Reflections - the opportunity to change (July 23, 2020)

So far this week has been good. I have been trying new things since I have been back out in the field.  In fact, there is a rap guy named NF and I was thinking of his song called "Change". It really hit me and then I prayed to open to a scripture I needed to hear for the day. It was Alma 37: 35-36 and wow! 

Now for all you that know me I have been through a lot growing up. Doing some bad things and getting into drugs and stuff. I speak now because I have a feeling that I need to speak up. I get now that it is hard when you forget the spirit. I know from my life it was easier to go back to what was easy and that was getting back into drugs for easy relief, but I can promise you that if you drop to your knees and pray for strength you will have strength to keep going. Remember though, salvation is not easy. It will never be easy. It was never easy for the Lord so why would it be easy for us. 

I would like to thank all my young men’s leaders and support from my old ward and to let you know that when you think someone is never going to listen to you because they are so hard-hearted like me that somewhere down the road they will change. It took me 2 times to go on a mission to finally find the glory of God and I will say this with my full testimony that I have never felt the power of God so strong in my life. I have never felt so confident in myself. I know the Book of Mormon heals lives.  

One thing I am doing is when I know I messed up or did something stupid I will go to my knees right away and pray for repentance and the help to understand why God put me in the trial. You can take my advice and try it. Listen to some conference talks instead of your fave songs you will feel the spirit so strong. I can promise you that. We go through trials because it is the way that God wants us to learn and to help us be more humble. That is why we go through hard trials. 

Be strong my friends remember we are here on earth to prepare for the next life. We fought so hard to come to this earth to be tested and to live with the Lord again. I know I'm only 21. I have not seen much, but never let yourself believe that there is no way to find the spirit. There is always a way. There is always something in your life that you can change, that you know you need to fix but can't or don't want to. I know that if you need help I would be there to hold your hand and help you through it. There is always a way out. 

This is the scripture referenced:

Alma:

35 O, remember, my son, and learn wisdom in thy youth; yea, learn in thy youth to keep the commandments of God.

36 Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.

Elder Brendon Boyd (July 20, 2020)

Hey! How is everyone doing? I’ve been studying the new Proclamation to the World: the Restoration Proclamation and it is great. Paragraphs 5 and 6 are so good. There is so much truth in these words. 

We all know the Family Proclamation to the World that came out in 1995 but this new Restoration Proclamation just barely came out in our April 2020 conference. It is such a good read and we need to study and learn it like we have studied the Family Proclamation. You will find so so much power in these words. I feel the spirit every time I read it. I get goosebumps! 

 

The people who live the gospel of Jesus Christ are the happiest people I know. The most miserable people I know are the people who don’t follow the gospel of Jesus Christ but know it's true. This is a something we discussed in my ward council and I’ve seen it and I know this is true. You will see this too if you look. We are blessed and happy when we follow Jesus Christ and his gospel! 

We are now allowed to go contact people on the street! I’m so glad. We have been super busy. Sunday we had 3 meetings and 4 lessons. We are getting back to the mission fun and the reason we are here. I'm so excited! All of your prayers are helping missionaries all around the world. Keep praying for us, we feel it!

Like my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/brendan.boyd.731

 

Elder B. Boyd 

1 Nephi 22:20 
2 Nephi 19:6 

Elder Brendon Boyd (July 7,2020) - Assigned to Tillamook (say CHEESE)

Brendon sent his first “round 2” weekly email last night and asked us to post to his Blog for family and friends. He seems great! If you want to send him a note directly, his email is: Brendon.boyd@missionary.org

The truth can hurt but it is how we grow!

Hey everyone! 

So this is my first week as #elderboyd part 2! This week has been good! I had fun coming back to Oregon. I got to see my old companion, Elder Baker, because he got to drive me to my new area in Tillamook.

 

I'm in a 4 Elder apartment and it is fun but different. My companion is Elder Dawe and we have fun. So yes there are 4 Elders in the same ward and it is nice but different. We really do have a good time and work hard. We can't do normal mission work like we used to because of COVID. We do a lot of videos and a lot of online Facebook proselyting. 

