Excerpt
“From the bed of pain, from the pillow wet with tears, we are lifted heavenward by that divine assurance and precious promise: ‘I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.’”
“Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives: ‘I know that my Redeemer lives!’”
Intro
Some losses come quietly. Others come with shock.
When I lost my father on my birthday, I learned what it means to cry and still stand. This week, as death again entered my family circle, President Thomas S. Monson’s words returned to me like an anchor dropped in deep water.
Death has visited my life more than once. Each time feels different. Each time cuts differently. And yet, the promise remains unchanged.
He will not fail us.
He will not forsake us.
And because He lives, those we love live also.
Notes from President Thomas S. Monson
President Monson spoke from personal grief. When his beloved wife Frances passed away, he did not speak as a distant theologian. He spoke as a husband who said, “To say that I miss her does not begin to convey the depth of my feelings.”
Yet he declared:
“I know that our separation is temporary… This is the knowledge that sustains me.”
He reminded us that suffering is universal. No life is free from sorrow. The question is not whether we will suffer. The question is whether we will falter or finish.
He pointed to Job, stripped of everything, who still declared:
“I know that my Redeemer liveth.”
President Monson taught that trials refine us. They do not destroy us unless we allow them to. “Good timber does not grow with ease.” Strength is forged in storm.
And in another sacred testimony, he declared:
“Because our Savior died at Calvary, death has no hold upon any one of us.”
Death is not extinction. It is transition.
“He is not here, but is risen.”
And because He rose, so shall we.
Perspective
When I saw death up close again, I felt shaken. Grief does that. It is real. It is heavy.
But President Monson’s voice steadied me.
“Whether it is the best of times or the worst of times, He is with us.”
That is not poetic language. That is covenant language.
I have lost my father.
I have lost my younger brother.
I have lost my grandson.
Now my sister-in-law.
Each loss has a different intensity. Each one leaves a different imprint.
Yet the doctrine remains constant.
“If a man die, shall he live again?”
“If a man die, he shall live again.”
That is not wishful thinking. That is Resurrection truth.
Practice (today, not someday)
Today I will not demand that grief disappear.
Today I will:
Pray even when my voice trembles.
Listen to hymns that remind my heart of heaven.
Speak hope to my children when they feel unsettled.
Choose to believe that separation is temporary.
I will remember that enduring does not mean suppressing pain. It means walking through it with faith intact.
Today I finish. I do not falter.
Final Reflection
President Monson said, “This is the knowledge that sustains.”
Not eliminates sorrow.
Not removes tears.
Sustains.
There is a difference.
From the pillow wet with tears, we are lifted heavenward.
That lifting is real.
Because He lives, death is not a wall. It is a door.
Pocket I’m Keeping
“He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”
“I know that my Redeemer liveth.”
Those two promises together are enough.
What I Hear Now
“I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”
“Because our Savior died at Calvary, death has no hold upon any one of us.”
“Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives: I know that my Redeemer lives.”
And tonight, that is enough.
© 2012–2026 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.
