I wonder if many people know about letting themselves go and just doing what you are inspired to do? I LOVE that Alex is getting a first hand knowledge of that. It will serve him his whole life through and he will always be able to recenter himself on that and make his life an inspired one through his choices. Good job son of mine! You are learning exactly what you should be learning! Letters like this make it all worth it. A double-happiness thing!



I just wrote Riley using my weird acquired Chilean ghetto accent. I guess we´ll see if he gets anything. He wrote me pretty good.

Oh, and also I asked President King about writing some friends, because my companion said I could. Turns out it wasn´t actually that way, so I am going to have to inform those I would have liked to have written to that I will not be able to do such. Flip, Kip. I got excited there.

This week we just slogged it out all day and things just didn´t go anywhere. We set three times with the same lady and she wasn´t there all three times. We did also a ton of contacts and had no success. We could barely move Sunday night in terms of being depressed, if you will.

But like these things happen, we usually win a little too. We went to a super old investigator who´s not seen the missionaries in over six months. He came from simply not believing in God to being ready to baptism in a pretty eventful year. In the end, unfortunately, he didn´t want to just get married. He wanted to get all his debts figured out and stuff - something I guess I get. It seems, though, that these things will take a while.

It hurt to see him stuck, with his 5-year-old son, and his wife, who´s inactive, in that place. One can only progress so far without the Holy Ghost. So I went in to teach him having no idea what I could say that others haven´t said.

We read Alma 34 to start off, talking about not putting off repentence. As we finished it, talking about mercy and justice, I started thinking of that all-powerful D&C 82:10 - the first scripture I memorized in Spanish -

porque yo, el Señor, estoy obligado cuando hacéis lo que os digo - pero cuando no hacéis lo que os digo, ninguna promesa tenéis.

or, in other words, something like

I, the Lord, am bound when you do what I say - but when you do not what I say, you have no promise.

After I read that, I used that classic tool of mine - silence. Using something I had once heard Dad talk about, I said something like, "I´m not one to tell you how to live your life - and you won´t offend me by saying you won´t - but I think this says if you comply with the Lord He´ll give you what you need - and more."

I can´t tell you they commited to change anything - but I felt something shift in the both of them. Let me tell you, if we even hurried them up I don´t really care about an otherwise lame week. I love this guy - he´s so like me. Just in a more complicated situation. He wasn´t give the gift of faith like some are - he found it all by himself - like me. He found it himself. He just needs to trust God. Well, so do I, right?

I´m making a lot of progress on that front. I read a talk called The Fourth Missionary that talks about four kinds of people. The first is outrageously disobedient and gets sent home. The second is disobedient but is hypocritical enough to stay on the mission. The third is obedient, but allows himself to fight with what he knows is right - so even though he helps others, his personal development doesn´t go very fast, because he doesn´t let himself be run by He who knows - rather he forces himself into the rules without letting himself be improved. The Fourth doesn´t fight against God´s will. He just does it and trusts that God knows better than he what he wants, and will form him accordingly.

That said, that´s what I´ve been trying to do this last while. It seems like it would be harder. What´s interesting, though, is that it isn´t harder. I feel like I have much lower blood pressure, as it is said, when I let myself go as such. The question is singular - what does God want me to do? And there´s no more than that. And he´ll never lead you wrongly.

I used to think that a lot of what God did was actually imposed sacrifice - if you will, you actually will do less cool things and it will be counted by God for your benefit. Wrong. Absolutely na´ que ver, po! Not even right. God knows you exactly right, and has the benefit of seeing all people in all their lives at once - so he knows what you need to do to have the best possible time, and to enjoy your life the most. It isn´t misery here in exchange for happiness after this life. It´s kind of a double-happiness deal.

I was once morbidly afraid that the career that I wanted would keep me from having a family. But here´s the thing, though - God knows what I want, and since they´re both reasonable, and in the plan, I´ll get them both. Not only that, it´ll be better than I think is possible now. (1 Cor 2:9)

Thanks for that piano recording - someone should probably make an album of those. I had half a cyber café listening to it after a while.

Love,
Elder A Conrad Crist




Someone tell Kelsey I can´t use the file format she gave me "Each Life" in - mp3 please - the computers here are not terribly new nor Apple.

Please email me songs anyone. I would like to make a CD here but it won´t be worth it until I have a few. I just noticed a band called The Lower LIghts that´s also good. You are still looking for Josh Wright and Josh Groban too, right? EMail them.

