When a spirit is so holy, a body is all it needs...

This week my dear cousin Shay lost his little boy Jude, less than a year after he was born. From birth little Jude just wasn't meeting the normal benchmarks for his age, but no doctor ever said that there was something wrong with him. About 3 months ago, little Jude was found unconscious and had been in and out of ICU...doctors figured it was SIDS. Despite the families prayers and our desires for little Jude to live a long and happy life, God called him home. In our religion it is a common belief that our spirits are sent here from the pre-existence to gain a body just as our brother Jesus Christ came to gain a body(simply put). It is our part in the plan of salvation to come to Earth, gain a body, learn, obey, struggle and return home with honor. We believe that children are the closest to God, at that time the veil is thinner than it is when we are adults. We believe that when children die, it is because their spirits were so holy and pure that they only needed to gain a body to return home with honor. Jude's spirit was so pure he need only be here a short time and while death is not easy for anyone to deal with and it often makes no sense who and why it comes for us...God called him home because his journey-his mission here on Earth was completed...and I hope my cousin Shay and his family take solace knowing that they will raise him on the other side, that they will be a complete family once again. Words do not ease the pain of losing someone you love to death, and they certainly don't ease the loss of a child. I love you Shay. I pray for you and the family. I pray that the Spirit comforts you as you mourn the loss of your little angel Jude. I never met him, but I love him just the same. Family is family, you are in my thoughts and prayers. Please take comfort in knowing that the Gospel of Jesus Christ had a plan for Jude and you helped him follow that plan by giving his soul a body so he could return to God. I'm so sorry. I love you. Your cousin-deb.