Hope for the Broken Hearted

picture from lds.org

One Monday when I was coming home from the allergist, there was a discussion on the radio about loss, and grief.  A man called in to tell his story, and my heart broke for him, because I do not believe the good people he talked to had the answers he needed, even though they were kind, and wanted to help.  There is doctrine in the restored church of Jesus Christ that is not had by other wonderful Christian people.

The man told of how he had come to believe in Christ late in life, his boys were mostly grown, and one of them had died in an accident without ever having shown evidence of having come to know Jesus.  He cried, telling the people on the program that heaven would not be heaven for him if his son could not be there, and he feared, from what he had been taught, that his son was forever lost.  Doomed to be sent to hell, and separated from his Dad, for not having accepted Jesus -- though it sounded like this son really hadn't had the opportunity to know Jesus during this life.

I wanted to send him some missionaries.  But barring that, I wanted to tell him that the gospel of Jesus Christ is, above all things, a gospel of hope, and love, and families.  It is also a gospel that allows for agency, and his son will have to choose, but I believe his son will still be taught, and still have the chance to accept and know His Savior.  The situation is not hopeless, and there is a chance for their family still.  With Jesus there is hope for the broken hearted.

**This is another unfinished post I found in my drafts and finished up.