From: Ryan Jay Allred
Sent: Monday, May 10, 2010 12:23 PM
To: Allred, Kevin
Subject: No place else I'd rather be!!
May 10, 2010
Hello Friends!!
I first of all want to let you know how proud I am of my family for basically just being amazing people and also for doing such a good job at sharing the gospel. I do remember the Bautista family and I am glad you are still in contact with them mom. Keep up the great work guys! You’re doing amazing.
Well this morning I have been thinking a lot about my testimony and how it has benefited me in my life. It seems that without the knowledge I have of who I truly am my life would be pretty difficult to get through. I found a quote by Elder Packer that really sums up the thoughts I’ve had this morning and it definitely applies to all of us:
“You are a child of God…Fix that truth in your mind and hold to it….However many generations your mortal ancestry, no matter what race or people you represent, the pedigree of your spirit can be written on a single line, YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD.”
I think that is what brings any of us real identity and it sure gives me hope for myself. You know it is pretty interesting, we just found out this past week that the Missionary Training Center is no longer teaching new missionaries the lessons that we teach. Now they are just showing them how to teach people how they can receive personal revelation from their Heavenly Father through reading the Book of Mormon, praying, and attending church. We had a special conference on Friday to get this special training but Elder Groberg and I were lucky enough to get it a few days early because we went on exchanges with the assistants on Wednesday.
I went with Elder Bailey for the day, (who by the way is the best missionary ever, he joined the church just a few years ago and he is the only member in his family and he was a professional skate boarder before he became a missionary.) and we had a blast. We had quite a few lessons set up and Elder Groberg and I had already decided what we wanted to teach until Elder Bailey told me about this new training. We decided to instead just read from the Book of Mormon with everyone no matter how long they have known the Elders and then challenge them to pray about it while we were with them. Our experience was completely different then it would have otherwise been, I loved it. The two lessons that stick out in my memory the most were with Sue who we have taught for just a few weeks and then Sheryl who we tracted into last week. Sue had researched some anti-Mormon literature and tried to drop us last week but she decided to just let us come back one more time. Sheryl wasn’t too excited about seeing us at her home that first day but she reluctantly agreed to let us come back on Wednesday for ONE visit. When I called her to confirm on Tuesday she said she had changed her mind and didn’t want to meet again but I assured her that we wouldn’t ask her again if she would just let us come this once if she chose not to continue.
We went into both lessons, presented truth, bore testimony, shared spiritual experiences, and invited them to pray with us. Sheryl was too nervous to pray which is understandable but she really enjoyed the spirit and by the end of the lesson we felt as if we were old friends. She has now decided that she wants to take the lessons and find out if what we shared with her is true. With Sue we had a really neat experience and saw her opinion of us completely turn around. She knelt and prayed with us at the end and gained a real excitement to read the Book of Mormon and come to church with us. She admitted that she was hesitant because she thought the whole book was about Joseph Smith but now she knows it is about her savior and she also wants to keep learning.
It is a wonderful thing for any of us to be able to communicate directly with our Father in Heaven and feel his Spirit guide us. And any of us can do it at any time. Kristie was a great example to me on this recently as she worked to decide on where to attend college. It works doesn’t it?
Anyway, life is good and I hope all is well with all of you as well. Oh for those of you who didn’t hear, Benjamin came to church yesterday!! I don’t think he felt awkward or out of place at all thanks to the ward. I think he knows the Book of Mormon is true, he is a great man.
Hey! I love you all, keep being amazing!!
Elder Ryan Jay Allred
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HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!!!
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