For those of you who know John and Emily, it will stand as no surprise to you that we entered that chapel to lend support and comfort, and walked out having received it in much greater quantity than we gave it. As you all know, I am a weepy woman when my heart is involved, and I'll say that from the moment I walked into the foyer decorated in pictures, scrapbooks and memorabilia, I could not help from crying until well after I arrived home.
It was strange to have no casket, strange not to "see" him and say goodbye, and sad to know that Emily would never have the chance to do either in the physical sense (it has been decided that his body will be left where it is stuck in the cave, and the cave sealed with a memorial to John at the entrance). His sisters spoke first and gave the Eulogy, reading portions of the obituary and telling stories from John's life. We laughed as they talked of his silliness, his nick-name of "Goobery-Goober" and remembered together the greatness of the man of faith that he was.
Next spoke his best friend, Danny Bennett. Emily had asked Danny to speak on Faith, Hope, Charity, and the plan of Salvation. His talk was exceptionally profound, and I don't remember everything, but there were a few points that really stuck out to me personally. In regards to faith, he said that when you say you have faith in someone, you are saying that you believe that they are up to the task they have been set. He said that from long hours of discussion with John, he knew that John had this kind of faith in the Savior, that Christ was up to the task he had been set, and that there was nothing to fear in this life or the life to come. Speaking of the Plan of Salvation, he gave a metaphor that I will never ever forget. I will try to paraphrase what I remember from his words, but this is not a direct quote. He said: "over the last few days, I have thought of John, down so deep under the earth, trapped in that rock with no way to get out. And I thought that no matter how tightly he was stuck, that rock could not hold him. It could not hold him because the atonement of Jesus Christ had freed him from that cave. He was with his Father in Heaven because of that atonement. We are all like John, we are all stuck with no way to free ourselves. Only the atonement of Jesus Christ can free us. He is the liberator of souls, and without him we will never get ourselves out." I do not think it could have been put any more beautifully than that.
Next his Dad spoke, and love, faith and humility virtually radiated from the pulpit. He spoke to all of us there, thanked us for coming and asked to have the chance to give each of us a hug after the service, and begged to hear all of our stories about John. He tearfully thanked the rescue workers more than once, and spent a good portion of his talk speaking words of comfort to them. He said (again paraphrasing, not a direct quote) "We do not understand how or why it was John's time to go, but you were never meant to be successful. You did not fail. You were the angels that assisted John in a miraculous transition...... John lived his life in such a state of determined progression, he was constantly bumping his head against the veil, and darn it, he made it through."
Then Emily spoke. I don't have to even say that from the minute she took the pulpit, there was not a dry eye in the place. She recounted with some difficulty through tears how she had asked his dad to extend a blessing to him from where they sat in the back of the ambulance and said "I know you can't put your hands on his head, but I don't think Heavenly Father will mind." She spoke of the peace that came to her and how she thought at first that it meant he would live. She told of how the rescuers had hooked up a walkie-talkie system where John could listen, but not be heard and how he asked to speak to her. She spoke to him, told him about the blessing his dad had just given him. It was not too long after that he passed away, but she said that the feeling of peace she had received continued with her, and is still with her. She recounted how when a general authority (presiding bishop, I think) called to offer his condolences, she spoke to John in her mind saying "John, that was so cool." and imagining him saying back "You think that was cool, I'm with the Savior!"
In conclusion of a very long post, I have to say this. I thought that I knew the Jones both well enough to comprehend the goodness in them. They were two of the most perfectly good, smart, loving people around and I thought I had a grasp on that. I was wrong. I realize now that what I knew of them was only barely scratching the surface of a reservoir of faith, hope and charity so deep only a trial of this magnitude could bring it to light. Each person who spoke challenged each one of us to do what John would want us to do in his memory, and find some way to do better, to be better, whatever it may be. He would want us to. My heart continues to go out to Emily and her children, and they remain in our prayers.
For those of you who have photos or stories of John, please share them here at www.johnjonesmemorial.com
To contribute financially to Emily and her children, donations can be made to:
The John & Emily Jones Memorial Fund (utah community credit union, and wells fargo)The Emily Jones Children Donations (zions national bank)
