Abraham Buries Sarah

Today I read Genesis 23 where Sarah dies. The whole chapter is about Abraham finding the right place to bury her and bargaining with the local people to buy a cave where he can buy her. It is interesting to me how the different cultures handle the burying of their dead and how certain things like cremation are not allowed in all cultures. But even when it's not a part of the culture or a religious belief, people are very concerned with giving their loved one's body what they deem a proper burial. It is something that has always intrigued me but makes me wonder if maybe I will understand once I have someone that is that close to me pass on.

The one thing that I did get from this chapter though is that Abraham was a well respected man. As he is talking to his neighbors about his situation they are all eager to help him and don't want money for the land they are trying to give him. Now, perhaps I am misinterpreting the situation as Abraham does eventually give the man money for the land, but I looked at it as more of a goodwill gesture. But it seemed to me that his neighbors respected him because of who he was. That is exactly the kind of life that we should be living. Our friends and neighbors should know who we are and should respect us for it. They should be apologizing when they use foul language in your presence. They should stop when telling off color stories or jokes because you are there. They should know who you are and what you stand for. It should not be a secret.

As the world goes increasingly down the drains in terms of morality, we must stand as a pillar of righteousness and not be ashamed of who we are. We need to stand up for what is right and show the world and even each other what it means to be a Latter-day Saint. I have heard that in some parts of the United States excessively righteous young men are called Peter Priesthood and I say that any who are so labeled should thank those doing the name calling because they are doing something correctly to be so thought of. Our young women should be so righteous that the young men who flock to them feel like they have to be better than they are to get her attention. They should feel ashamed if they are not righteous enough to be in her presence. We need to be the city set on a hill that the Savior spoke of in Matthew. We can accomplish much good in this life just by being who we are. It's one of the reasons we are here after all. Until tomorrow.