This should be really obvious but...

There has been a genre of horror movies where people try to prevent the End of Days by doing something to stop the Antichrist.

I had always thought those missed the point; it's not something we can prevent, but that's okay.

This may be a good time to back up and say what Latter-Day Saints believe. We believe that there will be growing wickedness and natural disasters -- things like you would read about in Revelation -- but then Christ will return and usher in 1000 years of peace. 

We refer to the 1000 years as the Millennium. During this time people are resurrected and various things are healed. For example, my mother's first two children were born prematurely and died; we believe that she will get a chance to raise them. Also we believe there will be lots of temple work, going along with people getting the chances that they didn't have before. 

These are generally thought of as good times, though I know people who are worried it will be the end of fun. I don't think righteousness across the Earth means that there can't be roller coasters and rock concerts, so that doesn't worry me a lot.

That being said, worrying about plagues and wars and earthquakes can be scary. I get people not looking forward to that part, though you could easily look around and say "Worse than this?"

And yes, at least for us, because even though I am aware of terrible things, I am sheltered from a lot of it. I imagine a lot of those buffers falling away. 

From a spirituality/faith standpoint, those beliefs do keep me from total despair, though there are frequent waves of anger, sadness, and frustration.

Here's the thing that should be obvious, but maybe I am wrong...

WE ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THE ONES CREATING THE PLAGUES AND THE WARS AND THE SUFFERING!

Just because there are apparently some higher-ups in the "Department of War" that don't get that.

First of all, Matthew 18:7

Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!  

Revelation mentions the AntiChrist and the Beast, but that doesn't make them heroes.

Remember also the parables given in Matthew 25 as an accompaniment to talking about end times. They are parables given about those who are looking for His return. They talk about preparedness, but that preparedness is a matter of accumulating spiritual light, developing your abilities productively (which could be interpreted in a capitalist light if you don't take it in conjunction with all of the other scriptures), and especially feeding, clothing, visiting, and helping others.

Seriously, we are supposed to be feeding children; not bombing them.

I know you hear all of those stories about people who find the scriptures really wimpy but somehow think that's a different book... it's weird to me, but I believe it happens.

However, if you think bringing on the Second Coming is a good thing, and something you want to work toward, then please spend some time reading up on that would entail. 

Remember what is written before those parables, in Matthew 24:22:

And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. 

It's not a laughing matter. It's not some macho fantasy. There are hard times right now, that we can expect to get worse, and we are called to make those times easier and alleviate suffering. 

I know Raiders of the Lost Ark is fiction, but there is something real in the idea of Nazis thinking that if they wore the right outfits and said the right words they could have the power and glory.

Try and live in such a way that you don't deserve to have your face (and the rest of you) melted. 

Feed someone

Several times in February I saw a quote from Fred Hampton about how feeding people scares people.

As I had been posting daily quotes from Black people for Black History Month, I kept trying to find a source of the full quote so I could use it. 

I never found that one. I suspect that someone cleaned it up; maybe the original had references to "pigs" and "socialism" that might have sounded undermining in its aggression. (I have some sympathy for that.) 

I used a different quote from Hampton, but I keep thinking about that other one. 

On the surface, feeding people should not be remarkably subversive. In fact, many places have tried passing laws against it. These are sometimes done in the name of public health or safety, but it's more commonly about the public nuisance of allowing unhoused people to be visible and treated like they matter.

In fact, one of the bans was legally opposed with the assertion that feeding the homeless is a form of protest, and therefore constitutionally protected.

https://legalclarity.org/when-is-feeding-the-homeless-considered-illegal/ 

I had been irritated recently by an old reference to feeding "the worthy poor" as a Christian obligation. 

I see no indications that Christ made any stipulations about worthiness. 

The multitudes were fed because they were there. That they were there listening might indicate some worthiness, but in John 6 Jesus admonishes some for seeking him out because of the bread, then urges them to seek for "that meat which endureth unto everlasting life..."

He did still encourage them toward the spiritual, but that was not a condition for food.

In expounding on the parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25, we are told that if we have done it unto one of the least of these, we have done it to Him. Likewise, if we have withheld it from one of the least of these, we have withheld it from Him.

There can indeed be variations in someone's level of worthiness, but they do not serve as a cutoff level for assistance.

Finally, from Mosiah 4:

17 Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just—

18 But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God.

19 For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind?

Eating is such a basic, recurring need that meal trains are the Relief Society go-to when people encounter any type of problem, even if that would not be the preference.

Feeding people also brings up such weird discussions when people get into preparing food versus ordering food and whether poor people have a right to have food preferences or whether getting poor children fed is important enough to give free lunches to the kids who don't need them.

