Hey everyone! I hope you had a fantastic week, because I did!! Lots of
stuff happened, I'll try to explain everything in the limited time
that I have to email. Shoutout to Wima Bone (Grandma Bone to me) whose
birthday is this week! I love her very much, if you get the
chance, wish her a happy birthday.
This week was one of the most productive weeks of my mission so
far!! We taught 8 lessons which is outstanding, and we were able to
fulfill our purpose as missionaries all week I think. We taught M
several times, he let us know that he is getting baptized in his church on Sunday, so
we'll see where that goes.
We were able to teach 3 lessons from tracting this week which is
unheard of for us! Haha, hopefully that becomes a regularity, that
would be awesome. We definitely saw God's hand in our lives this week.
One awesome miracle: We just got out of a lesson in an apartment
complex, it was the second door we knocked. As soon as we stepped out
of the door there was this guy approaching the stairs, we said hi but
he didn't seem like he wanted to talk very much. As he reached the top
of the stairs and we had started to walk away, he said, "hey are you
guys from the Church of the Latter-Day Saints?" we said "yes, we are!"
he says, "Do you think you've got like 15-20 minutes you could just
talk and visit with me?" Of course we said "Absolutely!!" We found out
he had come to Church before, he has had a rough go around these past
few years with a divorce and stuff, but he is looking to change his
life! Got a return appointment for next week.
We also taught A this week, he is living all of his
commitments and progressing quickly towards Baptism! His baptismal
date is the 8th of February, him and his fiance are getting married on
January 31st! I love him so much, it has been a blessing to be able to
teach him and see him accept the Gospel into his life.
On Friday we got a call from the Brighton North Sisters (Sisters
Luke and Sorensen), in which they told us that their area would be
closing down and we would be taking over next transfer! So then on
Saturday when we got transfer calls it wasn't much of a surprise when
we were told that we would be staying here in Brighton. So we have a
much larger area to cover now, we are looking forward to it! That also
means that we will inherit any people that the Sisters were teaching
into our teaching pool, so we will begin teaching B (who has a
baptismal date for Valentines Day)! So it looks like we will have
A getting baptized on the 8th, and B on the 14th, it should be
a GREAT first few weeks of the new transfer!
On Sunday I got a call from President Gerber. He asked me if I
would be the District Leader for our new District! That means this
transfer will be a huge learning opportunity and period of growth for
me as we are taking over another area, and I will be learning how to
lead a District of the Lord's Servants.
I'll close with my testimony of the Book of Mormon. I know that the
Book of Mormon is the word of God, and Another Testament of Jesus
Christ. I know that as we read it we will come closer to God than by
any other book as promised by the Prophet Joseph Smith. If you have
any doubts about the Book of Mormon or Joseph Smith's validity as a
Prophet of the Lord, READ THE BOOK OF MORMON. Then ASK our loving
Heavenly Father if it is true. I you ask with a sincere heart, real
intent (willing to act on the answer you receive, having faith in
Christ, He WILL manifest the truth of it unto you by the Power of the
Holy Ghost. I know these things to be true. I have seen it in my life,
and in the lives of whom I am serving. I say these things in the name
of Jesus Christ, Amen. I love you all, thanks for all of your love and
support for me! Have a great week :)
-Elder Goff
Monday, January 26, 2015
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Visit from an Apostle of the Lord, Elder Dallin H. Oaks in Detroit, Michigan
Dear Family and Friends,
Shoutout to Katie Hall, one of my good friends who just received
her mission call to the Brazil Sao Paulo West Mission speaking
Portuguese, reporting June 3rd!! One of my other friends named Adam is
serving there as well so that is sweet! I'm so proud and thankful for
all of my friends who have decided to serve missions.
This week was incredible! We had New Missionary Training for Elder
Hatch on Tuesday, and that was great. It's always great to hear from
President and Sister Gerber, they have so much knowledge and wisdom to
share with us. So all of us trainers got together and shared concerns
and stuff that we had about our trainees and how we could better
prepare them for certain aspects of missionary life/work. It was
great, a lot of questions that other people asked related to my on
questions I had. After New Missionary Training, we went on exchange so
I went to Howell with Elder Varner who is going home this transfer
(January 27th!). It was great, he is a fantastic missionary. It was
cool to be with another missionary who has been out for so long
because he could offer a lot of advice to me. So I enjoyed being in
Howell for the day and then we exchanged back in the evening on
Wednesday.
On Wednesday night we taught M and S about The Priesthood,
the Laying on of Hands, and the Twelve Tribes of Israel, they both
learned a lot. It has really just come down to the application of the
principles that we have taught them! S committed to read 3
Chapters of the Book of Mormon this week and M committed to read
every day.
