If they are not the words of Christ, judge ye" (2 Nephi 33:10-11) - November 14, 2022

Spiritual Thought 

One of the most beloved prophets from the Book of Mormon is unquestionably Nephi.  Countless readers since this sacred work was first published have been inspired by the teachings and righteous example of this great man.  While closing his contribution to the Book of Mormon immediately prior to his death Nephi gives a heartfelt plea for all who read this book to "hearken unto these words and believe in Christ."  In so doing he states "And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ."  This injunction is followed by the warning "And if they are not the words of Christ, judge ye—for Christ will show unto you, with power and great glory, that they are his words, at the last day."

Our message, invitation and plea to the world is to come and taste the fruit of this gospel.  To experience firsthand the peace and spiritual power which can only stem from the Savior Jesus Christ.  We urgently invite all people to anchor themselves firmly in the safe harbour of the restored gospel "and be not moved."  All of these things and countless more flow from an honest and consistent study of the Book of Mormon.  One cannot receive a witness of this Gospel or fully appreciate the latter-day miracle of the Restoration without prayerfully pondering the message of the restoration.

The Book of Mormon can be described as nothing less than a miracle.  The preservation of this record during the time in which it was written and during translation, the faith its unlearned translator, the countless attacks through which it has triumphed and the unparalleled manner in which it has spread to the world are one of the greatest manifestations of the Savior's power in our day.  The greatest miracle of all, however, is the miracle of conversion which flows from this sacred book.  Nothing will teach you more of who our Savior is and how to become like him than the Book of Mormon.  That is why humble and sincere seekers of truth have been drawn to this record and will continue to be until the end of time.  There is power in consistency.  Because of that fact I promise that if you will study the Book of Mormon each and every day your testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ will expand and grow stronger in ways you cannot currently comprehend.  This is the purpose of the Book of Mormon.  It was given to bring unparalleled light into a world of unprecedented darkness.  That each of us will grasp the lifeline of our souls, the Book of Mormon, is my prayer, plea and invitation.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

Weekly Update 

Hello everyone,

We're getting towards the end of another transfer here in Madagascar and that always means the work is picking up speed.  On Saturday we were able to have the baptism for Elise.  Elder Razafimanantsoa and I tried to teach him quite a bit last transfer but he didn't seem to have the desire to meet with us.  Something must have happened to him during the first week of this transfer however because he has been one of our most consistent investigators over the past few weeks.  Elise is the last person to be baptized in his family.  He also lives in "the compound" as I've started calling it.  "The compound" is the group of brick makers where Nary, Henri and their families live.  Now that Elise has been baptized there is only one more couple left that has not been baptized but they do not seem interested.  Stay tuned for their baptism picture in a few weeks.

We are helping another couple getting married.   Their names are Sitraka and Joseph.  It feels very strange because Joseph is only two and a half months older than me and Sitraka is fourteen months younger.  It is exciting though because they have a lot of years of church service ahead of them.  Last Sunday we were at their house helping arrange getting all the documents they need for the wedding.  Joseph called his parents and asked for their blessing on the marriage.  Then he started getting scared and backing out when Sitraka told him to call her parents.  We tried our best to get him to make the call but he kept acting like a scared little bird.  We finally realized Joseph wasn't going to find the courage to call his potential father-in-law (even though he has been living with his daughter for two years and they have a child) so we stood up to leave.  As I was putting on my rain jacket I had one of those thoughts that is so random and out of character that it can only be the Spirit.  I hesitated for a second then thought to myself "Ok, Holy Ghost, I'm going to start talking then you have to take it from there because I have no idea where you're going with this one."  I turned to Joseph as we were walking out the door and said "I know you're scared, I would be too.  But just remember that I live very far away and have come to the exact opposite side of the world.  I've been afraid too.  I'm away from my family, my language, my home, my food, clean water, working showers, good medicine and much more.  But none of that matters because the Savior sent me here just so I could help you get married.  Remember that as you think about calling Sitraka's dad."  Joseph paused for a minute then said "Alright, I'll call him."  Sitraka's dad immediately gave his blessing and they spent the majority of the conversation coordinating when the family would come into town for the marriage.  It was very neat to do something that was so out of character and unusual that it simply couldn't have been anything but the Holy Ghost.

Sitraka and Joseph are progressing very well.  We had a lesson with them yesterday and when we walked in Joseph was washing dishes and had the Book of Mormon propped open in front of him so he could read it while he worked.  Sitraka also told us that after reading the Word of Wisdom pamphlet we gave them, she decided to stop serving coffee to customers at her restaurant.  It is very exciting to watch both Sitraka and Joseph progress so well.

I hope you all have a great week!

Elder Payne

 

I approve of this van.  This is also the type of van Elder Fergus and I are going to buy when we start our own bus system in Provo.

Some pigs being moved to wherever they're going next.

People play games with dominoes quite a bit here.  This is Desire and Patrick, two people we are teaching.

Our apartment has been infested with fruit flies.  My mom Googled how to get rid of them for me and this was one of the results.  This is a piece of fruit in a a bowl of water with dish soap.  The fruit lures them in and the soap changes the surface tension so they drown.  

The view on the main street in Antsirabe.  The building is an old decommissioned train station.

Some of you may remember the picture of the broken glass door I sent a few weeks ago.  Well, this week I was sweeping close to that door and one of the big pieces of glass fell and hit my foot.  It went through my shoe, my sock and into my foot.  Sorry if anyone gets queasy when they see blood.

The piece of glass that hit my foot.  

The very green baptismal water.

With Elise before his baptism.

Elise with his family.

Big, nasty cockroach I killed in our apartment with our house key for scale.  We turned the light on when we got home and it started running away.  It was so big I thought it was a mouse at first.  The scary thing is they get much bigger than this here.