Family and friends,
This week was quick despite still being locked up! I hope you all had a great fourth of July! We couldn't really do anything different. We did hear fireworks going off during the day!
This last week was a bit more eventful so I'll begin with talking about our zone conference. It was in person but we all had to sit six feet apart and wear masks. And as you know, we received our NEW MISSION PRESIDENT AND HIS WIFE!!! They are both so great! I love them so much already! President Pingree is a nose, ear, and throat doctor. Him and sister Pingree were previously living in Colorado for about 28 years. For a while they were actually serving there in the mission presidency! All of their children are married and have kids. It was so wonderful to learn about their children from a video where they introduced themselves. They also shared some things about president and sister Pingree. Later, the two of them spoke to us and talked more about their background like how they met, what med. school was like, things they like to do and just lots of great details! They are both pretty similar. President Pingree is a lot more vocal though. And he is very active and loves to teach by using interactive activities or something that excites the audience. For example, he put together a little skit with the assistants where he had them wear a jersey having the names 'Garns' and 'Pingree' on the back representing president Garns and president Pingree. President Pingree acted as a news reporter who was interviewing these two teammates for a big race. And he had one of the runners hand off the baton to the next which represented the handing off of priesthood keys and other duties that come with being a mission president. It was a lot of fun to watch! He is much more of an extrovert than sister Pingree and it seems like she really holds him down haha. Sister Pingree has that same loving care that any wife of a mission president has which is very distinct from any other of loving-type characteristic. She is very kind and thoughtful. One of her attributes that stands out the most is her perseverance. That was something that most of her kids shared about her. She is also very in tune with the Spirit and president Pingree actually joked about how he sometimes has to pull her down by her feet when she starts floating to heaven. They both have a wonderful and refreshing sense of humor. There were a couple things that president Pingree shared in the zone conference that stood out most. One of them was about how the gospel is about second chances. He says how he has been called out here to serve with us and he explained that he didn't know any of us before. President Garns didn't even share anything about what the missionaries were like, and he did that for a specific reason which was so we can give our first impression on our own. President Pingree says that as far as he knows, we were perfect to him because of the lack of knowledge he had about us. Because of that, it was like a second chance to show what we are capable of without having any sort of set expectations. Of course they looked over lists and things to know our names, see our pictures, and find out where we came from. But he was referring to what we are like. It is a very positive and hopeful perspective to have. So the zone conference was lots of fun! I think the most eventful day was when we had to move. We are no longer in the hotel! We had an emergency swap with the sisters in the Silver Lakes house. Story time!! So there I was, it was Saturday night and elder Enz and I had already settled in bed. We received a call at about 11:00pm and we were told to be prepared to swap living spaces with the sisters the next Monday (today). We went back to bed thinking about what we will need to do with the area if we even do need to change things. We didn't know if it would be permanent. We woke up the next morning and I told elder Enz that we should start packing immediately because I thought that we might get another call telling us that we needed to move as soon as possible and sure enough we did. But we had a few more calls to make and we had to coordinate with the sisters what was going on. They ended up not being able to get out until later in the afternoon. So we met up with the other elders in the hotel to help them out because they were going with us since there were four sisters, so each companionship gets a room. By the time everything was done it was getting to be in the evening. And during hurricane season we get tropical storms most evenings but this one we had was especially brutal. It's odd because the rain comes down in sideways-waterfall-form but it is still hot and humid outside. Plus there is lightning flashing and it is very loud. It is one of those that is just a crack then boom rather than rolling thunder in the distance. Wind is at a very high speed so it's just chaos. The moment you step outside you're already soaking wet! So we had that going on while we were moving. The sisters have TONS of things so we made a couple trips to get their stuff to the hotel. We eventually finished everything close to 8:00pm so we finally had our dinner and a zone call. It was nice to get dry and go to bed after a long day. The house is really nice! We are the first elders to stay in it so it's in good shape and it smells nice haha. It has a very tall ceiling and lots of open space. The hotel was nice but this is even better!!
That's enough excitement to last a while! Now I just want to share a message about the Atonement and what it means to me.
