{Letter #105} Rejoice in Christ

 Hi everyone! This has been another amazing week! Miracles come when we continue faithful!

I head home on Wednesday, so this will be the last email of my mission, as such  I will keep it short and sweet this week!

It is my testimony that Christ is the source of all lasting joy! Like Moroni said, I know that "every good gift cometh of Christ".

Christ lives and speaks today. He has once again restored His gospel to the earth, or in other words the good news of Christ is on the earth again!

Joseph Smith was called of God to be the first prophet of the Restoration and to translate The Book of Mormon-Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

The Book of Mormon combined with the Spirit will help any person who sincerely studies it to see God's power in their life!

Nephi taught:

"We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins" (2 Nephi, 25:26)

Look to Christ and find that joy!

If you have any questions about my mission or the church please reach out to me and tune in to my homecoming talk this Sunday (see details in attachement)! I'd love to talk to any and all of you!

Love,
Elder Goold

{Letter #104} Be A Humble Sponge

Hi everyone! I hope you all have had an awesome week! What was something good that has happened?

This week was great! We had some amazing lessons, exchanges, my last Mission Leadership Council (MLC) of the mission, and a training from Sister Botchway!

First of all, our lesson with the Montiels this week was amazing!

We went over the restoration with them! They were all feeling the Spirit confirm it to them! Sadly, I won't have the chance to meet with them again before I finish my mission in about a week. I think that they will soon accept a date to be baptized though! The Spirit does amazing things when people feel it, recognize it, and act on it!

We had some more exchanges--kinda the normal at this point. I was once again in my old area, and got to see some of the people I worked with and taught in the past. Always an awesome experience! Especially when they have grown in their faith in Christ since last time talking. Kinda an Alma 17:2-3 type of experience!

In this last MLC they talked a lot about obedience. Our mission presidency all got up to talk and something that really stuck with me was this principle:

It is easier to be 100% obedient than 99% or less.

When are completely obedient God promises us many things. Here are 2 specific verses that I like:

"And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it" (Mosiah, 2:41).

"There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated— And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated" (Doctrine & Covenants, 130:20-21).

Any blessing we see in our life come from living our covenants and doing what we can to follow Christ!

One of the counselors also talked about being a humble sponge. Soak up everything we can from everyone we meet! Soak up what we can from the Spirit and what He teaches you. Then act in faith on what you have learned trusting that God will guide you. It's a good pattern for life.

My spiritual thought for this week is pretty simple and it's about Christ's love for us.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John, 15:13).

"We love him, because he first loved us" (1 John, 4:19).

"If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John, 14:15)

Jesus loves us and asks us to follow Him to show our love to Him! And we do He will bless us to feel more of His love each day!

Have a great week! I am praying for you all. Let me know if I can do anything for you.

Love,
Elder Goold

Elder Duersch and me on exchanges

a pretty sunflower

A glimpse at our family phone call today:  (Me in Mount Hood, Cam, Lucie, and Oliver just back from a long walk in Alabama, Mom at home in Alpine, Spence at home, Ellie at home)

{Letter #103} Grace for Grace

Hi everyone! I hope you all have had a great week! What is something exciting that happened this week? This has been another remarkable one here in Gresham!

We had the temple, interviews with President Botchway, lots of exchanges, cool referrals, and even received a plant from a random man!

First off, we went to the temple today! The temple was closed for a while and it's been 4-5 months since I last went and I was missing it! If you haven't gone yet, or haven't gone recently, please go! It will help you feel more of God's peace in your life!

 Between some amazing teaching experiences we've had and  some cool referrals, this past week has been awesome! We had a few great first lessons with people who have committed to read the Book of Mormon and seem very interested in learning more! We also received a referral for a guy from Texas! He is up here in Oregon about 50% of the time and wanted a church to go to. We called him, gave him the address, and shared a little verse with him. Then this Sunday he actually came to church! That doesn't happen too often (not here anyways) with people who refer themselves. It was cool! He loved it and we loved it!

We got to go on some exchanges this past week also--both with Elders I have served around for at least 6 months now. It's been awesome to see how much they have grown in that time! Missions are awesome for growth and learning! It's a  great time to dedicate yourself to growing closer to Christ and helping others to do so as well!

