This week has been absolutely fantastic!  Tarzana is turning out to be as amazing as I remembered it to being several months ago.  We had dinner with the bishop this week.  He is a convert of about 20 years and is so much fun to be around.  We’ve met several more super awesome members this week.  Sadly, and I address this later, is that stake conference is this weekend, so it will be difficult to meet the members of our new ward.

We have several investigators that the missionaries have been working with, supposedly.  One of them would appear to be, more or less, an eternigator.  Mel has met with missionaries for nearly 4 years.  We’re still trying to get a hold of him for an appointment.  Another, named Lily has a return appointment for later next week.

Just before transfers, one of the investigators got baptized.  His name is Leo.  He is super solid and we’ve started going through the lessons again with him for his recent convert lessons.

Stake conference this weekend has been 2 parts blessing, 1 part curse.  The blessings came in the form of seeing the members of the Chatsworth Ward again and feeling the spirit of instruction while being gathered as the saints of Zion.  The curse is that it is impossible to know who the Tarzana ward members are as they look just like anybody else in the stake.

At stake conference, there was a lot of instruction on the importance of member missionary work, the importance of making good choices, and not to procrastinate.  One of the speakers noted that the first 4 letters of sacrifice and sacrament are the same and considering the fact that sacrifice was the ancient way to show our Heavenly Father that we wanted to accept the atonement.  In our time, it is the sacrament.

At the Sunday session, one speaker spoke about making church “fun”.  We can make it “fun” by going into church with an open mind, a heart ready for learning, and free of judgement of those who are there.  The stake president spoke on faith and searched a variety of websites to find various definitions of the word faith, including a YouTube video he quoted from (see?  There are good things on YouTube.)  He quoted somebody who said “Faith can move mountains, but, don’t be surprised if God hands you a shovel.

I’m still really mad at President Henrie right now.  I still feel that he’s blowing this situation out of proportion.  He can tell me that I’m addicted to computers all he wants, but it simply isn’t true.  Okay, so perhaps I spent too long on the computer on p-day too long or even if I did post a link to a church video on Facebook, it doesn’t mean that I’m addicted.  It doesn’t mean that it’s turning my thoughts away from my mission.  I feel as if I am being unfairly punished.  Will you please call him and ask him to remove my email restrictions?  The attached document explains how I did not break my rules or regulations.

Love Elder Allen Blodgett
written 5-16-16

This weekend we received transfer news.  Both Elder Thompson & I are transferring out of our current area, but staying together as companions and going to a new ward.  We are leaving Van Nuys and going to Tarzana.  As you might recall, this is where I spent that week in a trio when Elder Midgley went home a week early.  I’m particularly excited to be back because of the apartment (it has a washer and dryer in it and a gym.

This week we again met with our investigator Matthew.  We met briefly as he had an appointment he needed to leave for, so we read the Book of Mormon with him.  We also met with John Fredrickson this week and discussed his church attendance in regards to his baptismal date which we had to push back to May 28^th.

Unfortunately, I’m still on that stupid email restriction.  President Henrie thought it would be good for me to go through the Addiction Recovery Program booklet, so I have restarted that book.  I started in January when I was in Castaic.  I love the book and I feel the spirit when I read it and do the activities contained therein, but for some reason or another I haven’t received a witness from the Spirit saying that I need to be on this email restriction.

I don, in fact, feel great about President Henrie.  I feel of his concern for myself and all of the missionaries in our mission, but, I also think that his concern of my computer usage is a little bit out of proportion.

I lost 50 pounds so far. I have approximately 20 pounds left to go.  It will definitely help having a gym in my new area and we’ll try to get out walking more as well.  I’ve surprisingly stuck to my diet very well the past 3 months.

Love, Elder Allen Blodgett

P.S.  Sorry it’s taken so long to get this letter to you.  Transfers and packing put the letter writing on a back burner.

I’m definitely looking forward to Sunday for skyping you and being able to talk to you “face to face.”

