The man has been the bishop of the West Bridgewater ward for three years. He is standing in the Good Samaritan emergency room over the body of PD. P’s wife K stands next to their home teacher, Keith.
She is in a wheelchair, weeping, and holding Keith’s hand.
“Can you give him a blessing?”
Keith leans over to the man and whispers, “You can’t do that, right? What’s the point of blessing a dead body?”
“I don’t see an issue with it.”
“Dude, she wants you to raise him from the dead.”
“Hmm.”
“Can you bless him, Bishop?”
“Sure.”
He places his hands on PD’s head.
“PD, by the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood, I lay my hands upon your head and give you a blessing. I bless you with the capacity to walk back to the presence of God. I bless you to be at peace and know that the Lord is watching over your wife and loved ones. I commend your spirit into care of the Lord Jesus Christ. I seal these blessings upon you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”
K looks up at him.
“You don’t feel him nearby? He’s not supposed to come back?”
He shakes his head. She weeps.
Out in the parking lot, he stands with Keith.
“What a disaster.”
“Yeah. She heard him gurgling at 5 am. She thought he was snoring and told him to roll over. When she woke up at 9, he was covered in blood and not moving.”
“His death will kill her. He did everything for her.”
Two years later, her family hosts her funeral in Minnesota. Both are gone before age 57.
The Living and the Dead, by Gordon Laws 