President
David O. McKay and President Harold B. Lee used to relate an incident
from the life of Bishop John Wells that is instructive to all of us.
Bishop Wells was a great detail man and was responsible for many Church
reports.
A
son of Bishop and Sister Wells was killed in a railroad accident on
October 15, 1915. He was run over by a freight car. Sister Wells could
not be consoled. She received no comfort during the funeral and
continued her mourning after her son was laid to rest. Bishop Wells
feared for her health, as she was in a state of deep anguish.
One
day, soon after the funeral, Sister Wells was lying on her bed in a
state of mourning. The son appeared to her and said, “Mother, do not
mourn, do not cry. I am all right.”
He
then related to her how the accident took place. Apparently there had
been some question—even suspicion—about the accident because the young
man was an experienced railroad man. But he told his mother that it was
clearly an accident.
Now
note this: He also told her that as soon as he realized that he was in
another sphere, he had tried to reach his father but could not. His
father was so busy with the details of his office and work that he could
not respond to the promptings. Therefore, the son had come to his
mother.
He then said, “Tell Father that all is well with me, and I want you not to mourn any more.” (See David O. McKay, Gospel Ideals, Salt Lake City: Improvement Era, 1953, pp. 525–26.)
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