The 97th Chronicle

Hello family and friends! 

“No unhallowed [virus] can stop the work from progressing; [church services] may [be canceled], mobs may [overrun Walmart], [toilet paper] may [go extinct], [chaos] may [reign], but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every [heart], visited every [home], swept every country, and sounded [via technology] in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.” -Joseph Smith Jr.

I'm sure by now all we can think about is that pesky little virus, named by professionals, as COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and it's impact on our families. What started as a normal week ended in the cancellation of everything we hold dear! The church we attend each week has been temporarily moved from the beautiful brick building down the street to our own homes. The sports games we enjoyed watching on TV after returning home from church are now suspended, lol. The quick trip we had planned for spring break was interrupted when airlines canceled our flights. Our family activities... whether concerts, shopping at the mall, or attending amusement parks have now been postponed. What a weirdly unique experience we are now in! Many have inadvertently already prepared! They have done this by slowly stocking food storage (including TP), taking responsibility for their kids education, and having a home-centered focus to their Sunday worship. These souls may now rest in peace while others are panic-stricken; trying to find stability in their new found reality. I find it inspiring to look back on how our Prophet has prepared us over the last couple years for this and future calamities. I'm so grateful for the Restoration of this gospel and the subsequent blessings of following his counsel from the Lord. Now more than ever we should seek to #HearHim.

Two quick experiences to finish us out:

1) Hai Mu's baptism turned out wonderful! We were concerned that with the many changes, baptisms wouldn't be taking place, so you can imagine our relief when we got the green light. It was a special moment to watch as she was baptized and then confirmed directly following. It was a good reminder to me that faith always triumphs fear. She keeps telling us how happy she is. We are very excited for her to continue down the covenant path. 

2) We had just nearly concluded our second home church meeting with a couple part-member families when we saw two cop cars roll up the front of the house. Turns out they had a question for one of the people in attendance, so that made things a bit awkward. What really made the moment was seeing the officers face as we all piled out right as he walked up. He saw our name tags and just laughed as if the day couldn't have gotten more interesting. Nothing like the law of the land trying to join us for a little edification ;)

Quote of the Week: "When the pain of the problem becomes more painful than the pain of the solution, that is amusingly the moment we decide to change." -Unknown

Kia Kaha!

Elder Brady