Death Quotes

In the insecurity that we have about a prior life or an afterlife, God, I hope there is a God, if he does exist he's got a rather weird sense of humor however. But if there's a process that will allow us to live our days, that will allow that degree of equanimity, towards the end, looking at that black, implacable wall of death, that will allow us that degree of peace, that degree of non-fear, I want in.

Ebenezer Scrooge: Spirit... Who's lonely grave is this? Ghost of Christmas Future: Why yours Ebenezer. The richest man in the cemetery!

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right". It made an impression on me. And since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has be no for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything, all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment of failure, these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.

Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet, death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of life. It's life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new.

Right now, the new is you. But someday, not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it's quite true. Your time is limited. So don't waste it living someone else's life.

My message to anybody with money is, I mean what are you gonna do, stick it all in your casket? I mean, why not enjoy the joy of philanthropy?

You know, death is something many of us are uncomfortable speaking about. But to die is to be human. And anything human is mentionable. Anything mentionable is manageable.

Since his body is doomed to die, his task on earth evidently must be of a more spiritual nature. It cannot be unrestrained enjoyment of everyday life. It cannot be the search for the best ways to obtain material goods and then cheerfully get the most out of them. It has to be the fulfillment of a permanent, earnest duty so that one's life journey may become an experience of moral growth, so that one may leave life a better human being than one started it.

But on this last morning all these familiar tasks seemed very precious to him.

Little Prince: But why do you always speak in riddles?" "I solve them all," said the snake. And they were both silent.

But a thought came to reassure him: "It is true that they have no more poison for a second bite."

Our bodies are composed of visible tangible matter...What is commonly called death does not destroy the body, it only causes a separation of spirit and body, but the principle of life, inherent in the native elements, of which the body is composed, still continues.

There are three deaths. The first is when the body ceases to function. The second is when the body is consigned to the grave. The third is that moment, sometime in the future, when your name is spoken for the last time.

In last year's nests there are no birds this year.

I don't think we should try to have people live for a really long time. That it would cause asphyxiation of society because the truth is, most people don't change their mind. They just die. So if they don't die, we will be stuck with old ideas and society wouldn't advance.

Death is not the ultimate tragedy. The ultimate tragedy is not doing what you were born to do.

It seemed more strange than ever that death should cause fear when one is endowed with the power mentally to survey such a supremely magnificent universe evolving out of chaos! Since each galaxy discovered is another proof of change, why cannot death be life in another form?

Sigmund Freud once stated that no one believes in their own death. In the unconscious, there is a blank space where knowledge of this one sure thing about our futures should be.

May I say for the consolation of those who mourn, and for the comfort and guidance of all of us, that no righteous man is ever taken before his time.

What have we to console us in relation to the dead? We have reason to have the greatest hope and consolation for our dead of any people on the earth; for we have seen them walk worthily in our midst, and seen them sink asleep in the arms of Jesus; and those who have died in the faith are now in the celestial kingdom of God. And hence is the glory of the sun.

I have a father, brothers, children, and friends who have gone to a world of spirits. They are only absent for a moment. They are in the spirit, and we shall soon meet again. The time will soon arrive when the trumpet shall sound. When we depart, we shall hail our mothers, fathers, friends, and all whom we love, who have fallen asleep in Jesus. There will be no fear of mobs, persecutions, or malicious lawsuits and arrests; but it will be an eternity of felicity.

The Lord takes many away even in infancy, that they may escape the envy of man and the sorrows and evils of this present world; they were too pure, too lovely, to live on this earth. Therefore, if rightly considered, instead of mourning we have reason to rejoice as they are delivered from evil and we shall have them again.

Now you may ask why make a metaphysical catastrophe out of the fact that we are going to die one day?...If you know Epicurus from the ancient world he took care of this whole problem of death very well with the following argument. He said Death should be nobody’s concern at all because no one will ever encounter it. Death is not a problem of the living because they are alive, and it is not a problem of the dead because they are not. Consequently no one will ever know any state other than life and there’s no point groveling before the fact of death.

