Getting ready for Christmas

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Posted: 22 November, 2014

It’s been a slow week in terms of the work load on my mission, but I keep at it. Nothing much has changed in my schedule.

I tried to meet with brother Steve Christiansen yesterday at the Distribution Center but he was not there at the time. I was glad I went there, I invested in a pair of thermal garment bottoms.

The choir is busily getting ready for Christmas with the addition of Tuesday night rehearsals and Sunday rehearsals following broadcast. The Choir organization is most excited for the return of Santino Fontana and the arrival of the Sesame Street Muppets. The confirmed Muppets coming are Elmo, the Count, and Grover. If you’d like to give a Christmas CD to any of your siblings or your mother, I can get them for $5 a piece.

It is slow at the Conference Center for building hosting right now, but we’ve had some large groups come in the past few weeks. This past Tuesday, the youth of Andrew Unsworth’s ward came in for a tour, but not before he gave them a demonstration of the organ.

I really enjoy the time spent in prayer meetings at the Global Service Center. I never leave without feeling spiritually uplifted. My favorite thought from these meetings this week was by Elder Broderick. He mentioned that the Gospel changes lives. The Spirit converts, not man. We have the opportunity to help changes lives here at the Global Service Center.

Today I’ve donated plasma, went to an organ recital by Clay Christiansen, and got some shopping done. I am now shopping for food.

If you are viewing the featured photo on a small screen you may not realize it, but it shows a nativity scene with the tabernacle in the background.  
If any of you missed earlier posts, you can read them at via Allen’s web site.  http://allenjblodgett.com/blog/   Posts during mid-October didn’t show up on Facebook for some reason.

 

Honor and Privilege

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Posted: 10 November, 2014

I’m enjoying my time on my mission thus far. It is an honor and privilege to be able to serve with such wonderful people and see what it takes to operate the Lord’s church.

This week I was called to be on the Global Service Center mission council. I’m not entirely sure yet what is expected of me in this role, but I’m confident as I trust in the Lord, I’ll be able to magnify my responsibilities.

Continue reading Honor and Privilege

… I don’t ever feel shy

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Posted: 4 November, 2014

Just a quick reminder to set your clocks back one hour today. That way you’ll get an extra hour of sleep.

There is not much new about the work here, except that it keeps on going like the stone cut out of a mountain without hands.

I’ve been attending the afternoon ward the past month. I’m sure you remember the Johnson’s [Rue & Dorothy—former mayor of Appleton].  Their son Jeff in the ward. It’s nice to at least know someone anywhere who at least knows someone else you know.

Continue reading … I don’t ever feel shy

Seeing the Lord’s hand in the work

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Posted: 30 October, 2014

I hope you are both doing well. That is exciting news about Appleton, although it will not be enough for me to think about staying in the future. I’m enjoying my time here in Salt Lake City.

I’ve been seeing the Lord’s hand in the work here the past few weeks. This week as I was at a sitting post during on of my shifts at the Conference Center, a temple square gardener was giving a tour of the roof to a few of his friends. My sitting time was up and I joined them in the elevator, I was going to go down one more floor when I felt the need to get out of the elevator at the third floor with them. I overheard that the gardener was going to give his friends a tour of the building but he didn’t know much about the building, I immediately turned around and offered to show them the building. I knew right then and there that was where I needed to be. Their tour concluded in the Auditorium and the gardener mentioned an experience he had on his first day. His supervisor gave him a backstage tour and as he approached the green rooms for the First Presidency he knew that there was indeed a living Prophet on the Earth.

Continue reading Seeing the Lord’s hand in the work

Our Blessings Would not be Possible without the Gospel on the Earth

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Posted: 19 October, 2014

I’ve had a great week here. The work of the Lord continues uninterrupted.

In reconciliation, we are getting closer to our deadline before escheated checks are turned over to the states that they were issued in. To assure that as much of the sacred funds are not lost we are going through the Church’s banking system to see if any checks that the system has notified us of be escheated have cleared or have been voided. The old checks from 2012 and before are the most likely to not be cleared or voided. The great thing of having enough missionaries to research new escheated checks is that we can get to small checks before they get to the state.

Continue reading Our Blessings Would not be Possible without the Gospel on the Earth

The week after General Conference – A Spiritual Feast

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Posted: 12 October, 2014

I’m glad I moved my p-day last week to the day before Conference so that I could focus on the messages from conference instead of focusing on my temporal needs. Yes you did indeed see me on TV at conference. I was in the front row on the far right side where the Prophet walks out for three of the five sessions. I met several general authorities and officers of the Church. It was a feast to hear from the Prophet in person and to feel of his loving spirit. While there was so much said in Conference that I don’t really remember everything that was said, I loved all the messages about service and loving our neighbors despite our differences because when we love our neighbors as we love ourselves their hearts are softened and they will be more accepting of the Gospel.

