"Glory to God in the highest" (Luke 2:14) - December 6, 2021

 Spiritual Thought 

Scriptural accounts teach us that the birth of our Redeemer was heralded by heavenly messengers in a manner befitting the newborn king he was.  This newborn Christ was already a king.  He was the great Jehovah of the Old Testament and the creator of the world.   Prior to receiving his own mortal body this child had spoken with Adam and Eve in Eden, guided the children of Israel out of Egypt, warned Noah of the impending flood, and spoken with some of the great early prophets such as Abraham, Moses, and Isaiah.  As the short years of his mortality progressed Christ would establish his church and teach the doctrines of salvation, perform a multitude of miracles, and, ultimately, offer himself as the supreme and final sacrifice for all of his Father's children.  Truly this child's manger cradle served as poetic foreshadowing to another occasion when loving hands would lay his bruised and broken body in a cold and silent tomb.  That occasion, and all the sacred events leading to it, are the reason for the angelic cry of "Glory to God in the highest".  It is the reason why king and peasant alike knelt in reverent adoration beside the cradle of this child.  Because the life of this newborn king would include an atoning garden, nail-scarred hands and a gloriously empty tomb, you and I are justified in exclaiming with the heavenly host of old "Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace good will toward men."  As we begin this Christmas season it is my prayer that our thoughts will be led past the distractions to this scene.  A virtuous mother shouldering a divine trust in the most unfavorable of maternal circumstances.  An adopted father who surely must have been struggling to hold back tears of humiliation and failure as he stalled animals and gathered the cleanest straw on which to welcome the newborn king.  Shepherds kneeling in reverent worship before a baby as wise men extend their gifts.  A heavenly choir singing joyful praises.  And a king descending from his throne in order that you and I may have the opportunity to return to the heavenly home he left.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Weekly Update 

Hello everyone,

This week will forever live in my memory as the moment I gained insight into what prison must feel like.  I have had a cold since Thanksgiving but it felt like it was practically over by Sunday.  I started feeling sick again Monday afternoon.  By Tuesday I had a fever and was enjoying something very similar to what I imagine a missionary work themed LSD trip would feel like.  What was very concerning is that my chest started to feel heavier and heavier as the morning progressed and when I ate breakfast I couldn't taste anything.  Even though I would have chosen to have a troop of schizophrenic clowns slowly remove each of my finger nails with tweezers while detailing their hygiene habits before I became another COVID case number, the other elders pressured me into getting tested.  We called the mission nurse who ordered a test at a local medical clinic.  We were supposed to stay quarantined until the test was ready.  This confused me because I thought a COVID test involved a cotton swab, a test strip, and a willing victim but I'm not a doctor so what do I know.  Maybe there is a shortage of Q-tips.  The test wasn't ready until two in the afternoon and we didn't receive the results until 6:30 in the evening.  Nevertheless, I was negative, praise be!  I'm glad that an entire day of missionary work was lost just so that someone could tell me the common cold does in fact still exist and there is still value in soldiering through a runny nose.  In all honesty though I was relieved because I could not have handled being quarantined for the next ten days.  I'm afraid to think of what strange coping mechanisms I would invent and the mental breakdowns that would have occurred merely two days in.

The rest of the week consisted of frantically trying to make up for the lost productivity on Tuesday.  Elder Ditto and I are finding more people to teach which is always a great feeling.  Daniel and Yerli told us on Wednesday that they believe the Book of Mormon is true and Joseph Smith was a prophet but would still like to be Catholic.  Our ward mission leader felt very similarly prior to his conversion so he offered to go to the lessons with to help.  Prayers would be appreciated.

I hope you all have a great week!

Elder Payne 

Our Christmas tree (thanks mom, you're the best!)

We hear fighter jets fly over multiple times a day.  It fills me with exceptionally high levels of patriotism and testosterone every time I hear them.

We volunteered at a food bank with Elder Roberts and Elder Bethea on Friday.  These are the bags of beans we sorted.  There were also two more piles of Tuna and Peanut Butter.

With Elder Roberts and Elder Bethea