Truly, people willingly display their worst impulses on this topic, no matter how much they try and cover with appeals to logic, the importance of work, and nutrition. Really, what they seem to want is to consolidate the existing hierarchy.

So, yes, just giving people food is subversive. 

The Aloha Community Library has a Share Space where donated food and personal items are available.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1299509918885741&set=pb.100064802343597.-2207520000&type=3 

I love that, and that there is no red tape or obstacles to people taking what is needed. We donate to it, but there are two things that are frustrating..

One is that they have had to request more than once that they don't get expired items. It comes up on a regular basis, including one from 2003!

The other is that most items go out on the same day they are donated.  

That confirms that it is needed, but also indicates that the demand is greater than the supply.

Of course there are other places to give, and donations like that are not the only way to give. 

Taking a treat to someone, or a meal or a gift card for a restaurant or delivery service... there are lots of ways to feed people that can address physical and emotional needs. 

Doing so also helps keep our hearts right.

Looking around, there is a great need for that.

Related posts:

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2024/08/even-worse.html  

Adapting and evolving

Looking back, it amazes me how long this has been going on.

I think my mother's first official diagnosis was in 2013, though there were signs at least as early as late 2010.

A lot of people don't spend this long with Alzheimer's disease because something else takes them first. There was a time when I hoped that would be the case, so that some of the parts that really hurt wouldn't happen.

We don't get to choose, and that's how it needs to be.

You can choose how you react, adapting to meet the needs as they come.

I have mentioned (probably more in the main blog) that there were times when we had real clarity.

It was clear when she needed someone to stay with her, and that it was going to be me. It was also clear when staying in the home was no longer working, so we needed to look at a memory care facility.

Those were both big decisions, so I was grateful for the clarity.

It was more common that there would be a shift in abilities, therefore in what worked to help Mom. Sometimes the change was very subtle, so maybe sometimes when it seemed sudden, it just hadn't been noticed previously.

There was a time when leaving notes to keep her on task worked, and a time when that stopped.

There was a time when she was safe to drive, because while she was not committing new things to memory, her existing memories were intact. When it wasn't safe anymore, I don't even think it was that she was losing her memories yet, but it was easier for her to lose her place and harder for her to recover from that. 

There was a time period when every afternoon I would wrap her in warm blankets and bring her a cup of cocoa and that made her very happy. I was sad when that phase ended, because it satisfied her so much with so little effort. Plus, I needed to find my way as a caregiver again. When one thing stops working, it is not always immediately clear what the next solution will be.

As I pulled out my song lyrics today, I noticed that the print date was from April. That's when I started singing to her, thinking it would work. It's been about ten months.

That's actually a pretty long phase, except there was starting to be less response. Today she responded more. I have no idea why.

I have not had any control over the course of this disease, but there have been meaningful moments and I have learned things. I believe I have become more patient and sensitive, though that may not always be obvious.

My acceptance of how much we do not control but how that is ultimately what is needed? That's from this. It could have come some other way, but this has been my path.

I am also more aware of the choices that we do have, and the way they matter.

I am not great with change, actually, and I really don't like moving.

There have been two blessings that I really appreciate for things that I have not had to deal with.

We moved to this house when I was six, and it is still home. On my mission, I only had two areas, with very few transfers: Fresno to Modesto and then back to Fresno.

Of course, there were three different apartment moves in Fresno. Regardless, I have had pretty good stability in terms of where my home base has been. 

Other things have changed a lot more, sometimes feeling very unstable. 

Without saying that I have never rebelled, I have been able to adapt. 

Reading all of the standard works in one year

I am trying to move away from writing about grief. 

The tricky part is that I am not sure that I am done with it. First of all, Mom is still alive, so I know there is another chapter. In addition, I realized I have another question or two that I need to answer for myself. I hope I get that done before.

Without being quite ready to start something new, this is an easy one to go over in case anyone is curious.

I decided I wanted to read in each of the books weekly, so the first thing I did was take the number of pages of each and divide by 52.

Well, that doesn't work great for the Pearl of Great Price, and the Old Testament is definitely the longest, so this is what I am doing:

Monday: 8 pages in the Old Testament
Tuesday: 8 pages in the New Testament
Wednesday: 8 pages in the Old Testament
Thursday: 10 pages in The Book of Mormon 
Friday: 8 pages in the Old Testament
Saturday: 6 pages in the Doctrine and Covenants

Sunday was going to be more for Sunday School reading, so that I was still keeping up, but it has ended up being for different things.

For example, there are 60 pages in the Pearl of Great Price. Instead of reading about one page per week, I started with the first five chapters of Moses, then read through to where Enoch would be in the Old Testament, read the rest of Moses, went through to Abraham, and read Abraham. 

