Hosanna, hosanna to God and the Lamb" (The Spirit of God - Hymn No. 2) - June 26, 2021

 Spiritual Thought

 After Adam and Eve partook of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, many consequences shortly fell upon them.  As members of this church, we hold a unique view of this event.  The fall of Adam and Eve enabled each of us to participate in this mortal experience.  Without their decision, one which was made deliberately and of their own accord, you and I would never have learned the necessary lessons which could only be taught with a mortal body and in a fallen world.  I express my gratitude to Eve for the foresight she displayed and to our first parents for sacrificing their own idyllic situation for our benefit.  Such sacrifices are simply what good parents have done throughout time and will continue to do forever.  However, this sacrifice, though beneficial for us, carried with it an enormity of negative consequences for Adam and Eve.  It was now their lot to win their support "through the sweat of their brow" as the scripture says.  The pangs of heartache that accompany a fallen world were felt almost immediately as their son Able was killed by his own brother, Cain, who then lied to the Lord concerning what he had done.  Few of us can comprehend the depth of sorrow such an event must bring with it.  I am confident, however, that the greatest pain felt by these two people was to be cut off from the presence of the Lord.  It had been their privilege to "walk and talk with God."  Think of that!  These two individuals had spoken with the Lord face to face, received counsel at His knee, and enjoyed the indescribable spirit that accompanies His presence.  But no longer.  Through their own mistake they were now far distant from such a situation and were subject to the temptations and wiles of the adversary.

In His infinite mercy our Heavenly Father has provided a way for each of us to, for a time, escape such a predicament.  Each of us can, on condition of worthiness, freely partake of the spirit which accompanies His presence.  This opportunity is made available in His House, the temple.  What a privilege to be able to walk in the literal House of the Lord and participate in sacred ordinances, only available therein, which enable each of us to overcome the fall and return to our Heavenly Father.  This is why we continue to build temples at a faster and faster pace.  This is why so many are willing to sacrifice so much in exchange for even one temple experience.  And, I am confident it is one of the largest reasons why it has been so profoundly difficult to have this opportunity removed from our grasp during the past fifteen months.  However, the work of the Lord can never truly be hindered.  Many temples are beginning to once again open for proxy work.  As this blessing for which we have fasted and prayed comes to fruition, I implore you to drink deeply from each of the ordinances of the temple.  Return as often as you are able.  As you do so, savor this brief exposure to the Edenic setting our first parents enjoyed.  May each of us stamp the phrase "Holiness to the Lord" on our lives, our families, and our very hearts, I pray,

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

 

Weekly Update

Hello everyone,

Temples have been on my mind a great deal lately.  This is because the Albuquerque temple, at long last, has entered phase 3 of operation.  This phase allows for proxy work to resume by appointment.  All temples in the United States will be operating in this phase by the end of July.  I was able to attend an Endowment session with my parents last Saturday.  I deeply love the temple and am profoundly grateful to once again be able to participate in proxy ordinances.  

As a side note, I have had a couple of people ask if they can send me emails using this address.  Any of you are free to contact me at this email address whenever you would like to do so.  I can read emails throughout the week but am only able to respond to them on P-day.  I will do my best to respond to any of you but if I am unable to do so because of time restraints I apologize.  Please know that your emails are appreciated and will be read.  I would love to hear from each of you so please feel free to contact me. 

This week consisted of more Malagasy language training.  I feel as though the nuances of this language are beginning to make sense to me.  Elder Fergus and I were able to teach the first lesson entirely in Malagasy.  There were definitely areas in which we could improve but we covered all the doctrine and delivered our message.  I was also able to memorize Joseph Smith's account of the first vision in Malagasy and shared it during our lesson.  

Bro. Stepan told us that one of the great parts of serving in Madagascar is that in many situations you can pay a "convenience fee" and be allowed to do things that are not technically allowed (by the business, national park, etc., not the mission) but make for great mission stories.  The best place to go for this is the Antananarivo zoo.  Many zookeepers will take convenience fees from missionaries then let them feed the lemurs or nearly any other activity they may wish.  Bro. Stepan once rode a giant tortoise like a horse.  Maybe in a few months I will be able to share pictures of my experiences with convenience fees.

The other exciting news from this week is that I received my travel information from church headquarters.  I will be leaving Albuquerque on July 13th.  I will then fly to Dallas before getting on another plane to Salt Lake City.  At first I wondered why I was flying all the way to Dallas only to turn around and come back towards home.  Bro. Stepan said that he would assume all of the missionaries reporting to the Layton mission will be meeting in Dallas before flying to Salt Lake together.  I am excited to enter the field.

I hope you have a great week,

Elder Payne

At the temple.  There was a nice elderly brother who agreed to be my companion.  His age is starting to catch up to him but he has a wealth of stories and experiences to show for it.

With my companions for this week, Sis. Payne and Sis. Payne.  Something strange is going on with Sis. Payne's name tag.  I was put in a trio.  The strange part is that my two companions are both sisters.  At this point I have stopped asking and am just going to go along with it.

When I was about four years old I said that Jessica looked like an Orangatang.  It is now a running joke that we need to go see Jessica's family at the zoo.  Here she is posing in front of a picture of her twin.  Can't you see the similarities?

Practicing the verb "to need" with Bro. Stepan.  To help us remember he performed "I Need Thee Every Hour" in Malagasy.  I didn't realize how close Elder Fergus was to the screen or I would have taken the screenshot at a different time.

Practicing how to order food in Malagasy.  This is a picture of what most restaurants in Madagascar look like.

Missionaries returned to the in person MTC this week.  Because of that, Bro. Maguet was assigned a permanent classroom.  The only problem was that the pesky Cebuano teachers felt like it was their room.  In this picture he is making it very clear who's room they are in by spreading multiple Malagasy flags across the Cebuano materials.

There are three types of public transportation in Madagascar:  Bosy Be (big bus), Bosy Kely (little bus), and pousse-pousse (bicycle taxi).  Bosy Kely is the most common for missionaries.  In this picture Bro. Stepan is using his wonderful artistic skills to illustrate how cramped a Bosy Kely is.  Each Bosy Kely could comfortably hold ten or twelve people.  Bro. Stepan says he has never been in one with fewer than twenty people.  Bro. Stepan is 5'11, I am 6'2, and Elder Fergus is 6'4 and says that a regular school bus is very uncomfortable for him.  In Bro. Stepan's words, while on the Bosy Kely he experienced discomfort, I will experience pain, and Elder Fergus will experience pure torture.

Bro. Stepan's artistic explanation of a pousse-pousse.  There is a seat built onto the back of a bicycle.  Someone then pedals the bicycle wherever you need to go.  The taxi "driver" charges a higher fee depending on how big you are.

Elder Fergus is very good at drawing and painting.  He painted this picture of a lemur and Madagascar after he opened his call.