenges: health and other ones.” Touching “I just start crying every time I read what someone has posted on here [Facebook]. It shows just how many lives she touched and she touched everyone at camp!” “Jamie is one of those special individuals placed here on earth to touch people she meets to provide them with a chance to see a different perspective on how precious life is. Thank you Jamie for making my life just a little bit sweeter for having met you.” Kind friend and helper, Ashley Sundberg, said, “Today I heard the news that heaven gained an amazing woman yesterday. Jamie Gibson Hartley touched my life and I am so lucky I got to know her and have her as a friend, I learned so much from this amazing woman, she is one of a kind….One of the dearest friends I have had to influence me....So grateful for being able to know you Jamie. Love you!” Enduring “She has been so valiant and beaten the odds so many times that its hard to believe shes still not here.” “Your spirit was irrepressible.” “Your willingness to push forward and accomplish so much in spite of what must have been unrelenting and chronic pain was epic. I and the world thanks you for the many gifts you gave to us.” “Those of you that helped with the Camp Discovery golf tournament all those years ago will remember her as the entertainer who sang so beautifully. You may not know that she didnt eat before she sang as her food may have caused her throat to blister and made it harder for her to sing. You may not have known that she sometimes had a hard time opening her mouth enough to shape the sounds she wanted. You probably didnt know that she painted beautiful pictures using two hands to hold the paint brush because her fingers were webbed with scar tissue and covered in bandages. She was one of the most faithful, giving, strong, beautiful people I have ever known, and now she is free of the body that has limited her for so, so long.” “She didnt let her problems stop her from living her life, instead she used her life to tackle a problem, and to help others.” Impactful “We all will remember the joy and love she brought to all our lives. Very few people have impacted so many.” “Youre one of those people who makes a difference, no matter what youre doing.” “You have made such an impact on everyone you have met. You had such passion about the things you loved. Your smile was amazing, and your heart was filled with love.” “The world is at a loss without you but please know how much you are still loved! You are a true inspiration and wonderful person.” Aïda from Belgium: “I remember the day I meet you. Jamie Gibson Hartley made a huge impression on my life. She changed the way I look at people and how I treat them. just because you are covered in bandages does not mean that is who you are. “You have been 2 weeks in my home in Belgium. Those 2 weeks I let you feel how Belgium families go true the day, what we eat and do but those 2 weeks are gifted in my memory forever. You give us so much love and peaceful time with your voice and let the village people remember you forever. “The most thought you gave me, was your courage in live. When I feel down I think of your spirit and that give me the strength to go on and gave me the courage to come up for myself. “Even in Sophie’s school, you give a message to the kids that they would not be sad of having a little spot on their skin in pubertal times. And I‘m sure some of them will remember you as the strong women with the heavenly voice. “Thanks for being a part of my life. Aïda from Belgium.” Aïda’s daughter, Sophie, dear precious Sophie, who suffered her own kind of skin disorder that Jamie helped to raise money for so she could come to America for treatment, wrote me privately and said, “I remember one day she talked to me with Bethany [another very close friend of Jamie’s who went with Jamie on this trip to help her with her bandages] about Jesus. At that time I was not a believer yet. But 3 years ago I did receive Jesus as my Lord and Savior….Jesus says that one day the death will raise, and the other children of God who are still on this earth will meet Him in the clouds. God gave His only begotten Son to perish for us, so that all who believe unto Him will have eternal life. He says that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved….And I know now, that for God nothing is impossible. Keep your faith in Him, the true Jesus. Make sure you are newborn child of God, follow God where He wants you to go, believing in the right truth, and I tell you, one day we will stand before the Lord. There will be no mourning. There will be no weeping. There will be no war. There will be laughter, joy, smiling in the presence of the Lord.” After I asked her if I could share these powerful and tender words she gave me, she said to me, “Of course, but make sure you mention the necessity of being a newborn Christian.” I echo her words, not just to be Christian by name, but to be a newborn Christian in heart, might, mind, strength, and soul. Jamie was. Leader “The Lord had a plan when he sent you to earth with EB. He knew you would lead his people, change the world for others and offer a hope that no one else could.” Talented “You were one of the most beautiful and talented women I had ever met.” True Friend “I will forever remember her as upbeat, always smiling, and a friend to everyone she met! Her friendship meant more than she will ever know, and I feel like everyone who knew her was made a better person because of her.” “I loved her, and feel grateful for the times we shared, which were moments of communication that made me feel understood and very lucky!” “I have tried three times today to express my feelings, and I cant. Jamie Gibson Hartley was the most loving, amazing person to everyone she knew. I remember growing up and thinking of her and Ben as the cool older kids that had tons of friends. Im glad to see today that she is still very much one of the cool older kids with tons of friends. She was always a reminder to me that being sick is not the end.” Fairly recent friend, Emily Argyle, said, “I love you. You are one of the most beautiful people Ive ever known….Thank you for your friendship! For caring for me in my trials when you had so many of your own. Your example of love, faith, and perseverance will continue to inspire me.” Resume Jamie Hartley jamiediane@gmail 512 Hillside Circle, Alpine, Utah 84004 801-319-0160 _________________________________________________________ PROFESSIONAL • Co-founder and President of United Survivors with Epidermolysis Bullosa (USeb) (ebsurvivors.org) (2008-Present) • Screen Writer for BYU Philosophy Dept. (2004) • Student Educational Aid for Pleasant Grove High School (2008-2009) • Substitute Teacher for Alpine School District (2008) • Painter with Utah Art Access (2012) • Singer/Songwriter (2002-Present) EDUCATION Brigham Young University: Bachelors of Arts Degree (2005) Major: American Studies & Honors Program Minor: Logic Ricks College: Associates of Arts and Science Degree with an emphasis in Music (1999) Honors program EXPERIENCE • Utah Democratic Party: National Delegate, State Delegate, and Precinct Chair (2012-Present) • Camp Discovery/Camp Knutson: Camp Counselor. Crosslake Minnesota (2001-Present) • Camp Wonder: Camp Counselor (2002-2006) • EBMRF: Spokesperson and Fundraiser of $10,000+ (1997-Present) • Wasatch Adaptive Sports: Fundraising Representative (2005) • Public Educational and Inspirational Speaker: Nationwide to medical, church, and other groups MUSIC • Produced Vocal Solo Album Nella Fantasia (2010) and Good Night Christmas (2002) • Solo performances in Belgium (2005) and thirteen different states (1998-Present) • Guest Soloist with One Voice Children’s Choir, Utah Heritage Singers, Logan Interfaith Chorus and Orchestra and Evergreen Singers (1998-2010) • BYU Women’s Chorus (2001-2004) SERVICE Callings: Young Women Advisor—Laurels, Relief Society Secretary and Teacher, Visiting Teaching Coordinator, Temple Worker, Sunday School Teacher, Family History Consultant (1998-Present) Mission: Provo, Utah. Family History (1999-2000). Pre-marriage Letter from Jamie to my Parents Dear Jim and Linda, Im writing in answer to some concerns of yours….As for what to expect…for my care and…life expectancy, I dont have good news for you. Chances are, everyday, for the rest of my life, my skin will degenerate….Chances are, that some sort of infection will reach my bloodstream eventually.… Did Taylor tell you that on top of EB [or Epidermolysis Bullosa], I have dyslexia, chronic anemia, chronic circulatory stress that has caused an enlarged heart, chronic fatigue, arthritis, scoliosis, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis and alopecia? Chances are, I will be a bald, toothless, blind, smelly hunchback in a wheelchair in no time at all if I dont die first…. Chances are, I should be dead by now and should not be here to tell you how wonderful my life will be with Taylor, but because of him, all my worries are about to melt away into a sweet marital bliss. My point is, I cannot tell you all the ways in which EB will destroy a life,…[b]ut as far as what to expect looking toward our future in a gospel sense, I have very good news. My life is a miracle. I depend on the Lord to grant seemingly impossible things every day…. Marriage will undoubtedly add responsibilities and challenges….I hope you will not doubt the Lord’s ability and desire to bless us according to not only our needs, but our desires….I anticipate more physical healing than ever before. Love is physically healing. Having someone interested in my comfort and wellbeing at my side is beyond my best expectations for me in this life. Having someone who actually seems to mutually need me and my love and support is something I have not experienced and it is one of life’s choicest blessings and responsibilities—a responsibility which I do not take lightly because of my deep love for Taylor. I am the first to point out the challenges that can be expected in our future. From the beginning I was a skeptic and did not wish to pursue a relationship with him…because I did not believe it was fair of me to share or inflict my pain on someone else. When Taylor marries me,…I will worry constantly about how to satisfy his needs, but I know that where I fall short, the Lord will help me…. It would mean a lot to us if we could have your trust and confidence that we have received answers and revelations concerning the most important decision of this lifetime. I know you want [these answers] too…. Let me add to this my testimony of our Savior and His Atonement….