And so it is...again

I LOVE my son! I love that he is trying so hard to be what God wants him to be. I love that he has worked very hard and accomplished so much. I love that he has a fantastic sense of humor and I love that he is my son. I am so proud of him and I cannot wait until I can see his handsome face again in person. I find I miss him more and more! What a great gift he is to me.



Don´t worry about resending anything; I keep everything archived; I have 25600 MB, using 461. Thinking about it, I have no idea why they would put so much. Whatever. Google stuff.

Do you think you could email me songs? I think they could fit; I send you things that are as big as songs all the time. That would be really dope. If you find any of those ones I want, I think through a few emails you could send them to me. That would be really dope.

This week we worked really, really hard. We changed up our contacting approach to not ask if they would like to talk at all, and instead just start teaching the stuff we´re here to teach immediately. People that would like to instant-reject us can´t in time to not hear anything - and what they find is that they´re actually interested, or that we´re interest-ing. It´s very not-me to be pushy, but I´m starting to find out how to do it.

I remember when I started the mission and I could only understand the gist of what people said. Other missionaries would teach about The Plan, or The Gospel, or The Restoration in what ever way going by a need they saw in a person, and I just knew how to chuck the first three sentences of the first pamphlet, essentially.

Now, ironically, I´m finding myself where I always wanted to be. Not in a pushy way like I´ve seen it done, but rather in a softer, more intelligent way. Like I wanted from the beginning.

We had some really heavy progress this week with my new favorite investigators, Esmeralda and Rodolfo. In our second lesson, in which we taught The Gospel (Lesson 3), we started with faith, then repentence, etc. When we got to baptism and the gift of the holy ghost, the mom looked up suddenly. She said, "When you said "Holy Ghost," I got this warm, joyous feeling. What is it?"

As you might imagine, that lesson went pretty good after that. She commited to be baptized without a date. In the second lesson. Winner.

I´m getting way sick of my suits now. It appears that in not too long we´ll be moving back to shirts. Today was actually hot. We played soccer and there was a fair amount of sweat involved. I´m actually discovering I enjoy arquero - goalkeeper - mostly because I can use my hands. I´m still a "defender" personality, so it works. I have no ball control, but I can at least hit the ball away with my foot usually.

I actually got fatter in Melipilla. I have lost half of it since I got here because I´ve been working out hard with Elder Myres. I´d never thought of all the different ways you can use big five-liter bottles as weights, even though it may be awkward and fall occasionally. I kind of got stalled out on the pushups when I got sick, but I´m getting there anyway.

Yesterday was lame, though. We were going around looking for people and it began to rain. It rained all day, and we went to a bunch of people who just weren´t home. I address this in the audio. Then we finally went into a mercy member visit. It was one of those days that only survivable because the next day´s P-day, if you know what I mean.

Spanish isn´t a problem at all anymore. I frequently have conversations with missionaries and later cannot remember if the conversation was English or Spanish. I´m just starting to be comforable enough that I never freak out, even in front of people in Sacrament Meeting. It´s nice. It´s terrifying when a member asks something and you answer bad or don´t understand, because gradually they start to lose trust in you. When they talk to you like another ward member, that´s when you know they trust you with references. Not like I didn´t try hard enough or wait long enough, though. Those were some dark months in Melipilla, being a minority with a companion who doesn´t like you... but that´s over.

Like I said, it´s a pension of four. Which means they burned some natty old clothes because there were enough to make it worth it. The dynamic is okay, except Elder Holton and my companion are frequently at odds. I don´t know why, really. It seems like something out of the ordinary happens and they just happend to take whatever thing as offensive or "too much" or whatever. I´m also kind of worried, or was, that the other missionaries paint monkey, which is to say, waste time too much. I went on divisions with Elder Holton, and we didn´t paint any monkey, but I am the leader; he wouldn´t just do it in front of me, I´d think. We did a normal day, except for the protests they´re having here - they actually forced us indoors at 9. I felt a little uneasy, but some members told us to go straight home. We trusted them. I felt kind of lame, but that´s better than fighting rioters or something.

And so it is.

There´s always this super-uncomfortable part at the end of lessons where everyone just says stuff like, "So it is, Elder," and "Right. Okay." We´re now there. Did you notice?

Right. Okay.

