"Man Must Hope" (Ether 12:32)

March 29, 2022

"Man Must Hope" (Ether 12:32) - March 28, 2022

Spiritual Thought

The Book of Mormon teaches of the important relationship between faith and hope. In the midst of his people being utterly destroyed the prophet Ether taught the importance of possessing hope. In Ether 12:32 we read: "Wherefore man must hope of he cannot receive an inheritance in the place which thou hast prepared." Why is hope so essential for our eternal progression? The importance of faith is generally understood, but why is hope such an interconnected and crucial element of faith?

From the New Testament we read that it is impossible for faith and fear to exist in the same moment. These two are opposites and one will always triumph over the other. It is impossible to possess the deep and abiding faith we must have while also being filled with pessimism and dread for the future. If the future fills us with gloom then we are either allowing fear to overcome our faith or we do not fully understand the plan of our Savior. As we spend our days longing for the past then the signal we send to our Savior is that we do not trust his plan and we do not believe he has the ability to work miracles in our lives.

We are covenant children of a loving Heavenly Father. Our privilege is to be in the service of his Only Begotten Son, the very literal embodiment of hope. As we approach this most sacred time of the year may I ask each of us to more faithfully remember the purpose for this Easter season. The events we will soon commemorate are the reason we can and must hope for bright days ahead. As we reverently commemorate our Savior's solitary, redemptive sacrifice may we allow our faith, even our hope, to be increased more than ever. I testify of hope because I first testify of the Hope of the World. I testify of peace because I first testify of the Prince of Peace. I have faith in bright days ahead because I first have faith in he who is "An High Priest of Good Things To Come."

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Weekly Update

Hello everyone,

The first week of a new transfer always feels a little strange but this one very well could be the weirdest of my entire mission. My new area is the Spanish ward that covers my first area. It is fun to be back in this area. I have not needed directions and have even known where some Latinos are that Elder Anderson didn't know about. It feels a little bit like an eternal deja vu and I have to keep reminding myself how long it has been since I was here. We are teaching several promising people. This area has historically been less fruitful than my last area but we are working hard and letting the Savior work his miracles.

The lowlight of this week was when I was punished for Adam's transgression. All mission cars have a camera in them that watches the interior and exterior of the car. It is incredibly annoying and feels more than a little invasive but these aren't our cars so I've learned to tolerate it. Elder Porter, however, had the bright idea to put chapstick on the interior facing camera so it could not see us. As much as I liked that idea I knew it wasn't very smart. I cleaned off as much as possible and went on my way in peace. On Thursday I was blissfully driving to a meeting when President Johnson gave us a call. He explained that even though I was not the one who put chapstick on the camera and I had tried to clean it off I would not be able to drive for the remainder of this transfer. I thought about quoting the second article of faith, specifically the part about not being punished for someone else's mistake, but thought better of starting a fight with my mission president. Long story short, we will not have a car this transfer because I'm being punished for someone else's mistake. It could be worse though because Elder Porter will not be driving the rest of his mission.

Update: After I wrote that last paragraph we received a text from President Johnson saying we would be getting our car back tomorrow morning. What's even better is that I will be driving again.

On the bright side though this transfer is supposed to be perfect weather. I'm excited to be back in my old stomping grounds with a little more time under my belt.

I hope you all have a great week!

Elder Payne

The Rosales family. From L to R: Jesús, Antonio, Alejandro, Andrés, Me, Rosa.

Last p-day was Hermana Berkabile's birthday. I wanted to have some sort of party for it but all she would tell me she wanted to do is sleep and eat ice cream. So, I made that happen. This is the bed I set up on a table on the stage. Please notice the face mask to be used as a sleeping mask, the rabbit made from a pair of socks and the pillow in a garbage bag. We also had a tub of ice cream but it was waiting in the freezer.