On Thursday an older couple in our ward took us out to Red Robin,
that was so nice of them!! Afterwards we shared a message with them,
and helped them install a toilet into one of their bathrooms. In the
evening we taught an investigator about keeping the Sabbath Day holy, Paying
Tithing, and Fast Offerings. He is progressing well, and he has a
baptismal date set for February 8th! He and his fiance are getting
married on January 31st.
Friday was amazing! We were blessed to have Elder Dallin H. Oaks of
the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles come and speak to us. He told us
that he did not come with a message prepared, but would rely on the
Holy Ghost to prompt him what to say and instruct us on. It was so
funny at one point in his instruction, he was trying to find something
on his ipad but then he closed it up and exclaimed: "I only have this
ipad because President Packer made me!" Slamming his fists jokingly on
the pulpit to show emotion. Hahaha that was so funny! He went on to
teach us about the importance of the commitment an investigator makes,
it was great. Something I took away from today was that Apostles are
just like us. They are still mortal men, they just have an extremely
high calling in life. He said that when he received the call to be an
Apostle he was told it would be a lifelong learning opportunity. The
Apostles still learn! They are prone to the same temptations we are,
and live in the same world that we do. But they have the correct
Priesthood Authority to receive divine guidance and inspiration for
the Church, and the whole world! That was the highlight of my week for
sure.
I am working on personal revelation this week. It is so important
for the people we teach to receive personal revelation for themselves,
and for us so we know what/how to teach them most effectively. I've
always struggled with recognizing personal revelation in my own life,
but I have learned so much already on my mission and am sure as I
focus more directly on it this week I will improve greatly!
I know that we can communicate with our Father in Heaven, and that
He will communicate with us as we ask in faith for answers to our
questions. I know that EVERYONE can receive answers to their prayers
as they ask with a sincere heart, a submissive mind, having faith in
Christ. I am happy to be serving The Lord in the Michigan Detroit
Mission, and I hope you can all feel the truthfulness of the Restored
Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love you all! Have a great week.
-Elder Goff
Shoutout to Katie Hall, one of my good friends who just received
her mission call to the Brazil Sao Paulo West Mission speaking
Portuguese, reporting June 3rd!! One of my other friends named Adam is
serving there as well so that is sweet! I'm so proud and thankful for
all of my friends who have decided to serve missions.
This week was incredible! We had New Missionary Training for Elder
Hatch on Tuesday, and that was great. It's always great to hear from
President and Sister Gerber, they have so much knowledge and wisdom to
share with us. So all of us trainers got together and shared concerns
and stuff that we had about our trainees and how we could better
prepare them for certain aspects of missionary life/work. It was
great, a lot of questions that other people asked related to my on
questions I had. After New Missionary Training, we went on exchange so
I went to Howell with Elder Varner who is going home this transfer
(January 27th!). It was great, he is a fantastic missionary. It was
cool to be with another missionary who has been out for so long
because he could offer a lot of advice to me. So I enjoyed being in
Howell for the day and then we exchanged back in the evening on
Wednesday.
On Wednesday night we taught M and S about The Priesthood,
the Laying on of Hands, and the Twelve Tribes of Israel, they both
learned a lot. It has really just come down to the application of the
principles that we have taught them! S committed to read 3
Chapters of the Book of Mormon this week and M committed to read
every day.
On Thursday an older couple in our ward took us out to Red Robin,
that was so nice of them!! Afterwards we shared a message with them,
and helped them install a toilet into one of their bathrooms. In the
evening we taught an investigator about keeping the Sabbath Day holy, Paying
Tithing, and Fast Offerings. He is progressing well, and he has a
baptismal date set for February 8th! He and his fiance are getting
married on January 31st.
Friday was amazing! We were blessed to have Elder Dallin H. Oaks of
the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles come and speak to us. He told us
that he did not come with a message prepared, but would rely on the
Holy Ghost to prompt him what to say and instruct us on. It was so
funny at one point in his instruction, he was trying to find something
on his ipad but then he closed it up and exclaimed: "I only have this
ipad because President Packer made me!" Slamming his fists jokingly on
the pulpit to show emotion. Hahaha that was so funny! He went on to
teach us about the importance of the commitment an investigator makes,
it was great. Something I took away from today was that Apostles are
just like us. They are still mortal men, they just have an extremely
high calling in life. He said that when he received the call to be an
Apostle he was told it would be a lifelong learning opportunity. The
Apostles still learn! They are prone to the same temptations we are,
and live in the same world that we do. But they have the correct
Priesthood Authority to receive divine guidance and inspiration for
the Church, and the whole world! That was the highlight of my week for
sure.
