Helping My Sister Find Faith

My younger sister, Pelly, has terminal cancer. She lost her faith in Mormonism following a mission where she heard several contacts relate their search for God. These good people had investigated many churches, prayed, and were miraculously guided to the right church. The problem for Pelly was—the church to which these sincere people were led and which gave them peace wasn’t the one she represented. A bad marriage finished her faith in our family religion.

Now that she is facing death, Pelly seeks belief in some kind of afterlife. She has sought solace with Catholic nuns, from Tibetan chants, and through Zen meditation. Pelly calls to discuss religious philosophy. She trusts me not to try to talk her into our childhood faith. I have no answers, but I’m open to any theory that provides comfort.

Because she’s interested in the possibility of reincarnation, I sent Pelly a copy of a book I’d just started reading, The Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda. She called a few days after receiving her book. She’d read the entire 400 pages. I agreed with my sister that reincarnation sounds more fair than Mormonism— having multiple lifetimes in which to work out our salvation rather than one strike, you’re out for the rest of eternity.

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