Must the Devil Have All the Good Tunes?

[Title references a quote from Martin Luther, but also this piano concerto by John Adams.]

Well maybe, but they're only good for a few minutes. More on that later.

11 November 2024

大家好！Hey Everyone!

It has been such an interesting week. Elder Kim came down with a bad flu all week. This ruined our plans to get out of the house, but it gave me a lot of time to think and learn, and here are some things that I learned:

ADDICTIONS ARE OF THE DEVIL

As Elder Kim lay in bed taking intermittent naps, I had a lot of time on my hands. Some of that time was spent on Facebook, reaching out to people about the Book of Mormon, and some of it was spent studying. Too much of it was spent in front of a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle I found in the apartment. I would finish some of my online proselyting time, and then spend a few minutes . . . and I would find after several ignored nudgings that several HOURS had passed! It’s so interesting that something as “harmless” as a jigsaw can lead to a missionary’s destruction! . . . alright maybe I’m being too dramatic, but that’s really what it felt like! I’m really hoping I never fall into a dark rabbit hole like that again that wastes my time, and even worse, wastes God’s time.

As a partial result, I reflected a lot on the past months of the mission, and I kind of wallowed in the mire of discouragement. In falling under the trap of comparison, I 100% felt like I’d failed my mission—I haven’t been finding enough people or teaching enough people, and surely I would fall under some sort of condemnation for being a wicked, slothful, unprofitable servant. Here’s another way I’ve been looking at it:  missionary work is like playing the piano, and I am a performer assigned to bring beautiful music from the Greatest Composer to the world audience. But there's one problem:  I'm just not good at the piano. I hit SO. MANY. WRONG. NOTES. I feel like I study music by Mozart, but what I play sounds like Messiaen. And it’s made me question, “How can God tolerate such a poor pianist sharing His music?”

This is where I started to understand a principle of faith, or the “hope for things which are not seen, which are true.” The truth of the mission is that God does his miraculous work through poor servants. He makes glorious music through broken instruments and amateur musicians. This is the truth, and even though I may not have the eyes to see it, I can put my small seed of hope and trust in the truth that I am not capable of hindering the Almighty from gathering Israel.

I found some more comfort in studying fore-ordination this week. Alma 13 teaches that all who assist in the Lord’s work have been “called and prepared from the foundation of the world.” The Prophets are foreordained to their calling—even prophets like Jonah who willingly rebelled against God. But God worked through Jonah to the salvation of Nineveh from destruction. This story has always been encouraging for me, because surely if God is so merciful to Jonah, who “never really got it,” he will be merciful to all His “broken instruments” and “poor pianists,” who just can’t get the music right.

A story by Elder Baer, you’re welcome. That’s a lot of “me” for one email, so thanks for Baer-ing with me :P

Two things for you to do this week!

    Get rid of whatever addiction you have! Whether it’s the app you spend too much time on looking at everyone else's fictitious lives, or the bottles of soda pop, or the video games, or the 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle—whatever it is that’s wasting your time and preventing smart choices, GET RID OF IT! And don’t go back! I promise you that immediate gratification will never bring long-term happiness, and as you throw out whatever addiction of varying degree that might be teasing you, you will have a better week and experience happiness.

    Keep being awesome! Go forward in faith knowing that even when you feel like a broken, out-of-tune instrument, God can share beautiful music through you. Jesus Christ is the ultimate Luthier, and his delight is in instrument repair!

Stay cool everyone! And Happy Remembrance Day!

Elder Baer 熊长老

照片：

https://photos.app.goo.gl/yBaTy1Mc3BcoogrG6
 

THE FOG!!! :O

Funny things we have found on our driveway. Blessings from heaven!