[T]he prosperity of this marriage looks pretty impossible….Yet I know we can’t [make this work] without the Lord and [I know] His promise that we will not be denied any of the blessings if we are obedient and endure to the end. With Taylor, I can do so much more than just endure. Life will not be drudgery. We will be happy, for the most part. We are looking at the not-so-happy parts with eyes wide open, knowing that it is all part of the journey. We both see each challenge as an adventure, a problem to be solved, a puzzle to be completed…. This life is so short. Soon we will all be in the next room together looking through the veil at our family and posterity and realize that most of our worries here were futile. Then, Taylor and I can turn and face the eternity we can enjoy, with no bounds, no EB, no doubts of our abilities and the love we have for each other. Thank you for the gift of your son. I accept. I will cherish him. I want the best for him. He seems to think that is me. I’d like to agree. So I will do my best to be a helpmeet for him. He is my dearest friend, my love and soon, my eternal life. With much love and respect and all my appreciation, Jamie P.S. please don’t take this the wrong way Testimony Jamie and I give our united voice of what we know. We wish to offer this to you as a gift. Please accept it as a sincere offering for you to think about and decide if it’s true. I’ll quote from sources, many of which she and I shared frequently, especially during her last days here among us: Jesus Christ, our Lord, is real and He lives (Bible, New Testament, 2 Corinthians 13:4). His Gospel is on earth. His teachings are true and recorded accurately enough in the various scriptures and taught through modern-day representatives, His servants the prophets (Bible, Old Testament, Amos 3:7). The atoning Jesus Christ’s virtues and teachings are found at least anonymously in every culture, faith, and religion in varying degrees—and this is wonderful! (“All churches and all creeds contain some good which lead toward the kingdom of our Father.” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay, p. 195). Each expression of goodness and truth, in whatever form it is and from whatever source it comes, is a step closer to Christ (“[The Gospel] embraces all truth in heaven and on earth....Wherever these principles are found among all the creations of God, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and His order and Priesthood, embrace them.” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, p.353). No matter where we are, Jesus Christ, will advocate on our behalf before the Father (“[I]f any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” Bible, New Testament, 1 John 2:1). Christ works for all of our salvation: “Jesus will never cease his work until all are brought up to the enjoyment of a kingdom in the mansions of his Father.” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, p.48). We testify in humility, with no disrespect to family or friends who have sincere beliefs that differ, that Christ has brought His organization that He eagerly wants all of us to be a part of in order to most benefit one another. He is a one-Christ-fits-all and so is His Church, and His salvation, and His heaven. Even though, for now, He places His Church in the hands of fallible mortals, as we all are, He does His perfect work through imperfect instruments. He will, through His grace, His Gospel, and His Church, exalt each and every one of us—all of us who wishes to be a child of Christ (“[W]hen his soul has been made an offering for sin he shall see his seed….And who shall be his seed? Behold I say unto you, that whosoever has heard the words of the prophets, yea,…all those who have hearkened unto their words, and believed that the Lord would redeem his people, and have looked forward to that day for a remission of their sins, I say unto you, that these are his seed.” Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 15:10-11). And i f you prefer less of His grace, His Gospel, or His Church, then He will grant you according to your wishes and make you as happy as you wish to be, living in a saved condition in heaven for all eternity according to what fits you best. That’s the one-size fits all because it’s made of stretchy material, figuratively speaking. That’s the doctrine of Christ that we both know and understand and wish to leave with all of you. In His name, amen. Photo shared by Monsie and Justin Roeder, also among the many, dear, precious, and wonderful friends Jamie had and who treated her as equally good. For Thursday, July 17, 2014, the Daily Herald: Jamie Diane Gibson Hartley (August 27, 1977 – July 10, 2014) passed away with a smile of serenity coming across her lips as she slipped away. For more information, please visit afcfuneralhome
Posted on: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 18:38:13 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015