April 10

General Conference was so good! I honestly think that this Conference weekend has been my favorite one ever. It's hard to choose a favorite talk, but I'll just highlight a few that I really liked. On my mission, I have come to love Elder Bednar so much. Studying from talks that he's given in the past has helped me understand the Atonement so much better. So, the talk that he gave on Sunday morning was one of my favorites. He talked about how our spiritual loads are what get us through life and what allow the Atonement to work for us. I really related to that, because I've seen that to be true in my life. There are people in this world that have gone through way more than I can even imagine, but in my young 20 year life, I've seen a good amount of struggles myself. It's because of those struggles that I have been motivated to rely on Jesus Christ and allow his Atonement to heal the hurt and make me a better person. It's kind of a weird concept. The hard things in life are the things that make us better and that we appreciate. That ties in with one of my other favorite talks from this weekend. Also in the Sunday morning session, President Uchtdorf talked about having an attitude of gratitude. Be grateful for everything. Every aspect of your life is a divinely created gift from God and has a purpose. Whether we know what His purposes are or not, we need to be grateful for Him and for everything that He has provided us with. Okay... one more highlight from General Conference. You all should have seen the smile on my face when President Eyring spoke in the Priesthood session. He started out by talking about how his childhood baseball hero was Joe DiMaggio. So cool! He later went on to talk about how the example that Priesthood holding men will set for their children and for young men that they associate with. It made me think of how it meant to me growing up, having so many great leaders in the church. I have so many great memories of scout camps and young men's activities. More important than any other leader was having a father who held the Priesthood and showed me that example. I didn't fully realize it as a kid or as a young man, but that was the greatest blessing I could have asked for. It played a very key role in bringing me to where I am today. If any of you haven't had a chance to watch all of the sessions of this General Conference yet, please do! You might not think so, but somewhere in the array of talks, there is something specifically for you. Something that will answer a question that you have or give you guidance that you didn't even know you needed. It sounds like the wedding turned out well. I'm so glad! I"m so happy the video worked too! Now I can feel like I was a part of the celebration. I don't have too much time to email today, so I'l have to cut it a bit short. The weather is finally consistently warm, so we're going to take advantage of it and go check out the zoo today! Just know that I'm doing really well and loving the Bronx! I love you all so much. Have an amazing week!

~Elder Allred 

Keep going, keep growing, keep trying.

Hey everyone, 

We had interviews with President Morgan yesterday. Interviews usually happen once every two or three months. I'm always incredibly grateful for this opportunity. Being able to talk one on one with him is really inspiring and motivates me to keep going, keep growing, and keep trying. When leaders fulfill their role in a loving way, it makes a huge difference. I'm learning a lot from that man. There's no getting around the fact that when you are a member of the church, you will, at one point or another, be called to fulfill a leadership responsibility. To have the example that I do from President Morgan is doing a lot to prepare me for any of those callings that the Lord has in store for me. Whether they be in my home and in my duties as a husband and father, or whether they be in other church organizations as well. I'll be ready, because I've seen great examples and have learned some things about how to be a good leader. Not only from my mission president, but from all of the other great leaders that have influenced me throughout my entire life. I think the most important thing about being a leader is love. You need to love the people that you are serving. That will give you the motivation to be a great leader and to help people. Anyway, in our interview I was talking to President about a goal that I have. As you all know, I'm kind of a quiet kid. I've always been fairly shy around new people, and I don't say too much until I get to know people. That's just imbedded in my character. So, needless to say, being a missionary has certain challenges for a quiet guy like myself. I'm here to preach the gospel and to invite everyone to receive the blessings of the restored gospel. That's impossible to do if you don't talk to anyone. The goal that I discussed with President Morgan is that I want to make contact and talk about the gospel with at least one person each and every day. That is aside from any specific look ups to people we have an address for. We're just talking about a random conversation on a bus or out on the streets. One person daily. Now, that's far from where I should be. I should talk with people everywhere I go. I thought that with this goal though, I would be taken out of my comfort zone just enough. Just enough to help me begin to grow. Just like with anything in life, you can't expect to completely change all at once. If my goal was to contact a hundred people every day, I would feel like it was impossible and that I couldn't do it, and I would most likely not contact anyone. So, I'm taking this on with the small steps approach. President Morgan was really excited about my goal and wants me to report on it every Wednesday in my weekly email to him. He is excited to help me with this and with anything else I need his help with. I know that as I work on talking to random people and getting over my fears, I need to involve the Lord. As I pray often for strength, I will receive strength. With His help and through the enabling power of the Atonement, I will become a street contacting machine! There's a scripture in Phillipians 4, verse 13 that I really like. The Apostle Paul proclaims, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Through Christ, Elder Allred can quit being a wuss and talk to people. Haha. I want you all to know that if you will allow Christ to help you, you can accomplish anything as well. There are definitely a lot of things that you can do on your own, without anyone's help. However, with Christ's help, you can do all of those things and more, and it will all be much easier, because you will have the added strength which only your perfect and powerful brother can provide. There was a lot I was going to say today, but my email is already getting pretty long. I'll just wrap it up by expressing my excitement about the wedding. I can't believe that it's already three days away! The time has flown. Zack and McKenna, I want you to know how happy I am. Sad that I won't be there, but happy that you're getting married! One of the main purposes we have in life is to have families. I wish that more people in this world would recognize that. There aren't very many people in the Bronx that do. Very rarely here do I see complete families with a mom, a dad, and children. It's really sad actually. Having a family provides you with more happiness than anything else the world has to offer. So, you guys are making a good choice. Your lives will be more complete and happy, because you will have each other. To the rest of the family, I want you all to make this the most special day of Zack and McKenna's lives. I know that it's hard to not have me there to celebrate with you, but don't think about it. Don't spend any time focusing on what it would be like if I were there. Focus only on the joy that it brings to see a new little family being established. Thank you all so much for everything that you do for me. Have an incredible week. I love you with all of my heart! 