Love
Elder A Conrad Crist

Can someone please email me Josh Groban, O Magnum Mysterium, my all state and honor choir CDs? If it takes you more than 30 minutes, I´ll take you out to lunch when I get back. Maybe you have to send like 5 emails - it´s okay. Please do it.

Thanks in advance (right?).

Can someone find a sung version of hymn 293 each life that touches ours for good that´s not the lame hymn cd one?

Permananced

Alex sounds like he is adjusting to his new area quite well. And to be living with three other white guys from the Western States also sounds like a blast. Alex is liking the new Leader position he has and makes it sound pretty fun actually. I love that he is having so many contacts and success in this are as well. It is what makes the mission fun and memorable. Please write to him! You can use his email but he will have to write to you as he can. It may take a few weeks for him to actually get back to you. But, he will answer! He may even have to send you a snail mail response! That definitely will take some time.


I'm afriad I don't have any audio whatsoever. Blast.

I did enjoy your audios, of course. There's something different about it.

The Mission just approved Lectures on Faith. What's the best way to get that here? A summarized part of it changed my whole idea of God, so I would really like to have it.

This week we worked really hard. The numbers from this sector have always been less than amazing, so we picked two - teaching inactives and doing straight cold contacts. In terms of contacts we managed 72 in the week - which I think is the most I've ever done.

We had a real miracle working Friday. We went in to teach Kevin, a 20-year-or-so-old, who doesn't go to church because he's lost the "spark" of going, or rather, he is just bored of it.

Naturally, we started to explain to him Permaneced - the Chile-wide program of reactivation. Basically it's a summary of sin, the atonement, and what one must do to be forgiven.

While we taught, his cousin, with whom he lives, came in and started to listen off-handedly. We invited her to sit down, and she listened with interest. We mentioned the Spirit as part of the reason we must stay in the Church, and she asked what it was, or rather, what was the gift of the Holy Ghost. We began a sort of Restoration summary to help her understand what about it was new that we presented to the world. As we about reached the point of the Book of Mormon, the cousin's husband came home from work. He asked if we were religious teachers. We said we were, of course. He told us to continue. After we explained the Book of Mormon, he asked, "So why are there so many churches? I thought Jesus only had one."

It reminded me of what the Book of Mormon has recorded about Aaron when he realized the King would believe what he would say next - we rejoiced inwardly, and made a loop around the Terrenal Ministry of the Savior and back, and commited them to read and pray. The Spirit was in the lesson, testifying, which was the most important part. We return Tuesday, tomorrow. Somewhat exciting, I'd say. We walked out and did a "ooooooooo, fetch - that's a baptism or two"

The weather is starting to be warmy again. There was a crazy rainstorm I didn't have an umbrella for, which made me duly wet, but for the most part things are getting better. I started wearing the KGB gloves more, and now I don't know why I didn't more often. Not only does the floppy part make your fingertips warmer than singles, but also if a robber comes or a big dog wants to eat your scriptures, "Ju ken barry dem." (You can bury them.)

The rainstorm whacked our attendance - only 28 people came of some 40 who usually come. They're by and large of the 55+ sort of age, so they rarely come if it's uncomfortable outside.

My new area is in the middle of "The Toilet Tank", which is a satelite city from Santiago. Where I am now is very developed - certainly bigger than Salt Lake alone. My sector is on the edges, and is a perfect rectangle made up of about 30 minutes by 15 minutes of street.

Sorry for the distraction... I'm ordering the Joseph Smith Movie.

My sector is perhaps a fifth the size of Silva Chavez. Well, that is, of the part of the city we had, not counting any of the Washington County-sized campo parts.

Elder Myres, in addition to being a gringo, is pretty cool. It's been very nice to not be distracted by fighting with a companion all day about obedience stuff or playing soccer by himself in the back yard while we're supposed to be studying. The closest person to him you know is Riley, by far. He's a really heavy athelete, coming from soccer and wrestling. I've learned a bunch of fitness stuff from him, like how good creatine is, and how to get good chest muscles. We try ... try to keep from talking about worldy stuff like the Halo books or (If Jake hasn't read those, he needs to) the coolness of the effects in the Star Trek movie, or Tron, which he saw before coming to the mission, but it happens from time to time.

Our two investigators that we do have are kind of stale. The missionaries really buddied up to them to the point of keeping them from progressing. Our first lesson came of a little heavy. I just put it down normally, but she took it really hard. She wants God's help to get her husband guy to marry her, but she isn't keeping the Word of Wisdom or going to the classes at Church. We have to start pushing a little, which will hurt, but is the only way to progress.

