"Thy Will Be Done" (Moses 4:2) - June 6, 2022

Spiritual Thought 

There are many lessons which can be learned from comparing the beginning to the end.  Progress can be measured and improvement appreciated.  Insight into a person's objective and motivation can also be gained.  This principle is true in the Gospel.  

Through the scriptures we are blessed to have the first words of the Savior as well as his last words spoken in mortality.  In Moses we read of the premortal council in heaven.  In this setting the "noble and great ones" were led in council by our Father in Heaven.  It had been decided that a world would be created and spirit sons and daughters of God sent to dwell there.  The problem set before these noble spirits was how to provide the opportunity to return to our Heavenly Father for all who would choose to accept it.  The salvation and exaltation of nearly innumerable children of God was at stake.  From this setting one voice rose above the rest declaring "Thy will be done and the glory be thine forever."  The Son of God had spoken and eternity shook.  Our Redeemer had offered himself on our behalf and you and I shouted for joy because of it.  Never mind that for this perfect Son his offer would require him to leave the home and Father he loved.  Never mind the path set before him would, of necessity, result in his rejection.  Never mind he would be hated by his own.  Never mind in his greatest hour of need he would be betrayed by one of his dearest friends and forsaken by those who followed him.  Never mind the Father whom he was always striving to serve would be required to withdraw his spirit for a time.  Never mind he would fall forward on his face in agony and plead in the night for the cup set before him to pass.  Never mind nails would be driven through his hands and feet while sacrilegious onlookers pointed a mocking finger at their Savior.  The promised Messiah looked through eternity, saw these events, and accepted them.  His Father had spoken and that was all the reasoning this Son required.  If the Father needed his Son to pass through the depths of sorrow and agony in order to save all of his other helplessly lost children then the reply of the Son was "Thy will be done".

The final words the Savior spoken in mortality were uttered from the cross itself.  As the Savior hung in agony his thoughts were, once again, drawn to the Father he never ceased to long for.  He had borne the sins of the world and reached the cross he always knew awaited him.  From this setting he could, at last, declare "Father, it is finished, thy will is done".  The Son had fulfilled his promise to his Father and to us.  He had offered himself as the sacrificial Lamb.  Like Isaac before him he had allowed himself to be placed upon the altar of sacrifice.  The difference, however, is that for this son there would be no lamb in the bushes to spare him.  He was the Lamb offered on behalf of Isaac, on behalf of the Nephites watching for signs of this event across the world, on behalf of the very men who crucified him, and, ultimately, on behalf of every man, woman, and child throughout time or eternity.  

My plea today is for us to strive to emulate the example of our Savior.  We will never earn the gift which has been given to us.  The life of our Savior was taken on our behalf and we will never be able to repay such a gift.  The sacrifice we can offer is our own small token of what the Savior never ceased to do.  We can offer up our will to the Father.  As we do so we will come to realize the joy that can be ours as we exchange our will for the vastly greater will of our Heavenly Father.  That we will choose to do so is my prayer.  

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Weekly Update 

Hello everyone,

Last week I mentioned a woman named Alenny who we were able to begin teaching.  She easily is one of the most prepared people I have met, and I have been blessed to meet many prepared people.  We were able to have a lesson with her on Tuesday.  We taught the Restoration and she received everything very well.  After talking about modern-day prophets we asked her if she believed there could still be prophets today and her response was "It would be strange if there weren't prophets.  If God doesn't change, why would he have prophets in the Bible but not have them today?"  We then taught the first vision. Two very neat things happened.  The first is that after reading the part where Heavenly Father points to Christ she paused, thought for a minute then said "God and Jesus Christ are different people, aren't they."  It was a statement not a question but she obviously had never thought about it that way before.  She sat for a minute lost in thought then started reading from the beginning again.  When she reached the point where Heavenly Father calls Joseph by name her voice choked a little.  She looked up at us after a few seconds and said "If God knew Joseph Smith's name do you think he knows mine too?"  We were able to bear our testimonies that Heavenly Father knows us by name.  The spirit was so strong it felt like a physical presence in the room.  We invited Alenny to pray that evening and ask Heavenly Father if he knew her by name.

