Farewell…Until

In the 1995 film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, the character George Wickham takes leave of his new in-laws with these words: “Let us say not ‘farewell,’ but, as the French have it: au revoir!”

Au revoir means “until we see each other again.” It’s similar to the Spanish expression hasta la vista or the English expression “see you soon.” Built into all of these good-byes is the expectation of a future reunion, a belief that the separation is temporary.

The hymn “God Be With You Till We Meet Again” expresses the same sentiment, but over a much longer time horizon. “Till we meet at Jesus’ feet,” we sing in the chorus, implying that we may not see each other again until the next life. The hymn “Fare Ye Well” is even more specific: “If I never, ever see you any more, … I’ll meet you on the other shore.”

Farewells in the Book of Mormon are similarly transitory. Three of the authors end their sections with a good-bye followed by an assurance that we will see them in the next life:

• Nephi: “I pray the Father in the name of Christ that many of us, if not all, may be saved in his kingdom at that great and last day. And now, my beloved brethren, all those who are of the house of Israel, and all ye ends of the earth, I speak unto you as the voice of one crying from the dust: Farewell until that great day shall come” (2 Nephi 33:12-13).
• Jacob: “I bid you farewell, until I shall meet you before the pleasing bar of God, which bar striketh the wicked with awful dread and fear” (Jacob 6:13).
• Moroni: “I, Moroni, bid farewell unto the Gentiles, yea, and also unto my brethren whom I love, until we shall meet before the judgment-seat of Christ” (Ether 12:38).
• Moroni (again): “And now I bid unto all, farewell. I soon go to rest in the paradise of God, until my spirit and body shall again reunite, and I am brought forth triumphant through the air, to meet you before the pleasing bar of the great Jehovah, the Eternal Judge of both quick and dead” (Moroni 10:34).

One of the challenges of life is learning how to let go of things gracefully. Pretty much everything in this world is temporary, which means that we must let go of pretty much everything we acquire in this life. As Job said, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither” (Job 1:21). If we live long enough, we will see loved ones pass away, we will gain and lose physical possessions, we will relinquish positions of influence, and eventually, our physical health and strength will deteriorate. It’s painful to let go of these things, but the sting is lessened somewhat by the expectation that the deprivation is not permanent, that the most important things we gain in life—relationships, knowledge, and spiritual growth—are durable.

In 2013, President Thomas S. Monson shared his feelings about the passing of his wife Frances:

She was the love of my life, my trusted confidant, and my closest friend. To say that I miss her does not begin to convey the depth of my feelings. …

Of utmost comfort to me during this tender time of parting have been my testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the knowledge I have that my dear Frances lives still. I know that our separation is temporary. We were sealed in the house of God by one having authority to bind on earth and in heaven. I know that we will be reunited one day and will never again be separated. This is the knowledge that sustains me.

“I Will Not Fail Thee, nor Forsake Thee,” General Conference, October 2013

Today, I will be grateful for the permanence promised by the gospel of Jesus Christ. I will remember that separations are temporary, and that the most important things I gain in this life can be mine forever, through the grace of Jesus Christ.