f146719b_October_9__1843__Times_and_Seasons
[Smith Diary] All men know that all men must die.--What is the object of our coming into existence then dying and falling away to be here no more? This is a subject we ought to study more than any other. which we ought to study day and night.--If we have any claim on our heavenly father for any thing it is for knowledge on this important subject--could we read and comprehend all that has been written from the days of Adam on the relations of man to God & angels. and the spirits of just men in a future state. we should know very little about it. [Times and Seasons] 
We Should Seek to Understand Life and Death He spoke of the importance of our understanding the reasons and causes of out exposure to the vicissitudes of life, and of death; and the designs and purposes of God, in our coming into the world, our sufferings here, and our departure hence--that it is but reasonable to suppose that God would reveal something in reference to the matter--the ignorance of the world in reference to their true condition, and relation. Reading the experience of others, or the revelations given to them, can never give us a comprehensive view of our condition and true relation to God.
October 9, 1843
Times and Seasons