There hasn’t been a lot of news this week. President Henrie found a new bag for me and I got it today in the mail run. Not having a working bag has helped make biking easier as I couldn’t bike around my old bag with no strap, but proselyting without any materials has suffered.

We met with our investigator Matthew this week after not being able to meet with him for several weeks. We read several chapters of the Book of Mormon with him. We even got a ride set up for him to come to church but he called us Sunday morning saying that he got sick from something he ate the night before.

We also met with our investigator John several times and talked with him about several topics.

Another update on my weight loss, I am now down to 226 pounds! A total of 44 pounds so far. I’m hoping to lose another 26 before I slow it down.

This week during personal studies, I read several chapters of Jame E. Talmage’s book “Articles of Faith,” a fantastic study of the doctrines taught in the articles originally written by Joseph Smith. The chapters I read this week were on faith and the importance of baptism.

See you all on Sunday!
Elder Blodgett
California San Fernando Mission
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

via email 5-2-16

I have always enjoyed the week leading up to General Conference.  It is, sadly, a bit different as a missionary.  I feel because we are expected to work during the breaks and immediately after each conference is over (e.g. having knockout an hour after the last session) prohibits me from truly appreciating and reflecting on the things I have learned.  Not to mention by the time a conference is over, I’m worn out physically because of the spirit being so very strong the past weekend.

I really enjoyed a few talks more than the rest.  President Eyring , thankfully, used his golden opportunity as the first speaker in this conference to share the purpose of conference – to “draw near unto Christ”.  His talk was spot on about how we can draw nearer unto Jesus Christ by listening to the Spirit, prayer and having real intent.

Elder Renlund’s talk about having a greater distance between giver and receiver usually makes us feel like we have a sense of entitlement.  When we do what we can to draw closer to God, that gap narrows and we realized that we can do so much more to receive the blessings of the gospel.

Elder Holland’s talk put into a nutshell for myself how I feel the spirit.  When I feel the spirit really strongly, I don’t want those feelings to end.  I feel good, the meeting I’m in or the event that I’m participating in, I don’t want them to stop.  I want those feelings to be permanent.  It would be contrary to the law of heaven for us to just stay put.  We come to these meeting to learn, then we go home to live those teachings.  As I listened to Elder Holland’s talk I was reminded of the youth conference when we went to Nauvoo.  I don’t remember per say if I knew the spirit was strong there in the moment, but after I came home and told you how good I felt and how much I wanted to stay there and have those feelings again you told me what I was feeling was the spirit.  Ever since then, I will never forget that experience and how I now know how to recognize the spirit in my life.

Besides General Conference this week, obviously transfers happened.  Having Elder Thompson as my companion has been a lot of fun.  We have gotten along so well.  We have a lot of the same interests, which makes time go much faster.  Biking has been really cool.  As much as I liked being in a car area, it was really boring, especially when I wasn’t driving because I didn’t have anything to do. Biking has also helped my weight to come down.  I am now down to 245 pounds – 25 pounds lost so far on my full time mission.

We have an investigator we met with this week who is on track for baptism early next month.  We taught him about general conference and its purpose in our lives.  He even came to one of the sessions this past weekend.  Our lesson was based on Elder Hales’ talk, “General Conference:  Strengthening Faith and Testimony.”  My favorite quote from his talk is “the greatest blessings of conference [and other church meetings] come after it is over.  Remember the pattern … in scripture:  We gather to hear the word of the Lord, and we return to our homes to live them”.

There is not a whole lot more to report on this week.  We have a zone conference coming up this week.  We know that we’ll have Elder Zaballos of the Seventy in attendance.  There is a rumor that Elder Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve will be there also.

Love, Elder Allen Blodgett
4/18/16

I have always enjoyed the week leading up to General Conference.  It is, sadly, a bit different as a missionary.  I feel because we are expected to work during the breaks and immediately after each conference is over (e.g. having knockout an hour after the last session) prohibits me from truly appreciating and reflecting on the things I have learned.  Not to mention by the time a conference is over, I’m worn out physically because of the spirit being so very strong the past weekend.

