A:

Thanks for writing to us here at TruthBook with your question: “Can departed soul hear us or feel our emotions …”

It is my understanding that once a soul departs the earth, their ties here are severed, and they don’t return to visit us or fellowship us; in other words, they are off into a new adventure. We learn from Urantia Book teachings that our loved ones do remember us, however, and that at the time when we are able to join them in the realms on high we will be able to reunite with them. But I have not read anything in The Urantia Book that would lead me to think that our departed loved ones can hear us or sense our emotional lives. It may be true, but not according to what we learn in Urantia Book teachings. In the end, there’s really no way to know, but I suspect that, while they may remember us, their lives are so busy and full that there is too much to do for them to look back. In The Urantia Book, we learn that “PROGRESS” is the watchword of the universe.

But the loving relationships that we have enjoyed with our departed loved ones do endure eternally. There is value that is created as a result of these relationships, and that value is something that will live in our memories forever. Remember: “Nothing of survival value is ever lost in all the wide universe.”

I hope that, if you have lost a dear one, you’ll remember them with love and know that they are on their way to a new, risen life of growth and progress in the Father’s eternal plan – a plan that includes you, too. Be happy for them and have faith that one day you’ll meet again in a new place where all sorrow is gone, all pain is gone, and all loss is restored.

I pray that God will replace any feelings of pain that you have with emotions of joy and hope…and most importantly, that you feel inspired to move forward in your own life while still here on earth. Even though loved ones may depart, God has given you a life to live in the here and now! Ask him to help you live your life to the fullest!

Thanks again for writing to us with your question.