NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES AND FEELINGS
Recently a television reporter followed up on the people who survived that air travel incident in which a huge section of the plane simply tore off, somewhere near Hawaii. You may remember that there was some kind of metal fatigue and a whole section of the plane suddenly broke out and about nine people were sucked right out of the plane to their deaths.
The television reporter got together as many of the survivors as he could and asked them their feelings, asked them how their lives had changed since then.
Some said they felt guilty to be alive, that they did not deserve to be alive when others did not survive.
Still others said they felt that living was more precious, that they would live today for today and not worry as much as they used to about tomorrow.
Another reported that she now caught herself evaluating the way she treated her daughter. Whereas before the incident she had been awfully hard on her daughter and had insisted that this fifteen-year-old clean up, fix up, and shape up, now she would catch herself thinking, "Wait a minute; maybe that’s not so important. Just love her, just take joy in her. " More now on feelings, relationships.
As for the pilot of the plane, credited with heroism in getting what was left of the aircraft down to safety, he is now retired from flying and says that he goes out on the deck of his home every morning, a little surprised to find himself alive, and thanks the Lord for the privilege of another day. He has turned in his feelings to a profound relationship with God.
Various people have reacted in different ways, you see, but what is common to them all? What word did you hear me use to describe each one of them?
Feelings; feelings. All of them are living out of their feelings. All of them are living out of their emotions. All of them went through something that cannot be handled just by thinking about it or making decisions or rationalizing. For every one of them it is an experience that did something to the way they feel. They are living out of their feelings.
Our feelings are the trickiest part of ourselves.
(From a sermon by Joseph Smith, Feelings, Prayer and Victory 10/15/2009)