There is always so much to learn about the Savior's sacrifice He made for us. One of the things regarding it that I think about often has to do with why it is necessary and just how it helps individuals in their lives as well as mine. It is incredible to understand just how necessary the Atonement is. We know that we need it in order to improve our lives, and yet, it always goes much deeper and it has a more profound impact the more we think about it. I have heard countless individuals ask, especially in the mission, "If Heavenly Father loves His children so much then why does he allow so much suffering?" Or maybe the question is along the lines of, "If there is a God then why would He allow these bad things to happen?" I know we've all heard it at some point. I think it is a very reasonable question but it makes me sad each time I hear it. I know it also makes our Heavenly Father sad because He wishes those who ask such questions could understand. There is a God and He does love each of us very dearly. He knows us by name and He knows what we suffer and He knows how to help. He knows what we need and desire most. He never abandons us. There are different reasons why suffering and opposition in this life are necessary to our salvation. And there are different kinds of suffering in this life. That being by inconvenience and by sin. Inconvenience meaning sickness, actions of others, death of a loved one, physical/mental/emotional pain, and so on. Some of these things are just consequences of living in mortality. It is a consequence of the fall of Adam and Eve that we live in this mortal state. We are subject to such things like sickness and pain. It is what we enter into when we are born into the world. Because of our mortal bodies, we can get sick and feel physical pain or be very sad from a loved one passing away. That is just what we are bound by in these imperfect bodies. It is not our Heavenly Father doing this to us. It is the pattern of life that often takes a toll on the souls living in it. Amongst the intense pain, we can find pure joy and happiness in the restored gospel and learning about the Plan of Salvation. We can learn how to access the Atonement to use in our lives. That is what frees us from these pains. As we enter in the fold of God, we open ourselves up to receiving the Spirit which is our Heavenly Father's comforter that He sends. Jesus Christ suffered for the sins of the world as well as the pains of inconvenience. Because of that, we can find comfort. But when we reject our Father in Heaven by blaming Him or denying His existence, we close ourselves off to receiving the help and mercy that He offers. Healing is often a complicated and lengthy process. I think that it needs to be slow in order for us to grow more. If it were too fast, we would miss so many learning opportunities. We would not become stronger. We wouldn't be stronger for the next obstacles we face in life. It is true that when we fall, we come back stronger. But that is only if we do come back. Becoming stronger is what the Lord meant when He said in 1 Nephi 20:10, "For, behold, I have refined thee, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction." Metal cannot be molded and refined instantly. It takes time just as we sometimes sit in the furnace of affliction to be refined and made stronger. The Lord's timing is perfect and it is important to rely on His wisdom by staying on the covenant path and enduring to the end. Sometimes people do not find the comfort until they are brought out of this life to meet their maker. Many live their lives in war and sickness. But they stay good people and are given mercy and are rewarded accordingly as they pass onto the other side. We must remember what the prophets have said about everything being made right at the last day. We do not need to worry because we can find comfort in the Lord's mercy by His Atonement. Getting over sin is explained differently. We find comfort by seeking forgiveness through the Savior's Atonement. He suffered so that we don't have to. But when we do not allow the Atonement to work in our lives, we bring consequences and punishment upon ourselves. One of my favorite quotes by Richard G. Scott is from when he gave his talk, Personal Strength through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. In it he said, "The joyful news for anyone who desires to be rid of the consequences of past poor choices is that the Lord sees weaknesses differently than He does rebellion. Whereas the Lord warns that unrepented rebellion will bring punishment, when the Lord speaks of weaknesses, it is always with mercy." I love that and it shows hope for those desiring forgiveness. It is the struggle through hard challenges that shows the Lord you still care. Nothing ever justifies evil actions, the Lord says that He cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. Therefore we must repent and turn away from sin. If necessary, we seek help from the Lord's divinely appointed leaders. If there were no suffering then there would be no learning. We must know the difficult to know the easy. We must understand what is wrong to choose the right. It is different when talking about sin. We do not need to sin to know that it is wrong. We do not need to steal to know that it is wrong. After everything is said and explained, it is important to understand that Heavenly Father's plan would be frustrated if suffering were taken out of life. That is why the adversary and his followers were cast to the earth and are allowed in our presence so that they tempt us. That allows us to use our agency for good. They are part of the reason bad things happen and why we sin. But we are still held responsible for our actions according to our accountability which is determined by the Lord. The reason why Heavenly Father's plan would be frustrated is because suffering is the reason He created the plan. He wants more than anything for us to return to Him and become like Him. From the very beginning, He knew the timeline and each detail, big or small, of what would happen in all our lives. That is a lot especially considering the amount of those who have lived, is living, and has yet to live. After knowing what would happen with each one of His children, He made and presented the perfect plan that allows us to choose for ourselves. Before Lucifer rebelled, Heavenly Father knew He would and so, in His infinite wisdom and knowledge, He planned accordingly. He knew that because of that first rebellion, there would later be suffering. So Heavenly Father created this plan as a means of getting through the suffering that is inevitable. We then shouted for joy and agreed to be placed here. We do not remember this because of the veil and because of our mortal state, not being able to understand such heavenly things. We are bound by time. It is as if each of us place glasses in front of our eyes that makes everything fuzzy and makes it so that we can only see a little bit in front of us. The glasses are our mortal state. I hope now that those who did not understand the reason behind suffering can see that progression would stop if opposition was simply taken away. This is what Lehi meant in 2 Nephi 2:11-12 when he said, "11) For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my firstborn in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility. 12)Wherefore, it must needs have been created for a thing of naught; wherefore there would have been no purpose in the end of its creation. Wherefore, this thing must needs destroy the wisdom of God and his eternal purposes, and also the power, and the mercy, and the justice of God." And D&C 130:20-21 explains receiving blessings by obedience. It says,, "There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—
21) And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated." Mercy and comfort are blessings. That is why we must forsake sin and obey to receive those blessings.
The Atonement is the greatest act of mercy and love. I assume that the question may come up about how comfort and mercy could be available to those who lived during times of apostasy when the fullness of the gospel was not on the earth. I don't think I have a reasonable answer for that but I would say that it might have to do with the fact that anyone searching for truth or comfort could have prayed just as Joseph Smith did. It's just that no one did it until Joseph Smith did. Anyone who had a heavy soul, just as Joseph Smith, could have cried out. But there have been many that were never aware that they could do so. That is why Joseph received the revelation that "all who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God."(D&C 137:7) That is a godly balance brought forth by our Heavenly Father offering mercy.
This is quite a long email and I wanted to get more into some things about forgiveness but that will need to wait for next week. I'm so very thankful for each of you and the support you give!
Take Care!
-Elder Markham
