Maseru, Lesotho Area - Week 33
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| Elder LaHue, Mo, Elder Moore, Bro. Moima, Elder Thorkelson, and three children! |
I am staying in Maseru for 6 more weeks with Elder Hicks!! I am pumped!
Yesterday we had Mo's baptism!! And man was it COLD. There is no heating in the chapel. We tried dumping boiling water into the baptismal font but it didn't work. When I stepped in the water the lower half of my body went numb. I thought that Mo would get hypothermia! Everything worked out for the best though and it was a special day in her life.
"The present is an age of pleasure-seeking, and men are losing their sanity in the mad rush for sensations that do but excite and disappoint. In this day of counterfeits, adulterations, and base imitations, the devil is busier than he has ever been in the course of human history, in the manufacture of pleasures, both old and new; and these he offers for sale in most attractive fashion, falsely labeled, Happiness.
“. . . Happiness includes all that is really desirable and of true worth in pleasure, and much besides. Happiness is genuine gold, pleasure but gilded brass, which corrodes in the hand, and is soon converted into poisonous verdigris. Happiness is as the genuine diamond, which, rough or polished, shines with its own inimitable luster; pleasure is as the paste imitation that glows only when artificially embellished. Happiness is as the ruby, red as the heart’s blood, hard and enduring; pleasure, as stained glass, soft, brittle, and of but transitory beauty.
“Happiness is true food, wholesome, nutritious and sweet; it builds up the body and generates energy for action, physical, mental and spiritual; pleasure is but a deceiving stimulant which, like spiritous drink, makes one think he is strong when in reality enfeebled; makes him fancy he is well when in fact stricken with deadly malady.
“Happiness leaves no bad after-taste, it is followed by no depressing reaction; it calls for no repentance, brings no regret, entails no remorse; pleasure too often makes necessary repentance, contrition, and suffering; and, if indulged to the extreme, it brings degradation and destruction.
“True happiness is lived over and over again in memory, always with a renewal of the original good; a moment of unholy pleasure may leave a barbed sting, which, like a thorn in the flesh, is an ever-present source of anguish. (James E. Talmage, Improvement Era, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 172-73. Quoted in: Jesus the Christ: A Study of the Messiah and His Mission According to Holy Scriptures Both Ancient and Modern [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1983], 230.)
I read this earlier this week and it caused me to reflect on my life. I thought about the times where I made decisions merely for pleasure. Some were fun, others weren't, but all weren't long lasting. I also thought about decisions that led to happiness. Such as serving a mission. I realized that I want to live my life in a happiness seeking way as opposed to pleasure seeking. What brings lasting happiness? Family, love, the Gospel, Jesus Christ, knowledge and wisdom, experience, etc. These are the things I want in my life. I hope reading this quote makes you ponder the same way I did.
I also saw a miracle. I called one of our investigators named Baseka that had disappeared over a month ago. Just a prompting I suppose. Surprisingly he answered the phone and told us he is back in Lesotho. We went to his home and he told us a long story about where he has been. He is a lawyer by profession but because Lesotho's economy sucks he can't even support his daughters. So he disappeared to Johannesburg for a while to look for work. While he was doing that he was cleaning taxis on the side to have money to eat. By some miracle from God, he combined 3 cleaning products one day and created a formula for a cleaning agent that works really well! He began to market it and companies are interested. Now he is making money to support his family and is back in Lesotho. Plus he wants us to continue teaching him the gospel and to get baptized!! The Lord works in mysterious ways.
Have a HAPPY week!!
Elder LaHue
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| Elder LaHue, Mo Thamae, Elder Hicks |
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| Mpho Leshota |
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| Tsebo Motloi |
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| Elders Hicks, Takau and Simo, plus Thato Mohapi! |