I really enjoyed a few talks more than the rest.  President Eyring , thankfully, used his golden opportunity as the first speaker in this conference to share the purpose of conference – to “draw near unto Christ”.  His talk was spot on about how we can draw nearer unto Jesus Christ by listening to the Spirit, prayer and having real intent.

Elder Renlund’s talk about having a greater distance between giver and receiver usually makes us feel like we have a sense of entitlement.  When we do what we can to draw closer to God, that gap narrows and we realized that we can do so much more to receive the blessings of the gospel.

Elder Holland’s talk put into a nutshell for myself how I feel the spirit.  When I feel the spirit really strongly, I don’t want those feelings to end.  I feel good, the meeting I’m in or the event that I’m participating in, I don’t want them to stop.  I want those feelings to be permanent.  It would be contrary to the law of heaven for us to just stay put.  We come to these meeting to learn, then we go home to live those teachings.  As I listened to Elder Holland’s talk I was reminded of the youth conference when we went to Nauvoo.  I don’t remember per say if I knew the spirit was strong there in the moment, but after I came home and told you how good I felt and how much I wanted to stay there and have those feelings again you told me what I was feeling was the spirit.  Ever since then, I will never forget that experience and how I now know how to recognize the spirit in my life.

Besides General Conference this week, obviously transfers happened.  Having Elder Thompson as my companion has been a lot of fun.  We have gotten along so well.  We have a lot of the same interests, which makes time go much faster.  Biking has been really cool.  As much as I liked being in a car area, it was really boring, especially when I wasn’t driving because I didn’t have anything to do. Biking has also helped my weight to come down.  I am now down to 245 pounds – 25 pounds lost so far on my full time mission.

We have an investigator we met with this week who is on track for baptism early next month.  We taught him about general conference and its purpose in our lives.  He even came to one of the sessions this past weekend.  Our lesson was based on Elder Hales’ talk, “General Conference:  Strengthening Faith and Testimony.”  My favorite quote from his talk is “the greatest blessings of conference [and other church meetings] come after it is over.  Remember the pattern … in scripture:  We gather to hear the word of the Lord, and we return to our homes to live them”.

There is not a whole lot more to report on this week.  We have a zone conference coming up this week.  We know that we’ll have Elder Zaballos of the Seventy in attendance.  There is a rumor that Elder Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve will be there also.

Love, Elder Allen Blodgett
4/11/16

I have always enjoyed the week leading up to General Conference.  It is, sadly, a bit different as a missionary.  I feel because we are expected to work during the breaks and immediately after each conference is over (e.g. having knockout an hour after the last session) prohibits me from truly appreciating and reflecting on the things I have learned.  Not to mention by the time a conference is over, I’m worn out physically because of the spirit being so very strong the past weekend.

I really enjoyed a few talks more than the rest.  President Eyring , thankfully, used his golden opportunity as the first speaker in this conference to share the purpose of conference – to “draw near unto Christ”.  His talk was spot on about how we can draw nearer unto Jesus Christ by listening to the Spirit, prayer and having real intent.

Elder Renlund’s talk about having a greater distance between giver and receiver usually makes us feel like we have a sense of entitlement.  When we do what we can to draw closer to God, that gap narrows and we realized that we can do so much more to receive the blessings of the gospel.

Elder Holland’s talk put into a nutshell for myself how I feel the spirit.  When I feel the spirit really strongly, I don’t want those feelings to end.  I feel good, the meeting I’m in or the event that I’m participating in, I don’t want them to stop.  I want those feelings to be permanent.  It would be contrary to the law of heaven for us to just stay put.  We come to these meeting to learn, then we go home to live those teachings.  As I listened to Elder Holland’s talk I was reminded of the youth conference when we went to Nauvoo.  I don’t remember per say if I knew the spirit was strong there in the moment, but after I came home and told you how good I felt and how much I wanted to stay there and have those feelings again you told me what I was feeling was the spirit.  Ever since then, I will never forget that experience and how I now know how to recognize the spirit in my life.

