"Rich Blessings are in Store" (I Am a Child of God - Hymn No. 301)

February 14, 2023

"Rich Blessings are in Store" (I Am a Child of God - Hymn No. 301) - February 13, 2023

Spiritual Thought

From our earliest days in primary we are taught the words of "I Am a Child of God". Typically this is one of the first songs we learn and children eagerly look for opportunities to sing it. I wonder, however, if the words of this song sometimes become so commonplace to us that we lose sight of their meaning. Our prophet, President Nelson, has repeatedly implored us to remember our divine identity and the future which can be ours if we choose to accept it.

Think for a moment about what exactly we declare each time we sing "I Am a Child of God". Each and every person on this earth possesses a spirit which dwelt with and was created by God Himself. We learned at his feet, desired to return to him, and shouted for joy when a plan was presented which would allow us to do so. Inherent to this plan, indeed essential to its success, would be a period of testing and trial when we were physically distanced from our Heavenly Father. This period would require us to endure all manner of heartache, sickness, and despair. Some of us would be required to endure disease and immense physical pain. Others would pass through mental illness and limitations. And still others, too many of them, would face this experience largely alone as grappled with broken homes, shattered relationships, or outright rejection. Worst of all, however, we would he required to be tempted and tested. Far too many would fall to sin and thus be unable to return to our Heavenly Father's presence. Surely our Heavenly Father must have wept knowing there would be some who chose to reject him and deny themselves of the blessings he desired to bestow upon them.

The promise given to us is one which is difficult for many to comprehend. It is nothing less than everything our Heavenly Father possesses. Every person carries with them the spark of divinity. We have a divine nature and eternal destiny. We are not merely the result of some great cosmic accident. Nor are we merely just another piece of nature placed upon this earth. We are the children of the king. Our inheritance is our Father's kingdom and our destiny is a throne. My prayer and invitation is that we will allow our divine nature and destiny to be the defining characteristic of our lives. As we do so we will come to realize the comforting, ennobling, and ultimately exalting power such a principle carries with it.

I am a Child of God

Rich blessings are in store

If I but learn to do his will

I'll live with him once more

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Weekly Update

Hello everyone,

What a week! This week is yet another one that I don't think I will ever forget. It started out fairly normal. On Monday we picked another random mountain outside of town and climbed to the top. Tuesday was an average day that went smoothly except for some crazy and/or drunk guy threatening to cut my hair. Things started getting interesting on Wednesday. We were in the middle of daily planning when President Rakotoarivelo called and asked us to go to a town called Ambositra. Ambositra is roughly halfway between Fianarantsoa and Antsirabe. They have a branch but not any missionaries. What I have heard is the branch has taken it upon themselves to keep the missionary work progressing on their own rather than using the fact they don't have missionaries as an excuse. Based on this weekend they are doing an incredible job at that. The Ambositra branch had ten baptisms on Saturday. I was able to complete the baptismal interview for all ten of those people. It was a very neat opportunity.

Elder Rasoloarivony and I left Fianarantsoa early Friday morning and drove several hours to Ambositra. After that we ended up having over two hours just to complete all of the baptismal interviews. We were able to stay in a hotel Friday night. I think it had been well over two years since I stayed in a hotel so it was fun to do that again.

We were also able to visit Ranomafana again today. I decided that with the transfer coming to an end I had better take advantage of being close to such an amazing place in case I get moved. We were able to leave Fianarantsoa about two hours earlier than last time and that made it so the lemurs were more active when we saw them. I love places like Ranomafana. For me they are something of a spiritual experience. I simply don't understand how you could look at something like a lemur, or a waterfall, or the sky, or all the different shapes, sizes and colors of birds then say there isn't a God and this is all just a big accident. Aside from being incredibly disrespectful and ungrateful to our Heavenly Father it is simply illogical to me. "All things denote there is a God" and nothing makes me realize that more than a place like Ranomafana. Opportunities to see places like Ranomafana also make me think about just how personally our Savior knows us and his capacity to care for us. If he spent the time to create such a variety of birds why would he not also be able to help all of us in our variety of circumstances? If he was willing to spend the time and go to the effort of creating hundreds of different frogs why would he not also take the time to hear our prayers and help us in our challenges?

Elder Cook is coming to Madagascar on Saturday. He will be holding a devotional on Sunday which will be broadcast across the country. Then he will be holding a second devotional specifically for missionaries. We will be driving to Antananarivo on Saturday to attend that. It will be a very special opportunity to hear from an Apostle. Elder Cook visited the Layton mission while I was there so I will have heard him speak to both of my missions.

I hope you all have a great week!

Elder Payne

With Yvon and his family.

The only chairs we have are these very uncomfortable stools. I found some foam cushions and have been sitting on those to do personal study.

Carrying our suitcase to the bus station on Friday. Elder Rasoloarivony took this picture and said I look like James Bond. I'm not sure why but I'll take it!

Our bus broke down after about thirty minutes. Luckily there were two French men who knew how to fix it because our driver's solution was to open the hood, say "that's not good", then go buy a plate of rice.

Malagasy military running down the road.

In front of the church building in Ambositra. No matter how long I'm here I will never cease to be amazed when I come around the corner in Ambositra, Madagascar and see the name of the church. 99.9% of the world doesn't even know Ambositra exists and Joseph Smith certainly didn't. And yet, there are people meeting in this building every week to teach, sing and testify of what he restored. That is nothing short of a miracle.

Looking tough in my new set of wheels. I'm at the point in my mission where young Elders naturally start looking ahead to the next phase of life. This is the question this young Elder has for all of you: on a scale from begging to marry me to having to stand at the door of the temple and beat them off with a stick, how much of a lady magnet would this be in Provo?