Lehi's Dream

Hello Everyone,

  First of all, you all probably think my companion and I are fat from all the pictures of food that we send, in our defense, I will tell you that you just can't get this kind of food in Idaho. A few pounds just may be worth the experience ;) We traveled quite a bit this week for exchanges, District Meetings, then had to get an oil change on the van and then some more things were wrong with it so it had to stay at in the shop for longer than anticipated, just a lot of these menial things! But we were still able to see quite a few people this week, I'll tell ya about a few:

   We met with the Baldassarra's family, they said they have been struggling to feel the Spirit that past month and they have not been to Church, and have stopped reading their scriptures and praying together each day. So they recognized the need for change, and when we came over we studied 1 Nephi 8, Lehi's dream with them. It was a really good lesson, the kids who are 14 and 10 were really getting it, and figuring out what they needed to do to start feeling better in their lives! We had a great discussion with them about holding fast to the word of God, which means studying the written word of ancient and modern prophets daily, praying diligently daily, and coming to Church to partake of the fruit (The Sacrament) and hear the spoken word weekly. Really hope they continue to increase in their desire to repent, Brother Baldassarra is struggling with smoking again, it's a tough one to overcome! I know that if he tries his hardest to quit, the Lord will give him divine aid, or grace, to overcome his weakness.

   Went on an exchange in Sterling Heights this week with Elder Bagley, he's a farm boy from Victor Idaho! Great missionary, I was happy to work with him. We went out to go finding at the end of the evening, we knocked on this door at about 8:15pm and a young adult woman opened and we started talking with her, asking questions about her religious background and things like that and it turns out she had a lot of questions herself about God and how to know which path to follow in life. She talked about knowing that following God was right, but that with so many people around her, the media, music, almost all of them dismissing the fact that God even exists, and that if they say that He does exist most of them don't do anything about it to change their behavior! She struggles to know where she stands and which direction to take in her life. There are a lot of voices in the world today trying to blind us spiritually and deafen our ears to the Gospel! She described I believe, what Lehi saw in his dream, 1 Nephi 8:21-23

"And I saw numberless concourses of people, many of whom were pressing forward, that they might obtain the path which led unto the tree by which I stood. And it came to pass that they did come forth, and commence in the path which led to the tree. And it came to pass that there arose a mist of darkness; yea, even an exceedingly great mist of darkness, insomuch that they who had commenced in the path did lose their way, that they wandered off and were lost."

We were able to testify to her that God in His infinite mercy and love for all of His children has restored His truth to the Earth once more in these latter days, and that this Church and this Gospel is what she is searching for. It never ceases to amaze me being an eyewitness of the truthfulness of this scripture in D&C 123:12 "For there are many yet on the earth among all sects, parties, and denominations, who are blinded by the subtle craftiness of men, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, and who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it—"

   I know that there are many souls within our individual reach who also fulfill this scripture. May we seek them out and help bring them to the knowledge of the truth is my desire for all of us. I'll do it here in Detroit, you do it wherever you may be. I love you all so much! I'm grateful for my mission and the plethora of experiences I have had that have allowed me to know, of a  surety, that Our Redeemer does live today, and that He speaks and acts through His living Prophets. Have an amazing week! 

Elder Goff

Yep, some more food. Soul Food, that is. Catfish and Mac n' Cheese :) :) :)

Talk with EVERYONE!!

Hello Family and Friends,

We had a great week!! On Sunday a youth named Ben Price came up to us at Church and told us that he needed to set up an appointment to go with us to see this girl that he used to go to school with to teach her about The Book of Mormon! We set it up and went with him, it was really great, she's very sincere, with little to no background in religion. Ready to learn and apply what we teach. She is amazing! 

   Another miracle that happened was a member referred us to his neighbor who was a member of the remnant Church! We went and helped him out with some spring cleaning in his garage and talked/taught as we did so. We were able to clear up some misconceptions about what The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes and practices, and the Why's behind why we do, and he was very interested! Said he even wanted to attend Church with us this next week! He was a cool, it'll be neat to help bring him to the light of the fullness of The Gospel. Interesting thing about him though he said, "First and foremost in my faith is Joseph Smith, I follow him, I know He is a Prophet." Elder Ferguson and I commented to each other about how that is probably where a lot of the break off Churches went wrong, they started worshiping or idolizing the Prophet instead of recognizing him as an instrument or mouthpiece for our Savior Jesus Christ. He is the first in foremost in MY faith, I can't imagine it not being that way. 

