At funeral services of the righteous, many comments and testimonies are given that the deceased will come forth in the morning of the first resurrection because of their righteousness. But how can the friends and family of the deceased know this? It is according to the promises of the Lord. Those who have kept their baptismal and temple covenants have received the promise from Him who cannot lie that they will be heirs of salvation. This is the challenge for us—to endure to the end, faithful to our covenants.
F. Burton Howard
“I once attended a funeral service with Elder M. Russell Ballard. A statement he made there has remained with me to this day. He said, ‘life isn’t over for a Latter-day Saint until he or she is safely dead, with their testimony still burning brightly.‘ ’Safely dead’—what a challenging concept. Brothers and sisters, we will not be safe until we have given our hearts to the Lord—until we have learned to do what we have promised.” (Ensign, May 1996, p. 28 as taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K. Douglas Bassett, p. 292)