I am working on personal revelation this week. It is so important
for the people we teach to receive personal revelation for themselves,
and for us so we know what/how to teach them most effectively. I've
always struggled with recognizing personal revelation in my own life,
but I have learned so much already on my mission and am sure as I
focus more directly on it this week I will improve greatly!
I know that we can communicate with our Father in Heaven, and that
He will communicate with us as we ask in faith for answers to our
questions. I know that EVERYONE can receive answers to their prayers
as they ask with a sincere heart, a submissive mind, having faith in
Christ. I am happy to be serving The Lord in the Michigan Detroit
Mission, and I hope you can all feel the truthfulness of the Restored
Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love you all! Have a great week.
-Elder Goff
Elder Bennett who was in the MTC with me
Elder Carter, an awesome Elder who is going
home this transfer!
Elder Goff with Elder Varner on exchanges,
he is also going home this transfer!
Michigan Detroit Mission with Elder Dallin H. Oaks
Monday, January 12, 2015
We went to Hell, Michigan and back this week!!
This was a great week! We taught quite a few lessons and spent a lot
of time with members too, I really love the Brighton ward and everyone
in it!! :) I don't want to leave anytime soon haha. We've gotten a
total of about 6" of snow or more in this past week so we've been
shoveling a lot! :) Which means lots of Hot Chocolate too! Haha.
Anyways, there were a couple things that stood out this week.
One, we went to Hell, Michigan earlier in the week and so that was
kind of fun! We thought of a good door approach to use there, "Hey
we're missionaries and our purpose is to help bring people closer to
Jesus Christ, we thought Hell would be a good place to start!" hahaha
didn't actually get the chance to use it but it would be awesome! So I
got some pictures from there, it was pretty cool.
We had interviews with President Gerber this week and they were
amazing and instructional! I learned so much. My goal this year is to
become an absolutely consecrated missionary, meaning that I put every
ounce of energy that I can muster into the work, forget about myself
completely, and do the Lord's Will. I have attached the talk,
"Becoming a Consecrated Missionary" by Tad R. Callister, it is amazing
I love it! So interviews were a big lift as President gave me some
good advice on how to become a better missionary and trainer to Elder
Hatch! I love President Gerber so much! I know that he receives
revelation directly from Heavenly Father and has the right to receive
that revelation for this whole mission.
We found a couple new people to teach this week so that is great!
We also got members out with us to lessons 4 times this week which is
a great improvement from the recent weeks. I love the Brighton Ward
and I love the people in this area!
I know that as we study the Bible and Book of Mormon that we will
draw closer to Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father and that we will begin
to FEEL a tangible relationship with them growing within us. I know
that Jesus Christ lives today and leads this Church . While
many people dismiss religion as an unnecessary thing, people areof time with members too, I really love the Brighton ward and everyone
in it!! :) I don't want to leave anytime soon haha. We've gotten a
total of about 6" of snow or more in this past week so we've been
shoveling a lot! :) Which means lots of Hot Chocolate too! Haha.
Anyways, there were a couple things that stood out this week.
One, we went to Hell, Michigan earlier in the week and so that was
kind of fun! We thought of a good door approach to use there, "Hey
we're missionaries and our purpose is to help bring people closer to
Jesus Christ, we thought Hell would be a good place to start!" hahaha
didn't actually get the chance to use it but it would be awesome! So I
got some pictures from there, it was pretty cool.
We had interviews with President Gerber this week and they were
amazing and instructional! I learned so much. My goal this year is to
become an absolutely consecrated missionary, meaning that I put every
ounce of energy that I can muster into the work, forget about myself
completely, and do the Lord's Will. I have attached the talk,
"Becoming a Consecrated Missionary" by Tad R. Callister, it is amazing
I love it! So interviews were a big lift as President gave me some
good advice on how to become a better missionary and trainer to Elder
Hatch! I love President Gerber so much! I know that he receives
revelation directly from Heavenly Father and has the right to receive
that revelation for this whole mission.
We found a couple new people to teach this week so that is great!
We also got members out with us to lessons 4 times this week which is
a great improvement from the recent weeks. I love the Brighton Ward
and I love the people in this area!
I know that as we study the Bible and Book of Mormon that we will
draw closer to Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father and that we will begin
to FEEL a tangible relationship with them growing within us. I know
that Jesus Christ lives today and leads this Church . While
finding the truth each and every day through prayer to their loving
Father in Heaven, who WILL answer their prayers if we just ask Him
sincerely, with real intent, having faith in Christ.
