God is Real

God is real. There is absolutely no way that I can deny that truth. He places us exactly where He needs us to be, exactly when He needs us to be here. I know He called me to serve in Danbury for a purpose. I had an awesome experience yesterday, which was another confirmation to me that I need to be here. I went on a split with Elder Casper and worked in the Newtown area for the day. It was awesome, because I was able to see some of the people that I used to teach when I was assigned to the Newtown ward. One particular visit was very powerful. It was close to the end of our night, around 7:30. We had just gotten out of a dinner appointment in Newtown. The family that we were visiting lived close to a member that I visited once a week for the whole six months that I was here. She is the sweetest lady. For a long time she wasn't active in the church. Elder Kroff and his trainer, Elder Taylor, knocked on her door on a snowy day in the beginning months of 2013. Just a few months before I got there. They helped her become active in the church again, and by the time I got there she was faithfully attending every Sunday. When I left Newtown she was doing really well. Still going to church every week and attending the Manhattan temple as often as she could. Last summer she got hammered with medical problems. She's been in and out of the hospital for about a year now. Her doctors are working hard. They've tried a few different things, but nothing is helping. Now she's pretty homebound. Unable to go to church and not in condition to accept visits from people. Hoping that she would remember me well enough, we stopped by. Her husband answered the door with a sad look on his face. "She's not doing well". He informed us that she had had a rough day and just couldn't accept a visit. We stood and talked on the porch for about 15-20 minutes. I caught up with him, and he told me about the struggles that have befallen them in the last year. He had me write down my email address and told me he would tell her that I was in the area. We walked away. I was disappointed. I really wanted to see her. I wasn't sure what I could do to help, but it felt like there was something that I hadn't done. Just before I stepped into the car, her husband came back out the front door and stopped me. "She wants to see you". I was relieved. As I walked through the door, he warned me that it would be an emotional encounter. She came almost running down the stairs. Before I could get both shoes off, she wrapped her arms around me and cried on my shoulder. It was so good to see her. We sat in her living room, just like I had so many times before. I started to feel like I was doing what I needed to do to help her. Before we left, I said a prayer. Words can't describe that prayer and the presence of the Spirit that filled the room. There's something really cool that happens every time I give a Priesthood blessing. I've given several on my mission. What never ceases to amaze me is that every time I give a blessing, that God is speaking through me. I feel that every time as I apply the power of the Priesthood. It's a pretty awesome feeling. What was really interesting what that I had that same kind of a feeling as I was saying that prayer last night. I wasn't acting under the authority of the Priesthood. Just a normal prayer. But God spoke through me last night. I have no doubt about that. I think that she needed to feel God's love through me, and I hope that she did. I think that her husband also needed to feel the Spirit. He's not a member of the church, and from what I've gathered isn't really religious at all. I know he felt something. We all did. As he walked us out the door he thanked us. He said that one visit was the highlight of the day, and he was just so grateful. This experience is a great example of one of the most important purposes of my mission. President Morgan has said something in several meetings where I've heard him speak. "God had you come on a mission so that He could manifest Himself unto you." He has done that several times in the last 22 months. He did it again last night. He manifested himself to me in a way that was undeniable. I'm so grateful for days like this one. The mission is so hard. I would be lying if I told you that every day is bliss. Days like today make every bit of it worth it. I am so full of gratitude that, even with all of my imperfections, God allows me to be an instrument in bringing about great things in His work. I was a tool in His hands last night. There are so many other things that happened this week, but to keep emphasis on this experience I will leave it at that. Next week is transfers. I'll find out on Saturday if I'm staying in Danbury to the end or if I have one more place to serve. I hope that I stay. I love it here so much. But I will go and do what the Lord requires. I love this work. I love the Lord. I love all of you. 

Priesthood

Hello family! Life is great! This week has been wonderful. We had another snow storm on Monday, so we were stuck at home all day again. The town that we live in, Hyde Park, is about a twenty minute drive north of the city of Poughkeepsie. Poughkeepsie is where most of the people we visit live, and it would't make sense to walk down to Poughkeepsie. It would just take too long. So when we get snowed in we end up staying in Hyde Park and shoveling snow all day. There is a member who lives in Hyde Park, just a couple streets down from where we live. She's a single lady, so we go and help her shovel her driveway. Then we just look for opportunities to help random people. It's good to have those service opportunities and do the Lord's work in a little bit of a different way than we normally do. Sunday was awesome. Joe got ordained to the office of a Priest in the Aaronic Priesthood! I'm so happy that he is continuing to progress in the gospel. Hopefully one day I will be there with him when he goes to the temple for the first time. We met with him yesterday, and he told us that now that he holds the Priesthood he feels even more responsible to do the right things. He said he didn't know how to explain it, but he sort of feels older now. I totally know what he means. While we were talking to him yesterday I realized something that I don't often think about. We are in a church of about 15 million members in a world of about 7 billion people. Let's just say that half of those members are male.And a little more than half of those males are over the age of twelve. That would mean that 3.5 million people in the world are capable of holding the Priesthood. And then think that not all of those men are worthy or have even received the Priesthood yet. I don't know how accurate this statistic is, but my guess is that there is somewhere around two million people in the world who are worthy Priesthood holders. Two million. In a world of 7 billion people. That's crazy. Like I said, I don't know if my guess is anywhere close. The point is that the number of worthy Priesthood holders compared to the number of inhabitants of the earth is so incredibly small. Joe is now one of those very few whom the Lord has trusted to hold His Priesthood power. I am one of those few. So many good people that I am closely associated with are some of those very few men that hold the true authority of God. It's amazing. Joe is so right. Holding the Priesthood is a big responsibility. To hold the only true authority of God on the entire earth. It makes me very grateful and humbled that the Lord has chosen me. Well, that's the big insight from me this week. Life is great! Working hard and having a lot of success. Today has been great. We visited the home of Franklin D Roosevelt this morning. It's in Hyde Park about five minutes from where we live. Now we're just eating at Cracker Barrel. It's always been one of my favorite places to eat. And of course since its a country themed restaurant I'm listening to a Tim McGraw song right now. Tender mercies! I love you all. Hope you're doing well! Have a great week, and Happy Valentines Day!! 

Elder Allred 

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