Love, 

Elder Allred 

You saw it here... Elder Allred promised his Mom he would come back to Snow College after his mission!! :)

Elder Rydalch and I are working really well together! It's been kind of an adjustment. I was really used to Elder Hansen, and we were getting along incredibly well. Six weeks together definitely wasn't enough time. I went two cycles with my first two companions, so to only have one with him made it feel like we were only together half as long as we were supposed to be. It's amazing how fast I become friends with people in the mission. I was thinking about that last week when I got to spend some time with Elder Kroff and Elder Steiner. I only had three months to get to know Elder Kroff and only two weeks to get to know Elder Steiner. But now they're both two of the best friends I've ever had, and I could sit and talk to either of them for hours on end. I'm so grateful for those friendships that I am building. I'll always be surrounded by people that share in my beliefs and can provide me with support. I think Elder Rydalch will be another one of those people. He's planning on going to Snow when he gets home and playing for the football team. Since I'm planning on going back for another year and cheering, and since we'll both be going in the Fall 2015 semester, we'll be able to hang out with each other all the time. That will be awesome! The work is going pretty well still. We did, however, have a pretty big disappointment last night. Theresita texted us and said she doesn't want to meet with us anymore. She's planning on moving down to Florida and going to a different church down there. It's really sad, because I know that she has felt the truthfulness of what we have taught her about. I've seen the spirit work in her and testify to her, and it's been incredible. She has been so eager to learn and so excited about the gospel. She was even going to let us start teaching her daughter, Juanita, this week. She's letting us come over on Thursday to say goodbye. Elder Rydalch and I are just planning on bearing testimony and expressing our gratitude for the opportunity we've had to teach her. If we can help her feel the Spirit one more time, then maybe someday down the road, she'll remember how she felt as she learned with us, witnessed a baptism, came to church, and had many other faith building opportunities. Maybe someday she will realize that she needs the fullness of the gospel that has been restored through the prophet Joseph Smith. All we can do is pray for her. That's probably one of the hardest things about missionary work. Our purpose is to invite and not to force.  We do all that we can to live worthy of the Spirit and provide people with  opportunities to accept the gospel, but in the end, they have their agency. It's their choice, not ours. As much as it pains me to see Theresita stopping and choosing not to learn anymore, I can't make her change her mind. I think that's probably the way that God feels about us a lot of the time. All He wants us to do is choose to keep His commandments and return to live with Him again someday. He loves us so much and wants us to choose Him, but He can't force it. Just like an earthly parent wants their child to love them, He wants us to love Him and choose Him. I'll be he sheds many tears when His children walk away from Him. That's one thing I've learned a lot about as I've been on my mission. As I come to love these people and have real concern for their salvation, I get a small taste of how our Father in Heaven and our brother, Jesus Christ, feel about us. As I see the worth in the souls of everyone around me, I'm understanding what the worth of my soul is to them. Being a missionary is changing me in so many ways, and giving me an entirely new  perspective on a lot of things. I love this experience so much. I'm so grateful for everything that I've been blessed with. And even though I'm sad about Theresita today, we get to go to the temple! There couldn't have been better timing for this. I'm excited to spend a little bit of time in Manhattan again. Plus I get to buy another matching tie today! I have one with all of my companions so far, and we always wear them to meetings where all of the missionaries gather. That's one way to get recognized by 260 missionaries! Anyway, thank you for everything that you do for me. I was spoiled this week when I got three packages in the mail. It was like Christmas! Haha. Have a great week everyone. I love you !

~Elder Allred