[ExI] What will my Mormon Seminary Teacher Sister Think about my Dead Mom?

[Mike Perry]

I am very sorry and sad for your loss too, Brent. I lost both my parents to 
burial too, my mother in 1988, my father in 2001. Neither would choose 
cryonics no matter what arguments I tried to make for it. I share your 
hopes and those of Giulio and Jason and others that all will be restored in 
the end, but I also agree with you that cryopreservation is a better 
approach to the problem of clinical death than alternatives that involve 
the physical destruction of the remains. I agree with Jason that your 
proposed prayer is too bitter and should be toned down but you could 
express your basic point of view in a gentler way and maybe emphasize your 
hopes for eventual resurrection which the others will share even if they 
imagine a different pathway than you do. I think there is more to hope for 
in this regard (scientific resurrection) than Tipler's ideas and wish I had 
more time to devote to developing some ideas of mine on an alternative 
approach--but that will happen in due course. Anyway, I might tentatively 
revise your prayer as follows. (I realize you are more or less required to 
use forms of address such as "Heavenly Father" and "In the Name of Jesus 
Christ" which as an atheist you might rather avoid so have retained 
these.)--Mike Perry.

"Heavenly Father,

We come before thee, this day, to dedicate this grave, for the purpose 
of receiving my Mother's material remains. It is my feeling that nobody 
will ever 
give up till that glorious day of resurrection, when her body, all of 
Her memories, and all that she is, is finally reunited with this body we 
now lay in this resting place.

We recognize differences of opinion, even great differences, on the proper
course to follow in this, but are united in believing that resurrection 
ought to
happen and in our hopes that it will happen. It is our prayer that better 
understanding of these matters will soon occur and work to the benefit of 
all humanity.

We so dedicate this resting place, for the hope of the future resurrection
of our loved one, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."


On Tuesday, June 17, 2014 4:26:26 AM UTC-7, Brent.Allsop wrote:
>
>
>
> My Mom just died,  So I apologize if I shouldn't be trying to 
> communicate my current feelings in this way to all I love and trust so 
> fully. 
>
> I'm a Transhumanist, so it feels to me like we've now decided to rot my 
> Mom in hell.  I'm having troubles sleeping now at 3:00 AM, thinking of 
> how my Mom is, right now, rotting in that mortuary cooler, beginning 
> what feels to me like will be more than a thousand years of lonely hell 
> for the living. 
>
> I'm trying not to hate my sister.  It is currently my feeling that My 
> Dad and my two Brothers might have been OK with preserving her, and not 
> throwing her away for more than a thousand years.  Me, alone (terribly 
> disappointing my wife), funding her $80K preservation at Alcor, if it 
> wasn't for my youngest sister.  All I can think about is them now being 
> able to sleep, naively thinking my Mom is now in a happy place, 
> separated from us, the living.  Her now being with dead people, Santa 
> Clause, the tooth fairy, Jesus and God.  After all, my Mom was 
> hallucinating very terribly, right before she died, and it was almost as 
> if she was talking with Dead people, in between the time when she was 
> complaining of being upside down.  For some reason, though, My sister 
> didn't think she seemed comforted.  At least one time, my sister said my 
> Mom referred to it as being a nightmare.  But we just ignore all that 
> part of it, because we like our happy thoughts, and my sister just 
> loaded her up with more Morphine (now wondering if she did the right 
> thing) trying to make it stop, so she could be "comforted".  Yea, if you 
> feel happy, or don't know what you're missing, everything is OK,  and 
> your not in a worse hell, right? 
>
> Anyway, I've already blown up more than a few times, before my Mom died, 
> storming out of the room, slamming the door, weeping and swearing about 
> throwing Mom away and rotting Her in hell for more than a thousand 
> years, after having conversations about this with my family. 
>
> My family is now planning the funeral.  I feel like, because of my 
> current instabilities (I don't know what I'll do at the funeral, knowing 
> my mom will be rotting right there, us getting ready to throw her away - 
> at least they've decided to close the casket, I hope that will help), 
> they've censored me, the first born son, from speaking at my Mom's 
> funeral, hoping it will be good enough to let me give the dedicatory 
> prayer to God over the grave.  I try over and over again to tell them 
> I'm a staunch Atheist, but they keep asking me to pray, so I try as hard 
> as I can to pray, whenever they ask, in an attempt to make them happy.   
> So I'm wondering what you think my Mormon Seminary Teacher Sister, and 
> the many, many, other temple worker friends of my Mom will think about 
> IF I prayed something like the following over the grave: 
>
>
> "Heavenly Father, 
>
> We come before thee, this day, to dedicate this grave, for the purpose 
> of preserving my Mom's Body.   It is my feeling that nobody will ever 
> give up till that glorious day of resurrection, when her body, all of 
> Her memories, and all that Mom is, is finally reunited with this body we 
> now lay in this grave. 
>
> For those of us that currently feel like throwing her away and rotting 
> her in hell like this, is a grave sin of omision, if we are mistaken in 
> our thinking, please guide and inspire those that know better, so they 
> may be able to find the words to successfully communicate to those of us 
> who are still mistaken, so that we may find some kind of comfort in this 
> what now feels like a grave sin of omission worse than when ignorant 
> slave owners murdered slaves. 
>
> And for those that think God will do everything to resurrect us, while 
> we do nothing, if they are sinning, help those that have the moral 
> capability to realize this, to be able to find the words, to better 
> communicate, so this kind of grave sinning of omission may cease, 
> sooner.  For it is our prayer that more people will soon be better 
> preserved, so that more people may be able to be resurrected during the 
> morning of the first resurrection, rather than rotting in the hell, in 
> graves like this one, possibly for more than 1000 lonely years, if not 
> forever. 
>
> We so dedicate this grave, for the preservation of what is left of Mom's 
> body, 
>
> in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen." 
>
>
> And if I shouldn't say something like that, what should I say?  Is there 
> any way I can help make everyone else feel happy thoughts, despite what 
> I'll be feeling?  I'm trying to make what they want my top priority, but 
> it is sometimes very hard, and I don't know if I can manage it, yet 
> again, at least this time. 
>
> I must just be the lonely crazy Son, right? 
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