The next morning our phone rang at about seven.  It was Alenny.  As soon as we answered she excitedly said "I prayed last night and I got an answer."  We asked if she would be willing to share what her answer was.  Her voice became choked again and she said "All I asked in that prayer was if God knew my name and was aware of me.  I couldn't even finish asking my question before a voice said 'Alenny, you are my daughter' I know God knows me because he answered the question I needed to have answered, and he even spoke to me in Spanish!"  It was a very neat experience.  I feel humbled to have been able to watch Heavenly Father have such a tender interaction with one of his children.

Clotilde received a limited-use temple recommend yesterday.  She has also been meeting with the Family History specialists in the ward.  In yet another tender mercy the couple helping her happens to be from the same Mexican state Clotilde's ancestors are from.  During the Mexican Revolution nearly all of the vital records from this state, Chihuahua, were burned by rebels.  These specialists know how to find information for people from Chihuahua and have been helping Clotilde find her ancestors.  We are going to visit the temple with her on Friday and she will be baptized for her own ancestors.

The other highlight of the week was Edgar.  The Hermanas who are now in Edgar's area sent a text giving an update on him.  They said he called them last Saturday and said he had just been paid and wanted to pay his tithing but didn't know how to do that.  They helped him fill out a tithing slip.  It doesn't stop there though.  Someone mentioned family history to him and now apparently he is borderline obsessed with learning how to do it and is also going to the temple very soon.  He has definitely felt the Spirit of Elijah.  Best of all, however, he asked to meet with the Bishop last week.  In the interview he said he would like to go on a mission and wanted to know how he could do that.  It's humbling to think how many people one sixteen year old is going to help.  Oh, one more thing, he found out about Patriarchal Blessings on his own and wants to get his before he turns seventeen in September.

I hope you all have a great week!

I now have a shirt to go with my name!  Some friends from New Mexico who now live in Syracuse read my emails and decided to make a shirt with a duck on the front.  On the back, on the inside of the shirt, it says "Be the Duck, Utah Layton Mission" . It's the best gift I've ever been given!

The Hermanas suggested we should ask President Johnson for permission to watch The Greatest Showman for p-day.  I told them it was probably a long shot but I would ask if they really wanted me to.  Well, we were given permission.  I've developed a reputation this week for being able to get President Johnson to say "yes" to anything.  Stay tuned for more details. Clockwise from me: Elders Morgan, Allen, and Underwood, Hermanas Berkabile and Haertling.

Some dufus (Elder Burgoyne) decided to park this close to our car.

Elder Burgoyne with the duck shirt.  He was so proud my name has caught on with everybody who reads my emails as well.

This is how close the dork was to our car.  You could have parked a second one in the same spot.

What I was doing exactly one year, to the minute, after being set apart as a missionary: sitting in the car while calling to see why one of our people is being flaky…again.

Now for the real reason people say I can get anything approved.  To make a long story short, one of the Hermanas had her brother pass away and went home for a few days to attend the funeral.  While she was gone her companion decided to try and get every missionary to write an encouraging note that would then be taped to the wall for when she came back.  Well, the day before Hermana Zimmerman came home they still did not have many notes, which I think is pretty pathetic on the part of other missionaries, but that's another topic.  I decided to get everyone in my district to write one and somehow managed to do it, even Elder Allen wrote one!  We were all so shocked!  Problem was, Elder Allen's note was handwritten.  We were debating how to get his note to Roy which is at the far northern end of the mission and across an entire zone.  I decided it wouldn't hurt to ask President Johnson and he gave permission for us to deliver the note in person!  I know!  It blew my mind too!  Basically,  President Johnson gave us permission to leave our zone, drive nearly out of the mission and meet sisters in a parking lot at 8:45 just to deliver one note.  Either he really trusts all of us or he has had traumatic brain damage and didn't understand what we were asking.  I'm hoping it's the first option.  From L-R: Elder Underwood, Hermana Bunderson, Hermana Hill, Me.

Watching somebody's car get repossessed in a trailer park.

This picture has all of my favorite things!  The temple, the freeway, WinCo, and it's taken from a trailer park!