May 27, 2014

Hey Everyone,

   This week was good. It was slow but good. We are at a point right now where we baptized our golden family and need to find someone to replace them. Basketball at the apartment complex still happens regularly. Really nothing much has changed. It is getting hotter though. I'm not too excited about that fact. I think the increased heat is making me more tired as well. I suppose walking around in the sun all day will do that to you.

   Nothing too crazy happened last week. Graduation for the high schools here happened so our YSA ward grew quite a bit. Also this means a lot of the young men in the Groves ward can come out with us more.

   I still have yet to ever catch a fish with a pole. We went fishing in the canals yesterday. Elder Clarke caught three, the guy we were with caught three, and I caught zero. I'm almost to the conclusion that fish hate me. I'll probably try again next week just to make sure.

   This week I was reminded of a simple lesson I've learned over the course of my mission. The way that Satan works nowadays is interesting to me. Interesting as well as scary. Back when Cain was on the earth, satan appeared to Cain and coerced him to kill Abel. Satan doesn't work like that now. I've found it hard to believe that by coincidence, every single person I've baptized these last eight months has had something come up on the day of their baptism interview, the day of their baptism, and the day of their confirmation. Each time it is a completely logical and ethical reason not to make to any of these events. Because it is so logical and ethical, it's easy for one to rationalize not doing it or to move it further away, allowing Satan more time to work on you.

   This isn't just with baptism. This plays in every single action in our lives. Like I've said before, this world has changed from a state of moral absolutism, where God's law is God's law, to a state of moral relativity, where God's law changes based on an individual's situation. It is so easy in today's world to look at the choice as to whether or not to obey God and then to rationalize a way out of it.

   Really what it comes down to is the very real fact that God's law will always be God's law. The only logical and ethical solution to a problem or even just an everyday choice should be to obey God. He promises us that if we do so everything will work out in our favor, whether or not we view it that way. The scriptures say "By small and simple means are great things brought to pass." I believe you could also say that by small and simple means are great things hindered. By our small and simple choices every day we choose the outcome of our lives and, in turn, our eternal salvation. Think about that.

   Elder Earl