"All things denote there is a God" (Alma 30:44) - July 26, 2021
Spiritual Thought
In the Book of Mormon we read of an exchange between Korihor, the anti-Christ, and Alma. This account is very enlightening as it unveils the tactics the adversary uses to destroy faith. At one point during this exchange Korihor tells Alma that "If thou wilt show me a sign, that I may be convinced that there is a God...then will I be convinced of the truth of thy words" (Alma 30:43). In answer to this statement Alma responds, in part, "all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator." (Alma 30:44). The tactics used by the adversary are many and varied. However, one of those is to attempt to convince us that there is no God. If there is no God then there is no devil. If there is no devil then there is no sin. Such a lie is so pernicious that only perdition himself could have thought of it. Satan understands our Heavenly Father is very much a real, physical being but he will never cease to attempt to persuade you and me that this is not the case. After all that our Heavenly Father has done for us how offended must He be when His children claim that He does not even exist? How childish to cover our eyes and pretend our Heavenly Father does not exist rather than exerting the effort necessary to come to know Him. How arrogant to pretend that we as fallen and flawed humankind know so much as to disprove an all-powerful being who has created this and countless other worlds, indeed has created us. What an insult to a perfect Father when His children reject His very existence. I testify that there truly is a God who rules the universe and all things that in it are. The heavens are His throne and the earth His footstool. Our Father's "work and His glory" is to bring to pass our salvation, to enable us to one day become like Him. I testify that He is constantly and eternally interested and involved in our lives. In testifying of our Heavenly Father I also testify of His Son who stands on the right hand of God. Jesus Christ was the creator of the world under the direction of His Father who stood as architect. That each of us may know more assuredly of the reality of our Divine Father I pray.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Weekly Update
My first full length lesson ended up being a bit of an interesting situation. We did exchanges on Tuesday and I went with Elder Davis who is the district leader. It was fun to spend the day in Centerville. His area is only about three minutes to the north but, being a missionary, it felt like a different world. Elder Davis is teaching a part-member family. The dad is an atheist. It was an interesting experience to teach a lesson to someone who does not believe in religion at all.
Elder Divelbiss and I were also able to teach a woman from China. We found a Mandarin Book of Mormon that we are going to give to her. The story behind finding the Mandarin Book of Mormon is pretty interesting. I mentioned this woman while on exchanges with Elder Davis and said we were going to request a Mandarin Book of Mormon from the mission office. He then said that about a month ago a couple other missionaries decided to play a joke on him and sent the most randoming proselyting materials they could think of. One of those things was a Mandarin translation of the Book of Mormon. There really are no coincidences.
It is a running joke among missionaries that the greatest trial associated with serving in this mission is drinking the water. It does not taste very good at all. The exception to this is a well in Centerville. This well was original dug shortly after Brigham Young arrived in the Salt Lake Valley and a church was built on the property. Brigham Young blessed the well to never become dry. It is still producing water today and it tastes very good. This well is in Elder Davis' area so he took me to it and let me fill a big bottle with the Centerville well water.
On Friday we had Zone Conference. It was fun to be able to hear from President and Sister Johnson. President Johnson told all the missionaries that he had been given approval to allow district leaders to schedule temple appointments. Districts have to go together but we can know go at least once per transfer. My district is hoping to attend the temple in the next couple of weeks.
I hope all of you have a great week,
Elder Payne
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