Chapter 56

Reed and Jerilyn Enter the Celestial Kingdom

Jerilyn passes away at eighty-two years of age—Reed and Jerilyn receive exaltation in the
kingdom of God

Before bringing to a close the story of Springville, we should not fail to mention the
passing of Jerilyn Atkins, great-grandmother of the family, at the age of eighty-two. Her mission
on earth was over. Reed received her with open arms as she passed through the veil.

In the weeks that followed Jerilyn’s death, Kathleen mourned greatly for her. The passing
of Reed had been one milestone, and the passing of Jerilyn was yet another, reminding her again
of her own mortality.

A few months later, as Kathleen cleaned the family room downstairs one morning, sleep
overcame her. Feeling strangely tired, she was forced to lie down on the couch for a nap.
Inasmuch as their home was like a temple, the grand family room was in many ways like the
celestial room of the house; thus, we might say her nap took place in the celestial room. She fell
asleep quickly and had a dream. Recalling the experience in a conversation later with Mark, she
spoke of it as follows:

“In this dream, I stood out in the Wellsville area of Cache Valley, close to where Reed
and Jerilyn used to live when they were first married. It was still light out, the sun rays still
shining in the hour before sunset. Off at a distance, I saw the mouth of the canyon and the
mountains all around, but close by me, there was nothing but lovely green meadows. Everything
was beautiful; there was no imperfection anywhere to be seen.

“Not too far away from where I stood, I saw a small, attractive building that I recognized
instantly as a Latter-day Saint temple. It struck me almost as some kind of summer home, a small
place with a garden like Europeans sometimes have outside the city where people go to spend a
few weeks out of the year taking care of flowers and vegetables. I saw Mom and Dad emerge
from this small temple, with Mother dimming the lights inside and closing the door behind her
for the evening.

“Looking at both of them closely, I noticed that they had spectacular, glorified bodies, as
though they had been resurrected. Their countenances were bright and seemed almost to sparkle.
They had calm, happy, and peaceful looks on their faces as they exited the building and walked
towards the mountains.

“Instead of the Highway 89 highway leading up into the canyon that exists now, I saw a
very expansive walkway several miles wide, a garden-like pathway or bridge that ascended over
the mountains and into the heavens. There was a vastness of colors and other beautiful things I
could only scarcely discern in the sky beyond the tops of the mountains. The two of them walked
slowly and ascended this pathway in no particular hurry. The place they were headed to seemed
to stretch out forever in the distance. It was as though time no longer existed and that they were
destined to live happily ever after.”