   Something pretty funny/interesting that happened this week was just yesterday morning, hahaha so funny, here it is: SO we had an appointment set up with this lady named Verna on Sundaymorning at 11am. We get a call from her that morning during personal study and she said, "I've decided to go with the Islam faith, you don't need to come over today." So we told her to check outmormon.org and that we hope we could see her another time. We had just set up this appointment with her last Wednesday or something, we thought that was a pretty dramatic change of course direction for her in only 4 days! Hahaha then we get another call 15 minutes after that first call, and it's Verna again! She says, "I went to mormon.org right after we got off the phone and I felt there was truth there, how can I get a Book of Mormon??" So we ask her if we could come for our original appointment time at 11am and she said yes! So we saw her, taught The Restoration, and she just threw down TONS of questions, deep ones too! She didn't just want to know what we believed but why we believed it. It all made sense to her, and we are seeing her again soon. The Holy Ghost worked quickly with her as she accepted our invitation to check out the website, and now she's on a journey to learn the truth for herself! 

   I know the Lord works mighty miracles as we exercise faith and diligence! I'm grateful for the experiences I've had on my mission and exhort any of you who question whether or not to serve, to do so. But first, ask God if you should. Then read the Prophet's exhortations to do so, especially you young men. Then recognize the blessings you've received because of The Gospel in your life. After that it will be an easy call. After you have experienced the soothing balm of The Atonement of Jesus Christ, and the peace that comes from living His teachings, the natural response is to share it with others. I love this Gospel and this work! It truly is the very work of God upon the face of the Earth.

   I've changed a lot on my mission and will continue too! I'm grateful for the opportunity I have to serve.

Elder Goff

The pics are of some stickers on cars I've seen the past week, a maple donut bacon double cheeseburger, my boy Elder Yorgason from the great ID, and a sticker for this brand in Detroit that's pretty funny.  Also a picture of all the missionaries that went home with Elder Whetzel.

Great Week with a Great Companion!!!

Hello Family and Friends,

I love Elder Ferguson! He is a stud! So happy to be serving with him. Missionary companionships thrive when both companions have the same goal, "immortality and the Eternal Life of man." When they are both focused on that goal, then our thoughts, actions, and desires are in harmony with each other and with God. So even with our differences in interests, the way we were raised back home, etc., we can be tools in the hands of God together! 

   One evening this week we went on splits with some members of the High Priest Group here in Livonia and I went with the Stake Patriarch! It was a great experience, it's amazing to be with someone who has lived the Gospel their whole life and whose very being resembles that of our Savior Jesus Christ. Such strong faith, many Christlike Attributes developed, those are the people you are just drawn to and you want to be around! My Mom is one of those kinds of people too. Full of love and charity, kindness, gentleness, goodness, and faith. I'm glad I was able to go out and work with him!

   We met one of our investigators Shane's wife this week. We talked with her through the door and she expressed how the last few years of her life have been super rough, her Mom passes away fairly abruptly, major family problems and concerns, just some really difficult times and trials she's been through lately. We asked her about her relationship with God, she said she was mad at Him at times, but that she wants to mend her relationship with him. We read Matthew 11:28-30 with her, and asked her what it would mean to her if she could have Christ lift her burdens. While shedding tears she exclaimed that that would be wonderful! Incredible! It would mean the world to her if she could just go one day without experiencing the searing emotional and spiritual anguish of the loss of one's Mother. We are going back soon to show her the Plan of Happiness that God has for us. Imagine how many people that YOU know, who may be carrying around these sort of burdens! I think most people have them, rarely do they make them known unto us though. And they do not know that Christ can bind up and heal their so personal wounds; Spiritual, Emotional, Physical, no matter the nature of the infirmity, Jesus Christ can run to one's aid, and cover them with his healing grace. 

   On Saturday evening Elder Ferguson and I had an appointment cancel and we had about an hour and a half to go tracting. But then we get a text! It was a referral from a member in Arizona! He knew this woman that lives in our area through work at Hewlett Packard. They've never met in person of course, but this lady expressed some personal concerns to this member in AZ, and he taught her about the Restoration of Christ's Gospel and Church. About salvation for the dead, and all of God's children! We prayed and asked if we should go contact the referral right then that night, and we felt positive about it. So we went and had an amazing experience with her!! She's going through so much right now, any type of stress you could think of, she's felt it over the past year or so. The anguish she has experienced is something only The Savior could know how to relieve. To add to the story, both Elder Ferguson and I prayed that very morning that we would be sent to one of God's elect children, who will be willing to act on the Gospel message we share. She is so sincere and seeking for the truth, we're so excited to continue teaching her and seeing her progress in the Gospel.

