There is No Death Above
For Keegan, life had been difficult yet seeing the loss of his functions, his distancing from the pack, the loss of... well everything except for the pains and aches of growing old. Already, the wolf had seen his cubs leave home, and his mates had passed away a long time ago. And he knew deep in his heart that the pack would someday move on without him and Keegan would not accept it at first. But as the days and weeks and months worn on and the wolf became more ancient and ancient, it became evident that his pack would need a new leader and it would obviously not be him. In every situation, the pack was able to resist human interference and no wolves were ever shot even as the humans encroached deeper and further into their territories. Very lately, Keegan had seen with his own eyes one of the humans, an old gentleman with his children. While the wolf had an instinctive fear and hatred of all humans, there was something about this man's eyes which seemed so inviting and non-threatening. He was so tempted to come forward and find out more but he knew full well that for his curiosity he would probably be shot.
Being a master of stealth even in his advanced years, he had seen the humans many times and the aforementioned meeting with the older human was the only time any human had ever seen him. Surveying alone, Keegan did not have to worry about any other member of his pack betraying the location of the pack as a whole. Because of his leadership, they were still able to have plenty to eat even as they were pushed further north into the frigid north of the Canadian province of Alberta. The wolves could cover a lot of distance to run away from those who would seek to persecute them. But now they would have to find a new leader as they looked on at the motionless body of their former alpha male, now inert and lifeless on the forest floor.
A crowd had gathered around the bed of Mr. Leavett, including his many children and several wives. It was obvious that the man who had done so much for the community was now about to die. He had led a pack northwards, fleeing Zion, up past Montana, which was (and still is) largely untamed wilderness to Alberta, all to escape laws which he felt were unjust. He called his surviving wife, as well as several children by other wives to his bedside. "You know that I... will not get better from this disease. I will soon pass into glory. Read my instructions- the last journal... entry. And continue God's work, my children." He prayed one final, urgent prayer before his vital signs gave way and he died.
His present wife found the note on his nightstand and read the parchment aloud.
"Today, I saw with my own eyes proof of Heavenly Father's love for us, for all his creatures, whether given the advantage of rational thought or not. I beheld while surveying the land with my family, a wolf and our eyes met. He was not angry or ferocious as I would think a wolf ought to have been but he looked old and venerable and perhaps a great deal like me. Methinks that in the realm which the righteous shall inherit, the human and the brute animal will stand as equals, capable of understanding each other's language. I know this is for certain, that very soon I shall find out."
Keegan was engulfed in a brilliant white light as he saw his packmates shrinking in the distance and realized that his- well the wolves don't quite have a word for "soul" but his essence was leaving this mortal world behind. He could hear a loud voice proclaim that he was innocent and worthy to inherit a new world- all of these ideas confused him. His body felt strange as the Canadian forest he once inhabited became lesser and a new and glorious world enveloped him full of colors, sounds, and smells that were utterly new to him. In a field awash in brilliant light brighter than the sun, he saw wolves he recognized instantly as his predecessors and all of his sickness melted away as if it had never existed.
‘So this is what happened to all the wolves who came before,' he thought. And he also saw animals such as rabbits and squirrels and moose that wolves traditionally hunted living in peace alongside the wolves themselves. But his way of thinking had changed considerably- as a citizen of this new and happy world, there would be no need for hunting or killing, no hunger and the law of predator-prey relationships had come to an end forever in this sacred place. And then Keegan saw him, the older gentleman. Everything which made him appear old and wizened had completely disappeared, he looked young and beautiful and he was wearing a robe of pure white. His body once wracked by old age was now at optimum health and probably even greater than what could be accomplished on earth. And when he saw the human, Keegan also realized that his infirmities had been taken off like an uncomfortable burden in this brave new world.
"I remember you. I met you earlier and thought that someday humans and animals would be able to communicate. I am Thomas Leavett," the human said- and behold, Keegan knew exactly what the man was saying. And then the wolf did something that this new world had given him the ability to do- talk in a human language.
"I am Keegan. You are the human who I saw. I was once the leader of a strong and mighty pack, whose territory covered the whole of the forest before the humans came forward. We were persecuted." Upon hearing that word, Mr. Leavett twitched somewhat.