Besides General Conference this week, obviously transfers happened.  Having Elder Thompson as my companion has been a lot of fun.  We have gotten along so well.  We have a lot of the same interests, which makes time go much faster.  Biking has been really cool.  As much as I liked being in a car area, it was really boring, especially when I wasn’t driving because I didn’t have anything to do. Biking has also helped my weight to come down.  I am now down to 245 pounds – 25 pounds lost so far on my full time mission.

We have an investigator we met with this week who is on track for baptism early next month.  We taught him about general conference and its purpose in our lives.  He even came to one of the sessions this past weekend.  Our lesson was based on Elder Hales’ talk, “General Conference:  Strengthening Faith and Testimony.”  My favorite quote from his talk is “the greatest blessings of conference [and other church meetings] come after it is over.  Remember the pattern … in scripture:  We gather to hear the word of the Lord, and we return to our homes to live them”.

There is not a whole lot more to report on this week.  We have a zone conference coming up this week.  We know that we’ll have Elder Zaballos of the Seventy in attendance.  There is a rumor that Elder Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve will be there also.

Love, Elder Allen Blodgett

4/4/16

I’ve arrived safe and sound here in Van Nuys.  It is quite the change to be here in the Valley again, after having been right at the edge of the metropolitan area in Castaic.

The area here is far more ripe for missionary work than many areas in the mission.  Obviously as this letter is dated the 31^st I have not really met the ward yet and won’t for yet another full week as we have general conference coming up this weekend.

I think I’m really going to get along well with my new companion, Elder Thompson.  We have a few of the same interests – computers and a knack for tinkering with things.  We share an apartment with the Zone leader, which of should keep things interesting around here.

Yesterday, I had my appointment with LDS Family Services.  It seemed to go okay.  My counselor seems to go okay.  My counselor seems to think that I’m addicted to computers and the like because I have a mechanical brain and apparently computers is my brains way of being an outlet instead of going out and talking with others.  At my next appointment, she’ll give me some suggestions on how to overcome my “mechanicalbrain”.

To write me, you can always send a letter to the mission office (23504 Lyons Ave, Suite 107, Santa Clarita CA  91321 or write to me at my apartment (15616 Vanowen St #109, Van Nuys CA  91405).

Elder Allen Blodgett
3/31/16

We’ve received transfer news this week. Good news is that after a few months of trying to get permission from President Henrie to have an extra hour of exercise, he granted it. Bad news is that my extra hour is going to come in form of being assigned to a bike area. My new area is going to be Van Nuys and my companion is going to be Thompson.

This will be my last email for a few (undetermined number) weeks. I’m a little frustrated about this, but I’m willing to give it a try. I decided to post a link on Facebook to the Church’s Easter initiative. Some how or another, President found out and didn’t like that and decided to revoke my computer privileges for a short time.  He also wants me to visit LDS Family Services because he thinks that I am addicted to using computers.

This has been an awfully slow week for missionary work. I thought with it being the Easter week that we’d find more people willing to meet with us, but I was wrong. It was even slower and unproductive.

We did meet with our new investigator Albert again. He almost accepted a baptismal date, but he’s still not quite ready to make that commitment yet.

We did a lot of service for members this week, which was a nice change compared to doing service at the local park where it seems as if we merely pulled rakes around for two hours. It seemed to be much more meaningful.

I failed to mention this earlier, but both Elder Sponseller and I are leaving Castaic. It would appear as if they are merging the two areas within the ward into one singular area.

With me getting transferred to a bike area, I’m going to need a little bit of additional monetary assistance from home for bike repairs and so on. If you could kindly keep my bank account at $100 dollars so I can purchase tubes, tires, and other parts as needed that would great. Also if you could start it at $200 to start with so I can buy a helmet, locks and chains, it would be greatly appreciated. Please reply ASAP so I can know that you’ve transferred the money. Thanks.

Elder Blodgett
California San Fernando Mission
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
3/28/16