Sunday will come

May 5, 2014

What's up, erryobody?

            Not a whole lot to report, cuz we had a ton of cancelled appointments, and lots of less-active contacting. Here are a few quick highlights of the week, and the lessons/thoughts that came along with them. Enjoy!

            We were standing at a bus stop, and some guy comes FLYING in and parks in the middle of the bus stop (totally illegal, by the way), and his mirror almost took Elder Motes' bag off. Elder Motes said, "My man, that was awfully close!" and this guy just goes off on some f-bomb rage and tells us that he hates us, that we better stop talking crap on him or he's gonna beat us up, and all this wild stuff. We just laughed at him and let him go off on his angry  man rant until he decided he was done and drove away. We got a hoot out of that, and decided that his mother must not be too proud of him. I'm so glad that the gospel instills values and common decency in us, because if not, we'd look and sound like this guy. Thanks, Mom :)

            During fast & testimony meeting, we had this kid get up and say, "I know God is real because when I pray and ask Him for stuff, He gives it to me." This simple testimony from a simple child, was the last of the meeting, and then we sang "Did You Think to Pray" as the closing hymn. A few words from the chorus struck me, in light of what had just been said by that child: "Prayer will change the night to day. So, when life gets dark and dreary, don't forget to pray." I sat chewing on that for quite some time, and amid the many, many thoughts of darkness turning to day, I remembered a talk from President Wirthlin from some time ago. Here's the quote (and a lot that builds up to it) that struck me:  

            "I think of how dark that Friday was when Christ was lifted up on the cross. On that terrible Friday the earth shook and grew dark. Frightful storms lashed at the earth. Those evil men who sought His life rejoiced. Now that Jesus was no more, surely those who followed Him would disperse. On that day they stood triumphant. On that day the veil of the temple was rent in twain. Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Jesus, were both overcome with grief and despair. The superb man they had loved and honored hung lifeless upon the cross. On that Friday the Apostles were devastated. Jesus, their Savior—the man who had walked on water and raised the dead—was Himself at the mercy of wicked men. They watched helplessly as He was overcome by His enemies. On that Friday the Savior of mankind was humiliated and bruised, abused and reviled. It was a Friday filled with devastating, consuming sorrow that gnawed at the souls of those who loved and honored the Son of God. I think that of all the days since the beginning of this world’s history, that Friday was the darkest. But the doom of that day did not endure. The despair did not linger because on Sunday, the resurrected Lord burst the bonds of death. He ascended from the grave and appeared gloriously triumphant as the Savior of all mankind. And in an instant the eyes that had been filled with ever-flowing tears dried. The lips that had whispered prayers of distress and grief now filled the air with wondrous praise, for Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God, stood before them as the firstfruits of the Resurrection, the proof that death is merely the beginning of a new and wondrous existence. Each of us will have our own Fridays—those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays. But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death—Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come. No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, Sunday will come. In this life or the next, Sunday will come." ("Sunday Will Come," Joseph B. Wirthlin)

            I'm not going through some difficult time right now, but that thought was comforting to me, and strongly applicable to some of our investigators. I've seen that truth over and over again: our Sundays-whether they be literal or figurative-always come. Our nights of testing and trial eventually come to a close. It hit me that these moments of relief don't need to wait for after some difficult thing. We have the opportunity for this cleansing renewal each and every Sunday. With the sacrament, each Sunday can be a day where we renew our resolve, build our faith, and feel ready to submit our will to the Lord's. As with everything else in this life, that's entirely up to us, though. 

            Also, on Sunday, we got to go to an AA meeting. There were some awesome thoughts and insights thrown around, but the crowning one was so simple, and so beautiful. One man, who had been sober for 6 months, said, "Once you know the truth, you can't go back to the lie." Once we know the truths of the Gospel, we can't go back to the worldly way we used to live. Christ said it simply and best: "No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:62) It really built off of the thoughts from Church-after we make it through our trials, or even just our week, and receive God's renewing grace, we all too often give a nice sigh of relief and go right back to doing whatever it was we were doing before, that got us into our nasty predicament. Having received a witness from the Spirit, we need to act and pursue the course that God has shown us. Keep in mind that when Christ made his "hand to the plough" quote, he was responding to a man's request to say goodbye to his family before he gave up all to follow the Savior. Permanent repentance and continuing conversion is hard, unpopular, and may even isolate us at times. But it's the path that we signed up for. It's the only path to rewards that we can't even comprehend. As always, Sunday will come.

Thanks, for all the support, everybody! Love y'all!

-"Eldah" Boone

Mom-no transfer. Still in Boston :) We literally taught 0 investigator lessons this week, so no stories. I'm not exactly sure on the time we'll be Skyping. We'll find out, and have the mission office email you. Also, is Dad really gonna come tour my Mission with me at the end? Cuz if he is, we need to know really soon (the Church buys plane tickets 6 months in advance, and I have 7 months left. So....)