Dinner groups menu revisited

Last night we had the Elders and our (mostly Rob's but mine also) friends over for dinner and a discussion. I resurrected one of my old dinner groups menus that I thought went over well in TX and it went over well here too.  The cranberry chicken was moist and delicious, the cake got some ohs and ahs only this time there were no good looking grapes so I used blackberries for garnish and it looked even better.  I have thought about starting a dinner group here, it was really a lot of fun.  This lovely pedestal has since been broken, that was sad, I really liked it for serving cake.

So dinner went well and the discussion went fine, but something has been bothering me ever since.  I just can not comprehend this at all.  Our friends are good, devout Catholics.  We went with them to a meet the Catholics night a couple of weeks ago and had an interesting time then too.  We have several key differences in our doctrines and beliefs, as one would expect, and none of that bothered me.  What did really confuse me was when we were talking about where we go after this life is over and they said that they would become with God.  His intelligence would flow into theirs, in as much as they were prepared to receive, and then they would be fulfilled in His love.  They would forget their earth life and memories and relationships and, well I guess that's it.  I asked Lauren and Elise, mother and daughter, so you won't be mother and daughter any more? and they said no. They wouldn't need to have that relationship.  Hmm.  Hannah and I both were most surprised, we talked about it after while walking the dogs with Dad.  I knew that many other faiths teach that our relationships don't continue after this life but to hear them say it with comfortable confidence was frankly so strange.  I thought about it a lot throughout the night and came to this conclusion: what is the point?  Why marry, have children, build a family and have all that work and love and sorrow and hardship and joy just to forget it all and be alone forever?? And when we told them the good news that they were wrong and that they actually could be together forever, with God & their family, learning and growing and becoming like Him….well, they thought we were nuts.

There are many things I do not know.  I do not know at what point exactly the apostasy happened, I do not know why there were so many centuries of darkness, I don't know exactly how 1000 different things happen.  I don't even know how an airplane stays in the air (although Rob does).  I walk by faith on so many things, mostly in the dark sometimes, but that's okay because this is what I do know:  I know the light of Christ is real and that He will show us the way.  I know we have a living prophet today that speaks with the Lord and leads not only His church but the world, I know that by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel I will be with my family forever.  Rob will be my husband for eternity, my children will call me mom and that is what I will be, their mother, my grand children will know me and I will know them.  There is not a"that's it, the end" to our story because we get to continue.  I know the Book of Mormon is true.  I know God lives and loves us.  I am soooo grateful that I know.