Steve’s final words, hours earlier, were monosyllables, repeated three times.
Before embarking, he’d looked at his sister Patty, then for a long time at his children, then at his life’s partner, Laurene, and then over their shoulders past them.
Steve’s final words were:
OH WOW. OH WOW. OH WOW.
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Terry flew from Anchorage to Washington, years ago, to take care of his non-member Dad, for the last month of his Hospice life at his home. He'd gone into sort of a coma for 3 days. Suddenly he awoke and looking into space said his final words:
It's beautiful. It's beautiful. It's beautiful.
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My sister and I took care of our Mother as she lived out her last 2 days at home. When the reality of knowing she was home to die and I would be a part of this transition for her dawned on me, it became overwhelming, as I'd never done anything like that before. I was unprepared without any experience to draw on. She would stop breathing and I'd think she was gone and then all of a sudden she would start breathing again.
I finally called our assigned non-LDS Hospice worker and said- Do you have anything that would let me know what stage my Mother is in? How can I know how close she is to leaving? She actually had a booklet that told of the progression of oncoming death.
Then she visited with me and told me they'd found- when people were close to death that they go back and forth between two worlds. The one here and the one they are going to. They visit with others in that mostly unseen realm. Eventually, she felt, they choose to stay on the other side. I thought that was a pretty close concept to our understanding of death.
I finally called our assigned non-LDS Hospice worker and said- Do you have anything that would let me know what stage my Mother is in? How can I know how close she is to leaving? She actually had a booklet that told of the progression of oncoming death.
Then she visited with me and told me they'd found- when people were close to death that they go back and forth between two worlds. The one here and the one they are going to. They visit with others in that mostly unseen realm. Eventually, she felt, they choose to stay on the other side. I thought that was a pretty close concept to our understanding of death.
My Mother had lost her speech so I had no last words to hear. But I did witness her wake up and nod and greet and smile at "people". That went on for a long time one night and her face registered surprise and happiness. It felt like she was seeing people that she'd not seen in a long time. I watched in wonder at how transparent her behavior/feelings were even though she wasn't telling me a thing.
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I find it interesting the attention Steve Jobs last words of - OH WOW- with it's repetitive trio would cause such curiosity and stir up interest and yet the world thinks nothing at all of Joseph Smith testifying that he saw Heavenly Beings in addition to his father and his mother and his brother, all of which had long been deceased. Besides that account in Section 137 there is the amazing, well, it's really spectacular Section 138. Filled to the brim with knowledge of the afterlife! Things never written by the world or even heard. Well, Steve Jobs gave a hint with his last monosyllables and so did, the 6 words of Terry's Dad. You and I can experience a bit of heaven by taking a minute today and reading, with thankfulness, both Section 137 & 138.
I love this revealed Doctrine. Don't you??!!
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