William: "Hyrum, Samuel, Katharine, and Mother were members of the Presbyterian Church.(In the 1820's) My Father would not join. He did not like it because a Rev. Stockton had preached my brother's funeral sermon and intimated very strongly that he had gone to hell, for Alvin was not a church member, but he was a good boy and my Father did not like it."
The LDS version of a "Fire and Brimstone" speech is often a "You Will Be Separated from your Family/Loved Ones" theme. This doesn't bother me directly, but it does make me feel bad for my believing siblings, children, and Grandchildren who are reminded once more that Grandpa Deacon will not be with them in heaven. I think the spirit of this speech is similar to what William remembered about Rev. Stockton's funeral sermon. It feels mean-spirited and also reminiscent of the Mote/Beam syndrome that institutional Churches seem to incline toward. Pres. Nelson's talk even implied that if He were the judge, he wouldn't be lenient to his unnamed friend who asked to have the temple work done after his death.
Now I hope we will all be inclined to be forgiving of others. I would remind each of us: In Luke 18 did Jesus say the Pharisee or the Publican would be saved?