Elders Boyd and Dawe from Spanish Fork, UT (front seats)

 

Missionary Video 1: The Natural Man: https://vimeo.com/437958921 

Missionary Video 2: The most beautiful places are where you become closer to God: https://vimeo.com/437958903

I found a couple of cool things to share with you this week:

Today I saw big bag of marshmallows and I thought if I eat them I might get full but I wouldn’t be taking care of my body with good nutrition. It reminded me of Elder Uchtdorf’s talk where people tried to feed starving deer with hay and it did fill their belly with hay but most of the deer died because there was no nourishment. Sometimes we all feel like this. That was me a lot back at home. I would fill my time with YouTube or movies but that didn’t nourish me. I was even trying to read the scriptures and tried to do my part but there was no nourishment because I was just speeding through it instead of quietly listening to what God needed me to learn. Maybe we all need help with nourishment. We need to prepare ourselves to hear God by repenting or forgiving someone or just loving and serving our neighbor. When many of us pray we say the words and quickly get into bed to call it a night. This is not wrong but I will say if you pray and wait and listen for a couple of minutes you will feel what Heavenly Father is trying to tell you because he speaks in a still, small voice. You will not feel it as strong if you don’t take the time to quietly listen. 

Alma 30:6-60 is a good read. It reminds me of what we are seeing in the last days. It is a crazy world but we can do our part by doing little things. Putting quotes on our Instagram posts and sharing what we know and helping people see what good there is. Just because we live in Utah doesn’t mean people know what the church is. And some of us fall away because we feel it isn’t good for us and we start listening more to what the world wants us to hear instead of what God wants us to hear. But we can help people who feel that way come back. It is like me going out on the street and picking up trash...that is good but it would be better if other people came with me and I showed them how good it felt to pick up trash and do something good! Then there are more of us to share that good feeling with others!

Alma 30:44 is where Alma was talking to Korihor and telling Korihor that he didn’t need a sign because he already knew the truth. We know the truth. Remember when you have felt the love of God and the Holy Ghost warmed your heart. Share this love with everyone. We are lucky to know the truth.

Elder Brendon Boyd - The Mission (Part 2) Introduction to Elder Boyd(v2)

Elder Brendon Boyd entered the Missionary Training Center on February 27, 2019 bound for Salem Oregon. The MTC was a spiritual feast for him. His trainer, Elder Greenwood, was just the right companion to introduce him to the rigors of missionary work and other great companions kept him moving forward, but some companions were difficult for him and one in particular made him reach the conclusion he needed to leave the mission and come home, which he did after 11 months. His Mission President (Wilde) saw such potential in him and loved him through it all, and Elder Boyd remained in touch with him weekly all the while he was home and moving forward with work and future plans. 

In April 2020, he met a girl. He began to re-think his life path and decided to inquire if he could finish what he had started. After local leader interviews and correspondence with the first presidency of the church, Brendon was quickly invited to put that nametag on and get back to Oregon. Grateful for the opportunity, he left his employment, packed his bags and began his mission "Part 2".

His sister, Kennedi, was at school in Arizona as all this was developing and connected with him online to get more of the story of why he came home and why after six months he was choosing to return to his mission. That interview can be seen here: https://vimeo.com/436831535

The evening he was set apart as a missionary (again)

Packing up to begin again

President Wilde meeting him at the airport - a joyful reunion. That smile!

And so it continues. With 13 more months to serve, instead of being home Feb 2021, it will now be August 2021. In classic Beezer style, he's doing this mission "B's Way", which means not out a sense of other people's expectations, but finally for his reasons, for the right reasons, and by his own decision. 

To his family, it's miraculous. We are grateful. We look forward to his missionary reports and will include them in this Blog for those who wish to follow his experiences and appreciate his unique perspective on missionary life. Elder Boyd version 2 ... here we go.