As for being a District Leader, you have three main things to do:
Do classes weekly
Do divisions (Elders only)
Be awesome
Call nightlyish to get reports and numbers
I have a pretty fun time teaching, as I feel like the missionaries I teach are better than I am, especially to the Sisters. I actually got a few group laughs last time, at least.

I thought everything was going well, but then after the zone leaders (If I were a sergeant, with my "squad," They would be the lieutenants) asked me for the "District Pouch", which is our mail. I had no idea I even had it in the pension - d'oh. The sister missionary walked up with stuff to send. I started to explain but she just said, "No pouch?" Oh man.

Alex's time ran out on this email and he had to send a second. He does seem very distracted as well!.

Okay, so it was devestating. Not to mention the email cut off to make it better in terms of suspense. She was really good natured about it, though.

What? No blessing? Are you kidding me?

Yay medical things...

I lost my momentum.

By the way, I never memorized the Articles. Weak. Good job though. I did just finish a thing of memorize 24 scriptures, and now I'm going to do 40 something. I'm also memorizing a lot of scriptures - in spanish though. It's going to be weak in english - translated in the mind.

I'm out.

Love,
Elder A Conrad Crist

Lectures on Faith please

MP3 CDs
Look at the passed emails

La Cisterna or La Granja

I really love that Alex is back into a 1st world-y place. I am not sure I even understand how 3rd world the last place was! It would be kind of like living in the sticks and then going into the city. Everything must truly seem bright and shiny and clean. My hope for Alex this time is to have happiness. That is it! Just for him to be happy serving and leading. I love the kid and I actually want everything for him but right now more than anything else, I want him to be happy!



Well, the sound worked. Just make sure immediately that you don´t throw them away, because I´m not going to keep them, and people could concievably want to have them after the mission - I mean, they´re responses to what I wrote, and I can´t listen to them here, so I´m going to lag two weeks on stuff you put in there. So if you want a response, put it in text.

Anyway, this has been a longer week. A week ago I was in Melipilla. I´m not in Melipilla. I´m far away. I´m kind of back in the city. I live on Camilo Henríquez in La Cisterna or in La Granja. It´s a old-person area of outer Santiago. It´s about the same distance from Santiago center as my first sector

My thoughts immediately are that this place is quite a bit more clean and 1st worldy than where I was. I walk around dazzled by the cleanliness and technology-usury that I see. Maybe bad because it´s easier to be trunky. Maybe better because I don´t have fleas.

It´s weird that I don´t really have anything to tell you. I´m thinking and there´s just not anything. I think I may have been so stuck into what I´ve been doing that I don´t have any empty-head echo time when I usually formulate ideas and make observations. I´ve been just rather focused on this place, and trying to make a difference in it. It´s hard, but I´d like to think I can do something about it.

My district leader class was weak, but I think that happens the first time. Not only that, they gave me the class topic with like eight hours to do it, so it kind of came out lame. I don´t think the district noticed, because changes always costs one a few hours of sleep.

I´m sorry about the lameness of this one. I don´t have anything.

Oh, "Recibí lo que Kelsey me envió." Try out google translator.

I´m doing a lot better in terms of member relationships this time around - I´ve learned exactly what to do and what to avoid. I actually had a thought that helped a lot. There was a member that I got along with really well. Her name was Sister Marta. It was way easy to talk to her - to the point where I didn´t even have any problems speaking because I wasn´t afraid to just talk normally. It turns out that a very large part of my impediment was kind of a pretentious nervousness. When it wasn´t there, I speak pretty good - several people here have said it´s alarmingly good. That´s the key.

So when I speak to people, in contacts, or members, or whatever, I just say to myself, "It´s Sister Marta, or her husband, Pulpo." It´s changed things quite drastically. I made a very good impression here - there´s no talking around me ever. Then, their opinion of you is that of another member, which brings you internally up to that level. That´s when you can be a part of someone´s life. That´s the idea.

You sound dang bored on the audio. "Say hi." "yeah..."

I´m really just kind of tired.

Oh, there´re sister missionaries in my district. So I have to call them all the time. I thought it would be really awkward, but it´s okay. I´ve just heard a few funny stories - that have to do with pads. So I´m just hoping nothing "funny" happens to me.

I think I´m just going to go before this gets too stupid.