   There were other miracles that happened this week but I don't have time to tell you about them!! This is The Lord's work. He directs it, and if we are faithful and diligent, he will make us tools in His hands. I testify of each of your ability to bring others to a knowledge of the truth! You can facilitate incredible changes in peoples' lives by helping them receive the restored Gospel! All you must do is be willing to talk with all those that you meet. Develop relationships of trust and love with others, and pretty soon they will start to ask you questions like, "what makes you different??" "Why are you so happy??" or "What would you do in this situation in my life?" These opportunities will surely come to all who have desires to be a part of The Lord's work. (D&C 4)

   I love you all!! Please let me know about the missionary experiences each of you have! I hope you all feel The Savior's love this week.

Elder Goff

New Companion and the best Companion, the Holy Ghost!

Hello friends and Family,

My new companion is Elder Ferguson! He's a stud, I love him already. We work well together! We actually served around each other in the Ypsilanti ward so it's not like I'm getting to know a brand new person. I'm looking forward to the time I get to spend with him. We had a busy week administratively with transfers and all that jazz. But we were still able to work in our area a bit so we were happy about that. A couple of experiences that stick out in my mind from this last week: 

   We went tracting Tuesday evening, it was about 8:45pm. We went somewhere close to our apartment and discovered some streets we didn't even know were there before! So we felt prompted to go down a certain one and we see this Father outside with his son on the driveway. We go up to talk with him and he is a super friendly guy. Says he's Catholic and that he's not looking to change so we asked him if he knew anybody who may be struggling in their life right now who we could go uplift. He said the first thought that came to mind was a house a ways down the street on the corner. So we go back to contact this referral in a couple of days and this lady answers the door. She answers it by saying something to the effect of: "It has been a crazy day! I'm fried! Gimme the word!" Hahahahahaha not a Detroiter or anything just a woman willing to hear the word of God. So we taught her the Restoration! You could tell her gears were turning as we discussed the reality of Christ's original Church on the Earth today. Set up a return appointment with her for this Tuesday. If we always talk with everyone and ask them for referrals whether they're interested or not, The Lord provides us with people who have been prepared to receive the Gospel.

   Another happened Sunday evening at about 8pm. We chose a spot to go tracting as impressed by the Spirit and as we arrived I realized that I had never been to this place in our area before! It was kind of a hidden street, tucked away in the foliage surrounding a canal. Elder Ferguson says as we walk up to the first house, "These people are going to let us in! We are going to teach them The Restoration." We had faith and knocked on the door. This guy and his young daughter (probably about 10 years old) answered. We explained what we were sharing and started to teach them a little bit. The daughter was feeling the Spirit and you could see it on her face!! Such a big smile and a longing look towards her Dad, as if her spirit was saying, "let them in. What they have to share is good, and right!" However her Dad rejected the offer to learn more. We even re-asked him if he was interested in 2 other different ways. He still said he would like to pass. After he did this, his daughter piped up and said, "Your going to regret this Dad! They're trying to talk to you about Jesus more and you won't let them! Why not?? I can't handle this!" And she left, embarrassed for her Father's response. I then had a prompting to testify to him that his daughter had felt the Spirit and that God wanted him to hear us out, and that it would bring great blessings o his family. However I shrunk from this prompting! He said goodbye and as we left the door I felt this feeling of emptiness enter my heart and I asked God if He would like us to go back and give him one more shot, to try to "enter in by another way" as Alma of old was commanded. I didn't have a strong impression to do so and Elder Ferguson didn't feel strongly that we should either so we started to drive away to our next appointment. About halfway to our appointment I reasoned within my mind, that ALL good things come from God. Would I think of myself to go back and talk with this man again and try to convince him by the power of the Spirit that he should listen to our message?? Maybe, but even so, that is a GOOD THING. Therefore, it is of God. So I said, "We need to go back. We did, and as he opened the door I said, "Long time no see George!" and I explained that we didn't feel that we gave him enough information for him to make an informed decision whether to accept or reject our offer. We testified to him that his daughter had felt The Holy Ghost, and that the restored Gospel would bless his life. I felt the Spirit strongly right then, assuring me that we had made the right choice and that that original prompting to come back was of God. I know he felt the Spirit at that moment as well, as his countenance softened and he accepted to study and pray about the Restoration pamphlet that we gave him. We gave him our number and offered to help him with some yardwork he had to do and he said he would call us! 

   I know that if we follow the promptings of the Spirit courageously, then God will back us up with HIS power. I love The Lord and His work! May we all follow Him and the promptings He so freely gives us.

Elder Goff

Elder Ferguson and Elder Goff