I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week, Elder Hatch and I will! :)
-Elder Goff
Elder Goff in Hell, Michigan
My new wall!!!
Looking good!!
We got a little snow this week!!
Above view :)
Monday, January 5, 2015
Happy New Year!!! January 5, 2015
This week was good! Kind of stressful but that provides a way for growth!
On Tuesday we went on exchanges and I went to Howell and Elder
Varner came to Brighton! Elder Woolf and I found like 4 new
investigators after we had knocked like 8 doors, it was amazing!! That
was a really cool experience.
We did a lot of door knocking this week! It has been pretty cold so
that was tough! We have started to need to wear 3-5 layers in order to
stay warm. It is 6 degrees today and snowing! On New Years Day we
taught 3 lessons which is a miracle in and of itself! One of them we
were teaching a man named Adrian, we taught him the Law of Chastity.
We were kind of nervous for the lesson but he received it very well
and is planning on getting married to his fiance very soon and then
hopefully baptized in February! We also got to teach a lesson about
family history work to a few investigators of ours and they set up
their own family search account! I actually was looking at my own
family history and I traced a line that went back all the way to 58
B.C.!!! It was so awesome haha. When I get home I will definitely be
more involved in family history work, it is amazing. We have been
blessed with the opportunity to help our ancestors progress in their
own Eternal Salvation, why would we not take advantage of the tools
that our Heavenly Father has given us to Hasten the Work in that
simple way? I would challenge you to do your family history work, it
will bless our ancestor's lives and our lives so much.
We taught Mark and Susan this week as well! We focused on the 3
prerequisites for answers to prayers: Praying with a sincere heart,
with real intent, and having faith in Jesus Christ. If we pray with
those 3 qualities we WILL receive an answer to our prayers! We are
promised that in the Book of Mormon. Moroni 7:6 and Moroni 10:4!
We also had 4 investigators drop us this week so that has been kind
of tough to deal with. Personal agency is frustrating sometimes!
Especially when we know the blessings that will come from living the
Gospel, but people we teach don't commit to live them. But that is The
Gospel! We all must CHOOSE to follow Christ and his teachings and
apply them in our lives, there is no shortcut. But as we do apply the
principles of the Gospel into our lives we will then be able to
absolutely know of it's truth and how much we need it in our lives.
I love you all so much! I hope you have a great week and get to have
many missionary experiences of your own. Happy New Year!
-Elder Goff
On Tuesday we went on exchanges and I went to Howell and Elder
Varner came to Brighton! Elder Woolf and I found like 4 new
investigators after we had knocked like 8 doors, it was amazing!! That
was a really cool experience.
We did a lot of door knocking this week! It has been pretty cold so
that was tough! We have started to need to wear 3-5 layers in order to
stay warm. It is 6 degrees today and snowing! On New Years Day we
taught 3 lessons which is a miracle in and of itself! One of them we
were teaching a man named Adrian, we taught him the Law of Chastity.
We were kind of nervous for the lesson but he received it very well
and is planning on getting married to his fiance very soon and then
hopefully baptized in February! We also got to teach a lesson about
family history work to a few investigators of ours and they set up
their own family search account! I actually was looking at my own
family history and I traced a line that went back all the way to 58
B.C.!!! It was so awesome haha. When I get home I will definitely be
more involved in family history work, it is amazing. We have been
blessed with the opportunity to help our ancestors progress in their
own Eternal Salvation, why would we not take advantage of the tools
that our Heavenly Father has given us to Hasten the Work in that
simple way? I would challenge you to do your family history work, it
will bless our ancestor's lives and our lives so much.
We taught Mark and Susan this week as well! We focused on the 3
prerequisites for answers to prayers: Praying with a sincere heart,
with real intent, and having faith in Jesus Christ. If we pray with
those 3 qualities we WILL receive an answer to our prayers! We are
promised that in the Book of Mormon. Moroni 7:6 and Moroni 10:4!
We also had 4 investigators drop us this week so that has been kind
of tough to deal with. Personal agency is frustrating sometimes!
Especially when we know the blessings that will come from living the
Gospel, but people we teach don't commit to live them. But that is The
Gospel! We all must CHOOSE to follow Christ and his teachings and
apply them in our lives, there is no shortcut. But as we do apply the
principles of the Gospel into our lives we will then be able to
absolutely know of it's truth and how much we need it in our lives.
I love you all so much! I hope you have a great week and get to have
many missionary experiences of your own. Happy New Year!
-Elder Goff
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)