Elder Joseph Allison Mission Blog

April 7, 2014 Letter

I hope everyone had a great week! And I hope everyone got a chance to watch conference! Cause it was super boss. I especially loved the priesthood session. To those of you who saw the picture I sent in my last email - yes, its erasable haha

Anyways we had a great week out here in CA. an amazing thing has happened. There is a drought occurring out here, and the water reservoirs and water in the mountains is apparently very low for this time of year. I think I wrote about it in a previous email, about how everyone fasted and prayed for rain, and it started raining. Well, a lot of people have still been praying for the needed rain - and it’s been raining. it’s funny, because I’ve found myself many times praying for it to stop raining, so we can walk and bike around and talk to people, and not cancel appointments we’ve scheduled in the park. Particularly just Charley lol. Charley’s doing awesome by the way. I wanted to write about another experience we had with him this week.

Between his job, our schedule, curfew, and the rain - we were finally able to meet with him last night. We have to meet him in the park, because he doesn't think the people he’s living with would really like Mormons in their house. Anyways, we sat in the park and waited for him for like, ever. But it’s good we did, because we finally saw his head peak over the hill and he walked down to where we were sitting. We taught him a lesson, and it was bomb. (In a good way) the spirit was just as strong in this lesson as it was in the first one we had with him. Since we met with him, he’s read a little out of the book of Mormon, and he’s been praying!

Also he shared with us his concern for his girlfriend. Apparently that first night last week we taught him - he went home and taught his girlfriend, and his other friends who were over, everything that we taught him hahaha. I pray that the lord will help charley and his friends, with desires to come closer to Jesus Christ by praying, reading the book of Mormon, and meeting with missionaries. As we closed our lesson, we got charley to pray out loud for the first time. It was a very sweet and tender prayer.

As we were leaving, he said something that really touched my heart. He said that he didn't feel like coming down, and meeting with us. He said he was going to ignore our text messages, but that he’s glad he didn't. He said he’s very grateful that we met with him - because when we meet with him, he gets to go home happy.

There are two things that I learned from this experience. 1. When we hear the message of the restored gospel, and understand it and feel it in our hearts - we want to share it with others. The spirit spoke to charley. It gave him a desire to read the book of Mormon, a desire to pray, a hunger for truth, and a desire to share the happiness, and the love of god he feels, from reading the book of Mormon, with the people that he loves. When he said this - I saw Charley face on Lehi’s body in the painting of the tree of life. After he had partaken of the fruit of the tree, he was desirous that his family and his loved ones have the same fruit. We can all experience the love of god, and the joy of living the restored gospel. I promise that if you read the book of Mormon every day, and humble yourself, and pray, like Charley, and Lehi, and Nephi - then you will be able to taste of the fruit and experience the love of god in your life, and you can be a missionary like Charley, and Lehi, and Nephi. And help the people you love experience the same feelings, and love that god has for them. I am a missionary because I know that god loves each and every one of his children - and sometimes I just feel like climbing on top of the Oakland hills with a megaphone, and yelling "god loves you!" because it’s true. And people need to know that.

The second thing I learned from this experience is that when we do the things we know were supposed to be doing - when we follow the promptings of the spirit - even when it’s hard. We get to "go home happy" charley had a decision to make. He didn't have to make the trek in the dark from his house to the park to see us. He could have stayed with his friends. He didn't have to text us back. He could have taken a nap right when he got home. But by using the power of his agency, he chose to follow the spirit. And not immediately, but after the test of his faith, he received a feeling of God’s love for him personally, and he went home happy. A different person.

In life, we are all faced with opposition. When we can’t see the blessings of our choices immediately right in front of our eyes - doing the right thing is hard. It takes discipline, and patience, and sometimes long suffering. But I promise you choosing the right is worth it every time. We can go home happy, knowing that the spirit guided our choices, and helped us take footsteps on the straight and narrow path. When we place all of our weaknesses, all of our pride, all of our addictions - every piece of the world that holds us down - onto the alter of sacrifice. When we leave this life, we can go home happy. And live with heavenly father and Jesus Christ and be happy for eternity.

No more time to write. I know that god lives and that he loves us. I know that the book of Mormon is true, and I know that if you pray to god, he will send his spirit to tell you it is true.

I love you all