Continue reading The week after General Conference – A Spiritual Feast

Pre-Conference Week on Temple Square

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Posted: 3 October, 2014

Downtown Salt Lake City is a buzz as a conference nears. Preparations of every kind are being made to make sure that everything will go smoothly, allowing the spirit to be felt.

This week were my first days as a tour guide at the Conference Center. I haven’t led a tour yet as most of both evenings were spent doing safety training and other various orientation things. I was able to shadow a few times on Wednesday. My official title is Host, so for three hours of my shifts I spend as tour guide and one hour standing or sitting guard in several places throughout the lobbies of the building. I might start giving tours next week.

Continue reading Pre-Conference Week on Temple Square

Dark & Dreary Day

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Posted: 3 October, 2014

I hope this letter finds you well. It’s a dark and dreary day here in Salt Lake City as it’s expected to rain all day long today.

This week on Tuesday I start as a tour guide at the Conference Center. I’m looking forward to it so much. I’ve been on a few tours of the building since I’ve been here and I’ve seen how it’s changed people’s countenance. So to be able to do that on a regular basis is exciting to me.

This Sunday I’ve been asked to speak in Sacrament Meeting (similar to a Catholic Mass). Not surprisingly given what time of year it is, I’ll be speaking on the topic of General Conference and how blessed we are to live in a time that we have living Prophets on the Earth.

Continue reading Dark & Dreary Day

Great week on Temple Square

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Posted: 21 September, 2014

It’s been a great week here on temple square. I started working in check reconciliation on Monday. One nice thing about working in this department is that the websites we use here don’t break down so much. In member locator, one of the websites we often used would quit working several times each day.

In ticketing, we started taking phone calls for tickets for the orchestra at Temple square concerts next month. We are still getting phone calls for her general conference, but we must respectfully decline their requests. Next week we start to take calls for the Phoenix temple open house.

Continue reading Great week on Temple Square

I never thought I’d say this …

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Posted: 15 September, 2014

I will confess, I never thought I’d say this. I am starting to miss you.

When Karl and I attended the open house of the Ogden Temple, I thought of a way you can give away a copy of the Book of Mormon at work. Always have a copy sitting on your desk. Read it at lunch and have your testimony of it written inside.

At Thursday morning’s devotional, one of the senior CSMs shared an example of how despite all the challenges that the pioneers faced to come here to Salt Lake City, they continued to trust in The Lord that everything would be okay.

This was my last week working in the member locator department of the Global Service Center. Next week I start check reconciliation. While everything there builds up the Kingdom of God here on Earth, it will be nice to see my work here have a more immediate impact. I will continue to serve in event ticketing on Tuesdays.

Yesterday, I did three endowment sessions in the Salt Lake Temple. The spirit there was beautiful and it was nice to have all day in the temple and not feel like I was rushed to get in or out of the temple. I will never buy a meal in the temple cafeteria again. I never thought it would be so expensive.

The reason I went to Walmart was unexpected for me as well. I needed a black shirt for the stage crew for the Tabernacle Choir. The stage crew work is going very well. The people on the crew are wonderful people to work with. They are full of the gospel, as everybody else associated with the Choir is. There is a different spirit about the Choir when you get to know the members of it and hearing them in their home, the Tabernacle.

I was not able to attend church this past Sunday as it was Stake Conference and it was well under way by the time I was done in the Tabernacle. I did, however, hear Lloyd Newell’s address. I particularly loved: “We find a greater measure of peace and joy when we put compassion before contention and people before opinions.” I will be able to see at least one session of Conference in person. I’ll be helping out for Music and the Spoken Word Conference Sunday. I’m not sure about any other sessions.
After the broadcast we did a partial strike of the stage in order to lower the center portion of the stage (where the French horns & woodwinds sit) to load recording equipment onto the stage and haul it back up to stage level. There are so many things that one does not normally get to see. This past week the Choir had a recording session, in which I was able to be at.

Today, I went to the Organ recital of Sister Bonnie Goodliffe in the conference center. Afterwards she allowed me to play the organ for the space of about a minute. I played one verse of “How Firm a Foundation,” and I made sure to use the 64′ stop at the very end to rattle the hall. I also did my grocery shopping today as well.

Thank you for sending the coat and pants. It is still in the mid 80s here, I won’t need the coat yet, but it will be nice to have it before it gets cold. I won’t need jeans any time soon, I haven’t worn them yet and don’t think I’ll be wearing them any time soon.

Yes the Ogden Temple dedication will be broadcast via the Church satellite systems to all of the Stake Centers in Utah.

Elder Blodgett