When does life begin?

Cjane, one of my favorite bloggers, wrote a post today about when life begins on the Segullah blog, called "The Hourglass Theory". I am not intending to start a firestorm about this issue, but rather to encourage the kind of study and contemplation that CJane shows. I think her experience of wanting to know and understand for herself when life begins is a very good example of how I want to live my life. Here is an excerpt:

Finally, I knew of no other way to satisfy Lucy’s grief and my confusion then to ask my Heavenly Father why?

Why were we supposed to see her baby alive only hours before she lost it?

I wasn’t given an answer, but another question. The same question every mother has ever asked since the beginning of this earth.

When does life begin?

My sister-in-law, Kerry, also wrote on this issue, and won Segullah's Heather Campbell Essay Contest in 2005. Her essay, When Life Begins, is also very touching and thoughtful. She shares her experience with in vitro fertilization and the inevitable loss associated with it.

When does life become life and when can you call the loss of it death?

There are many issues in this world (including this one) that I struggle to fully understand. What I was impressed with today by reading (and re-reading) these poignant stories is that it is possible to gain that understanding. To reconcile what my heart and my head and the world and my church all tell me. I can have a personal witness to help me through these incredibly complex problems that life presents us with. I am also reassured that having faith and having questions are not mutually exclusive.

I welcome your comments on this, however, considering how tender some hearts might be about this issue, please be respectful.