Now, the prospect of death overshadows all others for me. I am like a man on a sea voyage nearing his destination. When I embarked, I worried about having a cabin with a porthole, whether I should be asked to sit at the captain's table, who were the more attractive and important passengers. All such considerations become pointless, however, when I shall soon be disembarking.

Then President Kimball observed with great wisdom, "The gospel teaches us there is no tragedy in death, but only in sin." (Tragedy or Destiny?, Deseret Book, 1977, pp. 2, 6.)

Death is something inevitable. When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his people and his country, he can rest in peace. I believe I have made that effort and that is, therefore, why I will sleep for the eternity.

Death must be so beautiful. To lie in the soft brown earth, with the grasses waving above one's head, and listen to silence. To have no yesterday, and no tomorrow. To forget time, to forgive life, to be at peace.

There are few things easier than to live badly and to die well.

President Russell M. Nelson has said: “Irrespective of age, we mourn for those loved and lost. Mourning is one of the deepest expressions of pure love. … “Moreover, we can’t fully appreciate joyful reunions later without tearful separations now. The only way to take sorrow out of death is to take love out of life.”

President Nelson has taught: “Death is a necessary component of our eternal existence. No one knows when it will come, but it is essential to God’s great plan of happiness. Thanks to the Atonement of the Lord, eventual resurrection is a reality and eternal life is a possibility for all humankind. … “… For sorrowing loved ones left behind … the sting of death is soothed by a steadfast faith in Christ, a perfect brightness of hope, a love of God and of all men, and a deep desire to serve them. That faith, that hope, that love will qualify us to come into God’s holy presence and, with our eternal companions and families, dwell with Him forever.”

Prager continued, “I am absolutely convinced that a subtext here is that secular people fear death more. And we don’t want to die any more than anyone. I love life. I love my family and friends. I love everything I do. I’m crazy about life, but I don’t fear death. I believe there’s an afterlife. I don’t think this is all there is. Clearly, if you think this is all there is then you will fear losing it more than the guy who thinks this isn’t all there is.”

President Russell M. Nelson said, “Our tears of sorrow … turn to tears of anticipation.”6

And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more.

And now that the hour of departure is appointed to me, this is the hope with which I depart, and not I only, but every man that believes that he has his mind purified.

...do not courageous men endure death because they are afraid of yet greater evils?

Father time always wins. But he can be fickle — indeed unfair and even cruel — sometimes ending life at birth or soon thereafter while, at other times, waiting a century or so before paying a visit. To date, I’ve been very lucky, but, before long, he will get around to me.

I have one further suggestion for all parents, whether they are of modest or staggering wealth. When your children are mature, have them read your will before you sign it. Be sure each child understands both the logic for your decisions and the responsibilities they will encounter upon your death. If any have questions or suggestions, listen carefully and adopt those found sensible. You don’t want your children asking ‘Why?’ in respect to testamentary decisions when you are no longer able to respond.

I change my will every couple of years – often only in very minor ways – and keep things simple. Over the years, Charlie and I saw many families driven apart after the posthumous dictates of the will left beneficiaries confused and sometimes angry. Jealousies, along with actual or imagined slights during childhood, became magnified, particularly when sons were favored over daughters, either in monetary ways or by positions of importance. Charlie and I also witnessed a few cases where a wealthy parent’s will that was fully discussed before death helped the family become closer. What could be more satisfying?

Last scene of all, That ends this strange eventful history, Is second childishness and mere oblivion; Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome.

I'm not afraid of dying I'm afraid of not trying

When someone you love dies, you don't lose them all at once. You lose them in pieces over time, like how the mail stops coming.

Death lies on her, like an untimely frost Upon the sweetest flower of all the field. Romeo and Juliet. Act 1V Sc. 5