Elder A Conrad Crist
Apparently District Leader, La Cisterna 1




CDs (preferably an Mp3 CD so I don´t have to have a thousand discs.)(These are seperate things.)
Josh Wright
Essential Missionary Collection
Paul Cardell

For you guys to get for me when I get back (I heard them in the house of an investigator´s house)
Soundtrack of Tron, Transformers extended edition (there´s a sick song that isn´t in the movie)

Address Change

I am not sure why the mission has changed the address that all mail and packages go to but they did. Here is the new one. Tell everybody not to send mail or packages to the old address.


Elder Crist
Misión Chile Santiago Oeste
Correos Casilla 149
Pajaritos 1229
Maipú, Chile

District Leader July 19, 2011

Dear Crist Family,

I am pleased to inform you that your son, Elder Crist, has been called to serve as a District Leader in our mission. He has exhibited leadership capabilities through his desire to learn and lead out in his efforts as a missionary. His example of hard work, following the Spirit, and concern for his fellow missionaries have prepared him to assume these new responsibilities.

This opportunity will stretch him and give him new opportunities for growth. As he lifts and sustains the missionaries under his stewardship, he will develop a deep love for them and for the Lord. These abilities will sustain him throughout his life.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve with your son here in the mission field. This is the work of the Lord. His efforts are blessing the lives of so many. I am grateful to you for supporting him in this new and important calling.

Sincerely,

President Richard W. King
Chile Santiago West Mission

I got changed!

I am posting the last two weeks in this post. I think that time is just flying and I cannot imagine how fast it goes for a missionary who is super busy every day! We have passed the 10 month mark! Crazy, it still doesn't seem like that much time! Alex is (was) having a lot of trouble with his companion and I feel so bad for him. I want to protect him from all things bad but Heavenly Father has a plan for him and is teaching him quickly. This first letter is kind of sad and depressing. I am sad for him but I know Heavenly Father is preparing him for something down the road. Something amazing!

Okay, it seems that the audio doesn´t work - your bitrate was 256 and the ones my camera makes are 44 - maybe a little too much for the camera. It says 44kbps, 4bit 1 channel 11KHz IMA ADPCM. Don´t know if you can try saving the ones you have in that size - I think audacity or garageband would have the options to save like that so I can hear it. I would just put it on the computer and play it, but they have a weird anti- headphone thing in the mission, so I can´t.

Anyway, this has been a rough, rough week. I got sick on Saturday, and could barely go out. I am still pretty bad. I have what appears to be the flu, with bad poo, crazy runny nose, and strange aches all day. I am taking some drugs but they don´t do much.

I´m listening to those recordings. It´s really fun. A lot better than just words.

"Tell Alex to send more BODILY INJURIES. Those are awesome."

That´s awesome.

I´m not feeling particularly inspiring today. I am learning that I´m a lot tougher than I thought, will all the insane things that have happened.

My companion is really struggling right now. I asked him straight if he hated the sector or not. He looked at the ground for a few seconds and said yes. He went on to say he doesn´t find any love in himself for the people (naming a few by name, which surprised me, as they were some of my favorites). He doesn´t have any drive to do anything, and I´m sick as anyone´s ever been, so we haven´t really done much recently. He even said he is absolutely disinterested in talking to me, and because of that we have not progressed much in unity. Not only that, he doesn´t like anything I do or say. I plan alone.

Like I said, it´s been hard. I don´t want to start the drill sergeant angry thing but nothing else works. I know how much I hated it, so I´m hesitant to do it to anyone else. But the choice is seeming to be that or work alone. I would like him to leave. I think it would be better for everyone involved.

One of the interesting things that I´ve realized recently - in my patriarchal blessing I´m blessed with love for people. I´ve never not had love for people in the mission. You could say God kept up his promise. I never even considered how hard it would be if you didn´t even love the people - I don´t know how you´d get out of bed in the morning in the mission. Why else would one be here?

I´m thankful for that gift. A person can talk about how I don´t commit people to be baptized fast enough, or how my contacts are slow and lame, but no one can say anything about my motivation. And rest is doable if you´ve got a motive.

I have spent a little time thinking about what you could send me. I have been unable to think of anything. Anything I could want I have or I can´t have. I was going to ask for an analog watch, but I found one in the pension and fixed it up so now I don´t need one. More CDs, preferably an MP3 CD with several albums so I don´t have to keep so many. That´s all I´ve got.

I´ll keep thinking about it.