"Persecution seems to be a common thread linking us together. For once I lived in Zion, a city far to the south of here- I was given orders there to preach the Gospel to the peoples of Canada and to establish a community in Alberta with my wives. To stand here in this place called Heaven is something that humans will want to enjoy when their missions are complete." The wolf realized then the austerity of the human encampment was the result of the persecution but that here the cessation of all fighting and evil would supersede all rivalries and hatred.
"Realize this, my lupine friend. We humans lead lives which are more complex than yours on earth but also more frustrating. We hate each other for no reason and iniquities have been multiplied on the earth since the fall of Adam, communal father of the human race, brought death to both human and animal. But here we stop fighting and realize how childish it was on earth. Pain and death no longer exist in this place. It is the goal of men who live in peace and good will."
The wolf understood then that to understand and truly appreciate peace in the afterlife was something that both humans and animals both would find attractive. And to know it here meant far more than the mortal world because here people could forgive each other their sins and forget completely the bickering and infighting that left unchecked, led to all the fighting, wars and violence that the previous world was known for.
"And one other aspect of Heaven is this- infinity. It's a concept found in the human art of arithmetic; the highest number I could count to always has one number above that as does that number and it continues forever and ever, world without end." Keegan thought of the times he had counted his packmates and the kills and while his knowledge of numbers would never be as great as his human's friend, he began to understand how numbers ran on and on, without stopping. Wolves, caught up in the cost of daily survival would not study arithmetic but in heaven, Keegan realized the human books were now legible, relevant, and abstract. The wolf decided that with his newfound wisdom he would study the sacred art of arithmetic in this new world.
"And the numbers start at 0 and run off in both directions infinitely, both positive and negative. And then there are the ones outside the realm of whole numbers, we humans call them fractions and decimals that are also endless, and those numbers do not include irrationals which contribute to a greater infinity. Between 0 and 1, the numbers cannot be listed completely. They are just like us."
"In what way, Mr. Leavett?" Keegan asked, confused by all these new concepts coming into his now-sapient mind.
"Here, our bodies are glorified and we shall continue an eternal and infinite ascent upwards in knowledge and wisdom- our lives will go on forever and ever in this perfectly serene, perfectly exciting place without death or defeat to frustrate us. But we will never become as wise as Heavenly Father, He is the Greatest Infinity. You could not have known more than I did on earth in mathematics and you would not have understood me anyway on earth. That's why I taught you about infinity here and this would have been the only place that such a lesson were possible."
"So what you're saying is that whatever you learn on earth doubles in the world to come and keeps growing, forever?"
"Exactly, it's another arithmetic concept we call exponents. You can study those as well, Keegan as well the rest of your pack."
Infinity was a concept that neither one could grasp and probably would never understand, even in their glorified state. After the math lesson, Keegan just wanted to relax and soak in the peace and joy and the wisdom of this beautiful place, the place where he would spend measureless eternity in with all his departed packmates, living in total harmony with everyone, including the humans. New concepts occurred to him fast as lightning in a storm. "Books" and "color" and "speech" and "walking upright" were things he never even thought of before but they were coming to him in heaven.
Keegan's pointed ears twitched as he heard a song rising over the peace and serenity of this world. It was a melody that both he and the human had never heard before and it seemed to be echoing across time and space for them to hear, sung by a great and mighty choir. And the lyrics which both creatures could understand shone brightly in their minds. There were friends to meet and infintely many impossible (by mortal standards, anyway) things to do but right now, there was peace and rest and relaxation as the two kindred spirits listened to the beautiful melody.
The works of God continue, as worlds and lives abound;
Improvement and progression in one eternal round.
There is no end to matter; There is no end to space;
There is no end to spirit; There is no end to grace.
There is no end to virtue; There is no end to might;
There is no end to wisdom; There is no end to light.
There is no end to union; There is no end to youth;
There is no end to priesthood; There is no end to truth.
There is no end to glory; There is no end to love;
There is no end to being; There is no death above.
There is no end to glory; There is no end to love;
There is no end to being; There is no death above.
With credit due to William Wines Phelps (1792-1872) whose Latter-Day Saint hymn "If You Could Hie to Kolob" served as the inspiration for this story. The song the two characters heard at the end of the story are the last three verses of the aforementioned hymn.
In case you're wondering, there is actually a city in Alberta named Leavitt in honor of the early Mormon pioneer Thomas Leavitt who fled Salt Lake City, or Zion as it was known then, to practice polygamy in Canada where the practice had not yet been illegalized.