A Beautiful Door to an Even More Beautiful Room

In honor of a true friend and servant of God-

     It is true--blessed is he who is set apart and never released; lucky is he who need not wait til his years of old age and retirement to serve the Lord again full time; and honored is he who is deemed worthy by God to be raised from this sad mortal state to a higher plane before a normal age. 

     That is the truth. That is something that has been witnessed and proven here in the Madagascar Antananarivo Mission this last week. When God calls, it must be answered, and as a result the best of the best has been taken from us to serve in a different sphere. Elder Palmer, this last Thursday the 26th, passed away in a hospital in South Africa from a brain aneurism. I was one of the select few that was blessed to spend a lot of time with him while here in Madagascar, as I lived with him for three months while serving in Ambohipo. He was, as I can honestly say from the time I spent with him, part of a very elite group of servants of the Lord, the best of the best.

     We will miss him. We do already. But, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we know that there is a mission of greater importance for him to serve on the other side. No matter the amazing work he did here, and the incredible diligence and love he did it with, which he truly did, God knows that there is more for him than this. And so God went to great lengths to take him from us so he could fulfill that purpose, from being driven up from a little provence called Ambositra, emergency flown to South Africa overnight, treated in a hospital long enough for his family to fly down to spend time with him, before he crossed the veil. He was a great friend to me, a support and help during hard times, and still is. 

And so this is what we know- (Doctrine and Covenants 138)

 30 But behold, from among the righteous, he organized his forces and appointed messengers, clothed with power and authority, and commissioned them to go forth and carry the light of the gospel to them that were in darkness, even to all the spirits of men; and thus was the gospel preached to the dead.

 31 And the chosen messengers went forth to declare the acceptable day of the Lord and proclaim liberty to the captives who were bound, even unto all who would repent of their sins and receive the gospel.

57 I beheld that the faithful elders of this dispensation, when they depart from mortal life, continue their labors in the preaching of the gospel of repentance and redemption, through the sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son of God, among those who are in darkness and under the bondage of sin in the great world of the spirits of the dead

     The plan of salvation is true. The spirits of the dead continue on, and there are still those who need the light of the Gospel. To those are sent missionaries. And one of those missionaries will forever wear the badge of Elder Palmer until the great day of the resurrection.

     Our love goes out to his family. 

     And therefore everything else this week pales in importance to that. Let us live everyday like our last. Let us live so we honor those who give all they have, even their very lives, in the service of our Heavenly Father.

Love

Elder Fox

Elder Palmer is on the right.

men of the Ambohipo Ward