Those nights were more than ten pages, but it felt like it could be reasonably done in one night. I think it worked.

That started mostly as a coincidence. The first Sunday night I was not starting anything yet, so I thought I would just get Moses 1-5 out of the way.

I am sure there will be times when my Sunday reading will relate to the Gospel Doctrine lesson, but they are still in Genesis so I feel like I am doing okay.

I have also given different weeks to catching up. For example, I read an extra ten pages in The Book of Mormon one week, because there are 530 pages and a reasonable schedule will leave me with extra pages at the end of the year. Also, I started the Doctrine and Covenants with Joseph Smith History (more Pearl of Great Price reading) and the testimonies of the three and eight witnesses, so I needed a few extra pages there.

I have also used the extra nights to re-read Revelation because I was trying to find something. A project like this stirs memory and raises questions; the chance to explore is good.

I am getting a lot of ideas for other areas of focus; we will see what happens in future years. For now, I like how this is working out.

In addition to getting ideas from spending time in all of the works, I am getting ideas from Ensign reading too, which is going much better.

Reading a few articles daily as opposed to a whole issue Saturday gets you through the magazines at the same rate, but it feels completely different and much better. 

That is one other thing that should be working better. While I have learned a lot from various readings of the Old Testament, there are places where I get bogged down. Now looking at the building of the tabernacle, only reading eight pages per day and doing something else the next day has made it much better. I expect this to continue through Leviticus and Numbers... the rest of the Pentateuch, actually.

It will also really help with Psalms.

So this is working out. I have had some pretty ambitious goals for things I wanted to study, and finding that I can achieve them makes many other things look possible. 

Processing a loss

The first thing I need to note is that I have not ruled out doing a multi-part series on a different Joy Harjo poem, "For Calling the Spirit Back from Wandering the Earth in its Human Feet." 

Harjo has multiple poems that I have found extremely helpful and moving. 

In "Washing My Mother's Body", she was not able to do so physically, so she goes back in mind and imagines the process. 

The poem had made me feel that there would be something lost if I was not able to do wash and dress my mother's body. I worked out that other things mattered more, but was there still something to learn about her mental process?

She starts that she is doing it because of 

          "what needs to be fixed
 so that my spirit can move on

                So that the children
                  and grandchildren
       are not caught in a know of regret they do not understand."

Perhaps the first important thing is that this does appear to be for the living.

Then the memories start to come. 

They come from physical objects, like using a pan that her mother used for washing babies, now to wash her mother with the care that you would give an infant.

There are memories of the dresses. Her mother bought a lot of them, but that was because as a child she only had one dress that she had to wash out each night.

Had she always realized that was the case, and was remembering it once more? Or had some truths just started to become clear?

There is another pot there, that had come from her mother's mother. Generations are connected in legacy.

That includes Harjo's memories of raising her children. 

There are memories of things that could be trivial, like her mother being shuffleboard queen at a local bar.

There are more serious memories, like a scar that happened when her mother was burned at work because her boss wouldn't listen.

There were memories of how hard she worked for her children.

      "The story is
      all there,
      in her body,
      as I wash her 
      to prepare her..."

She finishes the washing and brushes her mother's hair, kisses her forehead, and is wishing her off on her journey. Commending her to angels, she remembers a last bit of her favorite perfume. 

So many little things come back and seem so important. 

   "and then I let her go."

On the other blog I have been writing about these songs I have put together and how they relate to my mother's life and our relationship. 

I did have a very long journal session writing about her life, but then I would write about the songs -- first in the journal, then in the blog -- going over the details again and again.

In fact, I did make connections I had not realized before, including similarities we have that I might not have realized.

I don't want to be caught in regret. 

I have tried to live in a way that would not lead to lots of regrets, but under examination things can come together or fall apart. 

Things have been coming together. 

We can bury or burn our dead (there are additional options now). 

We can try burying our feelings or burning relationships. That can be harder to successfully pull off.

A final beautiful reminder from going over the poem again is that its okay if you didn't do it at the time. You can still go back to remember and release.

Or my way; trying to have it all done in advance.

There's still another step, I think, which will be drafting an obituary for her. 

Two visits ago, it felt like a real possibility that I might not see her again. Then I saw her yesterday and I am pretty sure there will be another visit. 

I have to assume when it is the last visit that I will not know, but that's true most of the time.

Tell people you love them. Live with openness and integrity. 

Don't stay caught in knots of regret.

Related posts:

https://preparedspork.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-high-cost-of-dying-part-3.html  

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2026/02/january-daily-songs.html 

The times, they are a-changin'

This is still about death, though differently. 

(Also -- spoiler alert -- I am pretty sure there will be another post about grief.)

As part of the cost-of-dying posts, I had mentioned various traditions, with some thoughts about where they come from and whether they still serve.