Keep progressing, and, like Randy´s dad says, "Take care of your feet."

Love,
Elder A Conrad Crist




July 18, 2011

Somebody sign into facebook and say yes to all the people who are adding me. There are a few.

I´m afraid that the audios are still too big. Needs to be 44kbps, 4 bit. I think audacity has the options to do that.

Anyway, the biggest news item for today is that I got changed. It´s a very strange division, three changes, but here we are, and here we soon shall not be.

Like Dad has said, the mission is a really long 50-miler in terms of baggage. The more intelligent, older missionaries have perhaps 25 pounds, while the noobcake people have 45 or so, mostly of ridiculous things like canned food and other nonsense. I´m now well into the old phase, so packing was a matter of folding some clothes up. I already knew how I was to put everything in, for I´ve done it twice already.

So today I go to say goodbye and stuff like that. I actually have only four families I need to visit, and an additional two to call. I don´t know if I just didn´t do my job enough to meet and love all the people. Whatever. I find that I haven´t actually done a lot of things I regret here, so we´re okay. I guess I just wasn´t a "big splash" here.

The only thing that really makes me sad is our best investigator ever, Carlos. I´ve told you about how we knocked the door of his parents-in-law and they were members, and they were reactivated. He has been to church twice now, and likes it. His girlfriend asked him if he´d like to be baptized, and he said yes. The only thing that´s hanging him up is that he´s not married to her, and they kind of live together. The parents said they´re sure he about to propose and get it all fixed. The only thing is that I won´t be here to see it. I´m on the records, but I kind of wanted to be there. That kills, that. Ach.

I´ve listened to the recording. In audacity, there´s one of those hangy bars, I think FILE, and there´s a save wav, I´m almost sure. All you´d have to do is put 44 and 4.

Anyway, I´m gone, and it´s kind of lame timing. I asked President King to watch out for Elder Aguilar. Honestly, I´m a little scared for him. I make pretty clear the level of problem he has with the sector. President King´s comment on him was something like, "Elder Aguilar has some rough times ahead. He is going to have to learn to humble himself before the Lord." Oh, man.

You know, I think the whole relationship, or lack of relationship, comes somewhere from in there. He doesn´t want to be here. I don´t know how exactly his lesson´s going to come, but he´s going to have to find it soon if he doesn´t want to suffer a lot. He´s got, in all probability, two to four more changes here. That´s a long time, as far as I can think - imagine six months in a job you hate from which you can´t quit or take a vacation. I´ve been blessed, but blessed (that´s a Chilean expression) in terms of love for people so far. I am finding out that I have a really, really heavy prejudice against leech/entitled people. Other than that, I do fine. I gave it at lot of thought - I think pride is the thing that deters me. Could be.

I´ve also started applying Getting Things Done in the mission. Preach My Gospel is very conventional, and good, but I find that the planning section is too "How many people can we push to be baptized this month$" which is to say, less about people than it should be. I think about people in more of a person-by-person way, and I find it gets to the goal better than putting a made up number and then trying to figure out how to force someone to accept our will. GTD says when planning, one should think about the very next thing that can be done with each person, not so much a top-down "People we can get to accept a date", "People we can get to church," etc.

But if I´m wrong, I suppose I´ll have to change. This, my friends and countrymen, is the destroyer of people. I think of myself as humble only because I´ve been hammered so hard so far in the mission. But if I can´t teach, contact, or baptize, at least I can change to be able to do it. I´ve thought about Satan a little more than I should have in my trials to find my testimony. One valuable thing, though, is the realization that if he hadn´t had pride, things would not be at all the same.

Imagine it- I am Satan, everyone is obligated, everyone comes back. (We can argue also that the plan he proposed was just to usurp the power of God and destroy us all right there in terms of progression, but anyway, for the purposes of the story,) Then Jesus stands up and says no, we get agency, and he´ll go and save our bacon. We liked that plan more, and God approved it. What would have happened if he´d said, "You know, Jesus is a pretty smart guy. His plan was better - I´m just going to go along with it."

That´s not what happened. He got angry, and left, and the rest is history - or more accurately, the Bible.

Well, then. That´ll be all. I´ll be somewhere that´s not here tomorrow. Prayer, please.

Love,
Elder A Conrad Crist


Random note before I forget - I will write to as many people as will write to me separately. There´s nothing holy about ludacrist5; Jake and Abby or whoever can write separately from wherever and I will respond as individually as people write.