Death: The Separation of the Spirit from the Physical Body

Photo taken at the Park City Cemetery on July 28, 2010

"And he will take upon him death,
that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people."

Alma 7:12

In this above photo we see a grave site, marked with a tombstone with vital information about a person.. their full name, the date of their birth and death. There is a fence surrounding the grave.. however, there is also a gate that is opened. The gate is symbolic of Christ. Only through Him can we exit out from the "fence" of death and walk through that gate ...back to life or resurrection.

On a lighter note:

Tomorrow we will be celebrating Halloween a day early... (since we want to keep the Sabbath Day holy :). Interesting since Halloween is actually a shortened version of "All Hallows' Even," the eve of All Hallows' Day. "Hallow" is an Old English word for "holy person," and All Hallow's Day is simply another name for All Saint's Day. It is a day that was suppose to commemorate all the saints, which starts at sundown on October 31. This year the fact that this holiday and the Sabbath day coinciding on the same day is interesting to me.

The origin of the holiday is typically linked to the Celtic festival of Samhain which celebrates the end of the "lighter half" of the year and beginning of the "darker half", and is sometimes regarded as the Celtic New Year. The ancient Celts beleived that the border between this world and the otherworld became thin on Samhain, allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through. The family's ancestors were honored and invited home while harmful spirits were warded off. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm.