HW 55 - Culminating Project - Care of the Dead

  
    When someone important to you dies, it affects you, your family, and possibly your friends also. There are
different things that you have to take into consideration when planning their funeral: Burial or cremation. There
are also different ways to bury or cremate someone of a certain religion. If everything doesn't turn out perfect, it isn't really a big deal, but if you were the person being buried, you would want it to be as best as possible. Making plans for funerals are hard, because of the price and long procedure, how religion takes place in the event, and how to get rid of the body peacefully(burial or cremation).

    Funerals are a way of letting yourself know that there was someone in your life that is gone now, and that they will be remembered forever. Even before you can actually have the funeral, you have to plan it out first. what you need to know first, is how it is going to be set up, and how much everything will cost. Funerals are very expensive, and without pre-planning, you could be wasting a lot of money. "Each year, Americans grapple with these and many other questions as they spend billions of dollars arranging more than 2 million funerals for family members and friends. The increasing trend toward pre-need planning - when people make funeral arrangements in advance - suggests that many consumers want to compare prices and services so that ultimately, the funeral reflects a wise and well-informed purchasing decision, as well as a meaningful one."(Federal Trade Commission,2000)
Funerals are very expensive, and everyone wants to have the best funeral possible, when their loved one or friend dies. They feel like the the person deserves to be the center of attention, but without planning ahead, people will waste thousands of dollars for a celebration that could have cost less, and still made the person that you cared about appreciate it. "Funerals rank among the most expensive purchases many consumers will ever make. A traditional funeral, including a casket and vault, costs about $6,000, although "extras" like flowers, obituary notices, acknowledgment cards or limousines can add thousands of dollars to the bottom line. Many funerals run well over $10,000."(Federal Trade Commission,2000) Without planning, or a well thought out procedure to making sure that a funeral is at it's best and shows how much you care about the certain person, you would be spending thousands of dollars.




    The way that someone you love or care about is buried, is a really important thing. Making sure to plan out how they are going to be buried is just as important, or even more important than the price. Some people have special requests for how they want their body to rest, and others do it because of religion, and/ or tradition in their culture. It is different around the world. Different people want to "go away" differently, and there are different ways to send them away."The funeral and religious custom of burying the dead in the floor of dwelling-houses has been to some degree prevalent on the Gold Coast of Africa. The ceremony is purely animist, and apparently without any set ritual." People in that specific part of Africa bury their dead, in their own homes. Their isn't any           
specific speech you should give, but anything that the people there want to say is what they want to say. There are other areas of the world, and different religions people follow when caring for the dead. "Except where it is not allowed, Mormons prefer to bury their dead rather than cremate them.

Embalming is accepted and allowed and if the dead person has received their temple endowment they will be buried in temple clothes.

Funerals usually take place in an LDS chapel or mortuary under the direction of the bishop of the ward.

Family members usually give the family prayer and dedicate the grave, but are not expected to give a talk.

Because Mormons know that families will be reunited after death, the natural grief at funerals is tempered with certainty and hope of what is to come.

One writer has said that a Mormon funeral is not a final goodbye, but more like the farewell said to someone who is going away for a long time, but who we know we will eventually meet again."(Jacobs French School of Knowledge,2006) Mormons are allowed to give prayers to their deceased families and friends. The funerals for Mormons are all about reuniting. To them someday they will be able to see their families again. There are probably other cultures and religions that believe the same, but everyone has a different perspective of death, and how to be let to rest.


    Planning a funeral could be a different process to everyone who tries, but it is still important, to make the funeral celebration better. It saves you money, and gives you a better idea of how you friend or loved one wants to leave this earth. During class on May 16, 2011, I spoke to one of the guest speakers. I asked skip what the advantages were, to planning out a funeral before actually going through with it. He said: "when you plan out a funeral before having it, it allows you to get better deals, and save money, you also have an idea of how your friend or family member wants it to be. Do they want to be cremated, or buried, when, and where. Once they are dead, the decision gets harder, and you don't know what to do, and you get stuck. It is one of the most important decisions you have to make in life; if you ever get to make that decision. The longer you wait, the harder the decision is to make." He also gave me a book on how to plan for funerals. I forgot the name of the book, but on the first page, there was a quote that said: "Plans are nothing, planning is everything." Dwight D. Eisenhower. I agree with this quote, because this whole paper is about planning, and what planning ahead can do for you.  




Bibliography:


"A to Z of Manners and Etiquette." Jacobs French School of Knowledge 2006: n. pag. Web. 16 May 2011.


federal trade commission, Facts for consumers. "Funerals: A Consumer
Guide." June 2000: n. pag. Web. 16 May 2011.