President Nelson has written of a “gift” that we’ve been given: “It is the blessing of aging, with visible reminders that we are mortal beings destined one day to leave this ‘frail existence.’” Our bodies change every day. As we grow older, our broad chests and narrow waists have a tendency to trade places. We get wrinkles, lose color in our hair—even the hair itself —to remind us that we are mortal children of God, with a “manufacturer’s guarantee” that we shall not be stranded upon the earth forever.”
Now, obviously, there’s nothing at all wrong with trying to remain healthy and fit as long as we can. (President Nelson himself provides a striking illustration of the benefits of healthy, active living.) But there can be no illusion: All physicians will die. Every athlete will eventually die. Death will come for the undertaker and the fitness trainer, too.
In a culture that sometimes seems to pretend that we will never die, that we will go on forever, it may be helpful to be reminded that our time on earth is limited and brief. In the words of a song that was popular in my youth, “We are but a moment’s sunlight, fading in the grass.”
Daniel C. Peterson · July 2025
