Memorial from Blake McMillan, Linda's former Bishop

One night I was awakened in the middle of the night. I remembered the dream that I had just had. My father, who had passed away, came to me in my dream. But it was different than normal dreams. It was so vivid and real. He had said that he had an important message for me. He then started to fade away and I could not hear him anymore. Then the dream stopped. When I awoke, the vision of the dream was still imprinted in my memory. It seemed so real. I pondered upon this for days and came to the realization that I needed to be more spiritually in tune with the spirit. I worked on this for months and found out two things. First, that the spirit brought more guidance that I could have every imagined. Second, that our loved ones who have passed on have a great influence upon our lives. They are a great blessing for us.

I thought on this experience when I was asked to write this for Linda’s memorial. First of all, Linda would want us to be positive. Even when things were not ideal, she would always try to view them in a better light. I asked a friend of Linda’s what she remembered most about Linda. She said, “Linda taught me to look on the sunny side and try to be positive about things. If it was really cold outside, she said to envision that it is really hot outside, then you would be content.” If we think about her attitude, it will help us through this time in our lives. She also can now be a greater influence on her family now than she could before. I think we would be greatly surprised how much our deceased ancestors are involved in our lives.

Secondly, the Holy Spirit is called the comforter. He has the power to “comfort all that mourn” (Isaiah 61:2). If we will turn our hearts to the Lord and accept his spirit we can have the promise made by Abinadi, “there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ.” (Mosiah 16:8) I know the resurrection is real. We will see our loved ones again. Until that day, we can be reassured that the Lord loves us and will strengthen, guide and comfort us with his Holy Spirit.

I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen