"Don't have a limited view of your potential."

Hi everyone,

The new transfer has begun in Madagascar. We got to see President Foote up here in Tamatave for a Zone Conference. It is always good to see him and feel his spirit. Also I am the new District Leader here in Tamatave for my house.  My new companion is Elder Olsen.  He is from Pleasant Grove.  I knew him from my last area and he is great.

I have been thinking a lot about our potentials as sons and daughters of God. I heard a quote from this last Zone Conference that said, "Don't have a limited view of your potential." I find this statement very applicable to everyone. I know that everyone has a potential bigger than they could even comprehend. This gospel is all centered on the purpose of helping us become like our Heavenly Father who is all knowing and perfect. It is very important to first understand our potential and then second strive to achieve it. The key to this is humility and diligence. If we are humble we can see that there is need for improvement and a possibility to be better. Then, we must work hard to reach that status. This can be applied to anything in our lives that we want to achieve. But the biggest and most important one to strive for is being a disciple of Christ. It is not easy sometimes to reach that potential but it surely is one of the things we can all see is need for improvement in our lives.  Christ surely was perfect. No one here on earth is perfect but everyone should realize that it is there potential and we can strive to become like Him.

Sincerely,
Elder Allen

I Can Feel His Love

Hello,
This week has been wonderful and hard at the same time. I got to speak to my family on Skype which was great.

Also the end of the transfer for us has come and my Companion Elder Wilson is heading to Tana. I am staying in Tamatave and Elder Todd Olsen is coming up to me. It is his last transfer so I am killing him here in Ambolomadinika.  I will probably need to stay for another transfer to show the next guy the area. I love this area though so it is all good. I also lived with Elder Olsen before in my last house so this transfer should be great.

My area is doing pretty good right now. We just had some baptisms so we are kind of in a phase of searching for and finding new investigators. Although, the branch here is really strong and full of really spiritual people.

I have a testimony that there is a God, and that he loves us very much. I know that because I can feel his love and know that every one else can as well when they follow his will. Faith is one of the most important aspects of the Gospel. It is actually the first Principle of it. If you do not have Faith then nothing else matters. There are many people that believe that Faith is believing in things that we cannot know are true. That is false. Faith is a hope for things that are not seen however are true. Also Faith is truly related to a seed. It becomes nothing and sometimes dies if you do not nurture it. If we do not give faith in God a chance and follow it, then we will surely lose it. I know that this is true, I have experienced it myself. It is not good enough to have a simple belief on its own. We must act upon it. I can surely testify that if anyone has a desire to know whether there is a loving Heavenly Father and that he continues to guide his children here on earth today, then you need to try and obey all of his commandments and apply all the principles of the Gospel in your life. Until we do so, we will continue to have doubt and be unsure. But as soon as we do so we will instantly feel the power of his holy spirit in our lives and will not be able to deny the answer that we receive.

Sincerely,
Elder Allen