Once upon a time it was very normal that people would place obituaries in the newspaper. 

They would also put wedding announcements with pictures, and sometimes even anniversary announcements. 

As a child I did not look at the obituaries much, but I remembered looking at the brides to see if there was anyone we knew, and if the dresses were nice... things like that. 

I did not realize that these were paid, like want ads and personals; it was just how things were done.

Of course, at the time we were also getting a daily newspaper in print. When that stopped, I missed the comics and crosswords more than I missed the wedding announcements. 

One thing with the obituaries is that if it was someone I knew, I wanted to know that it happened and how and details about their life. When I did look, it was mostly strangers.

It wasn't particularly efficient for keeping tabs on people that you knew but with whom you did not regularly cross paths. 

Social media is more efficient.

It still has drawbacks. Some people don't get on much or post much. There are things about how the algorithm pushes the feeds where a lot of people find it alienating. Still, I know more about people with it than without it, and I do like and care about people.

When my mother dies, I am going to post an obituary on her Facebook page. 

She has one. It was something that I thought could be kind of therapeutic in the early days of the onset of her dementia. It didn't work out. However, we have enough friends in common -- and maybe I should tag my siblings and self -- that it will get the word out to some. 

I've mentioned already that there is a plan for contacting various friends and relatives directly, but for the general news, I think that's a reasonable way of doing it.

Most funeral homes have online obituaries now, though there is a cost for that too. (There is also a cost for CaringBridge for updates on illnesses. I guess it makes sense but I don't like that.) 

I believe the newspapers still post obituaries, though I suspect the reach is much lower.

For our circumstances, I think Facebook is the best source for a general notification. The personal notifications will include phone calls, e-mail messages, Facebook direct messages, texts, and maybe even the regular post. Those are all based on how often we communicate with the people involved and how we normally communicate, but also how much of a blow it will be so how much cushioning it will need.

That list includes neighbors where I could easily run across the street, but I am assuming I will be falling apart and won't want to carry that outdoors.

That is connecting to others on a very specific subject, but a lot of different types of relationships and methods of communication come into play.

My main point is that things don't happen the way they used to, so I can't simply follow old patterns.

Some of these ways may even be better, but it takes thinking about it to find how to go forward. 

The high cost of dying, part 3

Money is a factor in this one, but it is really more about an emotional cost. 

What I worried about most was dressing.

You can have them pick up a body at the place of death and then cremate as is.

You can also have the funeral home clean and dress the body, or even do makeup, though that is normally only if there is an open casket funeral.

The itemized charge for that is $425.

When I was growing up, it was not uncommon that women from church would dress the dead. One of my mother's friends did and Mom really admired that. 

That friend has been dead for many years.

Talking to people now, everyone seems to just have the funeral home do any dressing. The people I have talked to are also not people who would be daunted by an extra $425. 

Paying for that service was not practical for us. One way people avoid it is by doing it themselves before the body has been picked up. I did look into that, but the information I could find recommends having multiple people and I just could not feel like it would work.

Okay, so we just dump her into the fire? That didn't feel right. 

Most of my frantic state was about that. 

I was trying to figure it out with a combination of researching what one hospice site says as well as re-reading a poem by Joy Harjo, "Washing My Mother's Body: A Ceremony for Grief." 

I was leaning toward it not really being a possibility, and feeling bad about that, but there were ultimately two things that really helped that came from conversations with friends.

The first was one woman telling me that whatever I did would be enough. I could not feel that was true right away.

The other was another friend reminding me that those practices are for the living.

Going over those traditions and where they come from, I believe many of them are more about accepting the reality of the death, physically viewing the body, wearing reminders of it, and meeting in community to commemorate it.

I really enjoy the Lore Olympus comic series. There is a scene where Persephone is trying to give some money to souls stranded on the shore who don't have the coins to pay Charon to ferry them over. There are so many that it starts a riot. 

We could have a very interesting discussion about funerary beliefs and customs for different cultures, but ultimately I don't believe that there is anything we can do to damage someone's transition into the afterlife. Whether they are incinerated and buried under the World Trade Center or lost at sea or hidden in a dump by a serial killer or controlling husband, that does not impede their journey after.

Sure, there might be more confusion or resentment because of the manner of death, but those issues do not depend on burial rites. Our power to damage others is limited to life, and there are opportunities for healing after that.

What matters is my care for my mother now, and before, and leading on right through the moment of her death. She would not want me to be frantic about this.

That will be enough, I can know that, and that is a blessing.

That doesn't mean I have become completely calm. I still want to have an obituary done soon, because I would have a harder time writing it after. I have asked questions about what to do with her things and am figuring that out. 

I'm still me.

But it is better.