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Losing my dad and the hope the temple provided

Writer's picture: Aaron BujnowskiAaron Bujnowski

Updated: Dec 3, 2022

I have found the precious hope offered by the temple in my life. My father suddenly passed away from a heart attack on April 3, 2021, the day before Easter. It shocked the entire family. Although it was a difficult time for all, I took it particularly hard. My father and I were golfing buddies, and we had been able to spend a great deal of time golfing together during the pandemic. In fact, we golfed in a tournament one week to the day before he died. We took a picture on the last hole of the course (shown below).

I spoke at my father’s funeral. At the close of my talk, I spoke of the hope that the atonement brought me and likewise brings to all who have similarly experienced personal tragedies. This is what I said,


To every person in the congregation today who—like us—has lost a loved one, to every individual who has felt physical pain or mental anguish, to every person who has struggled under a load of any type, I invite you to come unto Christ, for “[His] yoke is easy, and [His] burden is light” (Matt. 11:30). I testify of His living reality. He lives! So, come unto Christ and renew your hope in Him.


It is my prayer that at this time of loss and grief, we can remember the atonement of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and reconfirm our hope in Him, “which hope we have as an anchor of the soul” (Heb. 6:19). May we feel the desire to rejoice in His glorious sacrifice, for all the hope that it brings us.[1]


The temple is the embodiment and the conduit of Jesus Christ’s peace and healing. He can deliver and amplify hope, which is a stabilizing anchor during the storms of life. That Christ-centered hope is among the most precious purposes of the holy temple.


If any of you have lost a loved one, I pray that you can find hope in your temple covenants.

  1. Aaron and Julie Bujnowski, Discovering Your Temple Insights, (Springville: Cedar Fort Publishing and Media, 2023), 39.



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