I have attended three funerals in as many weeks.  All three have been somewhat unsettling.  The first was a service read verbatim from a prayer book.  It was hollow, empty, and almost devoid of any mention of the woman for whom it was performed.

The second was conducted by a lady minister who made the service a performance, focused on herself.  Both of these services smacked of priestcraft.

The third was a very large LDS funeral.  Upon entering the cultural hall, where I found seating, I was thrilled to see many non-members in attendance.  I said a silent prayer that each of those in attendance would be touched by something that was said in the service which would give them a better understanding of the plan of salvation and of the doctrines of the Church.  My wife told me later that she had done the same.

The speakers, save one, were family members.  They did a wonderful job portraying the life of the deceased.  He would have been pleased.  We learned that he had been a man of integrity, honesty, good humor, and good character.  But we never learned why.  We learned that he believed in the eternity of the family unit, but we never learned anything further about the Church or its doctrines.  The speaker who was a non-family member said that the deceased would have wanted the service to be kept light.  It was.  Jesus Christ was never mentioned.

How unfortunate.  What a missed opportunity.