"He ran and worshipped Him" - October 17, 2022

Spiritual Thought

In Mark chapter 5 we find one of the more unsettling stories from the Savior's mortal ministry.  As Christ came to the Gadarenes immediately a man approached him from the tombs who was possessed with a legion of unclean spirits.  We are told this man could not be contained with chains and spent his days in the tombs "crying and cutting himself with stones."  However, after seeing the Master from afar something stirred this man's soul.  There seems to have been a moment where he cut through the haze in which he spent his life and recognized something good, something hopeful, someone who had the power to change the miserable state he was in.  In response to this impression the man ran, perhaps instinctively, towards the Savior and worshipped him.  Evil, however, will always convulse at the appearance of righteousness.  In response to this man approaching the Savior, the very source of the light these devils oppose, the legion of spirits writhed in horror, spoke through the man and cried out in protest.  These unclean spirits knew the Savior would not allow them to remain in the man.  They also knew that once the word was given they would have no choice but to obey and depart.  So they begged the Master to allow them to possess the bodies of a herd of swine which were nearby.  The Savior allowed this to happen and immediately we are told the swine ran down a "steep place into the sea and were drowned."  Following this event the man who had been cleansed from the evil spirits followed the commission of the Savior and told all of the miraculous and life changing experience he had witnessed in himself.

The lessons to be learned from this experience are many but just one is Jesus Christ's complete power over darkness and the absolute hopelessness of sin.  Though we do not know details, the man possessed with devils likely did something to invite and enable unclean spirits to enter him.  He most likely used his agency to make decisions and place himself in situations which allowed a legion of evil spirits to take hold of him.  I am confident that when the man first started down his destructive path it seemed harmless and perhaps even exciting.  He most likely had a few moments of artificial satisfaction.  But artificial is all Satan can offer.  He can only provide counterfeit joy as bait for a trap which will destroy our souls.  After those few moments were ended this man was left among the tombs to cry and cut himself with stones.  No hope, no joy, no light.  This principle is reinforced by the fact that even swine could not bear the presence of the evil spirits.  In Jewish tradition a pig or swine is the most unholy of all animals.  The lowest of the low and the embodiment of filth.  However, even something as unholy as a swine would rather drown itself in the sea than live in the darkness which is the adversary's only offering to us.

The story of Christ casting out Legion is yet another testament to us of his complete and absolute power over Satan.  Today there are many who, through their own choices or the choices of another, feel as though life has gone dark.  Each days feels like a struggle to survive as they battle addiction or seemingly insurmountable temptation.  Others suffer because of the poor or hurtful decisions of another.  And still others face a reality no less discouraging but unconnected to transgression.  Any person who has endured physical or mental health challenges, faith crises, abandonment, rejection, tragedy of a thousand varieties will attest to the abjact despair such situations can create.  When you feel as though sin or any other form of darkness will soon overpower you, please do exactly what this man did.  Notice that he came to the Savior.  The devils within him shortly took control again but this man saw, even briefly, the possibility of something better and he acted on that impression.  He came to the Savior and fell at his feet.  I testify that if we want him to do so the Savior will always cast out the devils which surface in our lives.  He is anxious to help us through any moment of darkness.  Never forget that it is for this very reason that our Savior suffered in Gethsemane and was crucified on Calvary.  The gift has already been provided.  Now, it is our responsibility to exercise our own agency and come to the Light of the World who is today, tomorrow and forever "banishing all shadows."  That we may do so is my prayer.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Weekly Update 

Hello everyone,

What a great week to end the transfer with!  On Saturday we were able to have eight baptisms.  Each of those people has progressed and changed so much.  It has been a privilege to be able to watch that progression take place.  Henri hurt his back pretty badly at the beginning of last week so he wasn't able to perform all the baptisms like we had hoped.  I was disappointed about that but it probably was smart for him to not risk hurting his back more.  The sisters we share a branch with also had three baptisms.  I tried to get Elder Razafimanantsoa to baptize at least half of the people but he said he doesn't really like baptizing people and would prefer if I did all of them.  I think he's crazy because I love being able to baptize people.  When I came to Madagascar just over three months ago I had only baptized people for the dead in the temple.  Now I've been able to baptize 19 people.  Like I've said before, the field truly is white and ready to harvest.

Clarque and Nary were married on Friday.  This was our third wedding of the transfer.  I would like to ask anyone who reads this to please marry the person if you feel like living with them for four years.  Even without thinking about what the commandments say, you never know when someone like little old Elder Payne will be helping you get baptized and it will help him stay young for longer.  I think the three weddings this transfer have given me my first gray hairs and put some wrinkles on my forehead.  I've called my dad old so much that I guess it's only fair though.  Even though I said all that this was by far the easiest wedding of the transfer.  Everything seemed to fall into place more than the others.  Clarque's family is living in Toliara (a town at the far southern end of Madagascar) and came all the way up here for the wedding.

We received the transfer news on Saturday and I will be staying in Antsirabe for six more weeks.  This now makes Antsirabe the area I've served in the longest.  I will be getting a new companion because Elder Razafimanantsoa is going to Mauritius, one of the other countries in the mission.  The funny part is my new companion is Elder Damy who I was with when I first came to Madagascar.  I was in a trio with him for about half a transfer and now we're companions again.

I find it pretty entertaining when people think I can't understand what they're saying.  We were walking past this one man on Friday night who was somewhere between a little tipsy and asleep on the road for twelve hours.  As I walked past he said something pretty derogatory about white people.  I turned to him and said "Hey, that's not nice" in Malagasy.  His look of shock made me so pleased.  Hopefully next time he'll think twice before saying rude things, if he even remembers it happened when he returns to the land of the sober.

I think that about sums up my week.  The only other mildly interesting thing is that I realized I'm genuinely afraid of our Relief Society president.  Whenever I see her coming down the hall I find myself cowering in corners or ducking into dark closets.  I was just starting to get over my fear of women and now it's worse than ever.  If anyone has any tips for how to conquer this little personal demon I'd love to hear them.  Worry stones and rosary beads will only get you so far and my teddy has fleas which are definitely more terrifying than women.  Let me know if you have any ideas, especially if there are any men reading this who have overcome the same thing and are willing to start a support group.  The first bag of beef jerky's on me.

I hope you all have a great week!

Elder Payne

Clarque and Nary during their wedding.  I had to be sneaky with this because I'm not sure if pictures are allowed.  I'm pretty sure they are though and nobody locked me in prison.

Clarque and Nary after their wedding.

Clarque and Nary with their parents.  Everyone was very excited about the wedding, as you can tell from this picture.

With more of their family and Henri and Antonette.

With their son who has to be one of the cutest little kids I've ever seen.  He always wants to do fist bumps with us which is why his fist is out in the picture.

Welcoming people to the baptism with Henri.  We've started calling him our third companion because he does things like this with us all the time.

Jean Marius and Tahiry with Justine.

Avotra with her family.

Clarque and Nary with their family.

Valentine and Marthe with Valentine's son, David.  Valentine and Marthe didn't know each other before the baptism but now they're friends, which is great.

With everyone who was baptized on Saturday.  Back row L to R: Tahiry (she's partially blocked), Jean Marius, Elder Razafimanantsoa.  Front row L to R: The BFG, Nary, Avotra, Clarque, Fenosoa, Marthe, Valentine.

Fruits are starting to come into season and I'm loving it.  This is a Papaya.

The inside of the Papaya.