On Saturday night we were biking to visit a friend of ours when a random guy shouted at us to stop from inside his garage. He was super nice, not too interested in talking more about the gospel though. He had been trying to sell a plant called "Love Lies Bleeding" all day and only had one customer. He wanted to give us one for free to thank us for what we were out doing. Kinda a funny interaction, but it's a pretty plant!

Lastly, we had interviews yesterday. This was my last one with President Botchway before I go home. It was really good! He gave a lot of great life advice on a lot of different topics, but mostly on how to remain a disciple of Jesus Christ when I get home from my mission!

For my spiritual thought for this week I wanted to share a couple verses that have been on my mind. In Luke 2:52 it teaches:

"And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man."

Then in Doctrine & Covenants 93:11-13

"I beheld his glory, as the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, even the Spirit of truth, which came and dwelt in the flesh, and dwelt among us.
And I, John, saw that he received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace;
And he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness"

And lastly in Doctrine & Covenants 93:19

"For if you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fulness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace."

I love these sequence of verses! Jesus himself learned and grew. He did not start out as all that He was destined to become and in that same way, we too can and must grow!

As we are obedient and seek to follow Christ we can grow grace for grace just as He did!

I hope you all have a great week! Let me know if I can do anything for you!

Love,
Elder Goold

A glimpse at our family phone call this week: (Dad, Mom, and Ellie at home, me in Mount Hood)   

{letter #102} Rain in Portland? Unbelievable.

Hi everyone! I hope all of you are doing great! What is something cool that's happened lately?

It's been a great week here in Mt. Hood! Not a lot in the way of eventful things but here's what happened: some lessons, we got rain!, more time in Damascus, and some fun kids!

First off, we had some awesome lessons with our friends this week! Several of our friends are preparing to be baptized soon and are working hard to get to that point. They could all use some extra prayers right now. So if you could keep Lori, Wendy, Ashley, Jen, and Edgar in your prayers that would be great!

We had several instances this last week where we had little kids ask us what we were doing (while knocking at someone's door), after we told them we were missionaries and talk about Jesus they then point us to several houses to visit! All of which invited us back! That is crazy! God works in many ways to lead us to the people who He has prepared, we just need to be willing to be lead.

I got to spend some more time in my first area again. Saw another couple people that I had worked with early on in my mission. It's a really special experience to see how people have continued to learn and grow in the last 18 months.

We got rained on yesterday! It's quite an experience getting rained on while on a bike, but it was actually a lot of fun! For as much rain as we get during certain times of the year, it weirdly doesn't often rain this time of year here in Portland, so it was a fun change.

My spiritual thought for this week is going to be from Moroni's teachings in Ether 12 in The Book of Mormon-Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Moroni taught:

"And again, I remember that thou hast said that thou hast loved the world, even unto the laying down of thy life for the world, that thou mightest take it again to prepare a place for the children of men. And now I know that this love which thou hast had for the children of men is charity; wherefore, except men shall have charity they cannot inherit that place which thou hast prepared in the mansions of thy Father."

I love how simply this teaches about Christ's love! He loves you enough to lay down His own life for you!

We must have the pure love of Christ in our lives to return to our Father! It's a lifelong process that is made possible through Jesus Christ! As we strive to follow Him we will be filled with that love!

I hope you all have a great week! I am praying for you!

Love,
Elder Goold

Pics from this week: 

Hiked to Latourell Falls today 

Got to ride in a Cybertruck this week!  

A glimpse at our family call this week (me in Mount Hood, Mom, Dad, Ellie, and Denali in Saint George, Spence at home, Cami and Lucie in the car in Birmingham, Emma in Provo) :  

{Letter #101} Creator of All Things

 Hi everyone! I hope that you all have had a great week! What is something you're looking forward to? It's been a pretty good one here! We had zone conference, some exchanges, awesome lessons, and fun training things!

First of all, zone conference was awesome!

President Botchway talked a lot about the importance of becoming converted to Jesus Christ and the importance of focusing on him in everything we do! It was awesome!

What are some ways that you all focus on Christ every day?

On exchanges I got to go back to my very first area.... Boring, Oregon! It was awesome! I didn't see too many people that I knew while I was here, but it was still cool to be back. Kinda a full circle moment!

The people that we are working with here are awesome! There are a good number of people that are really close to accepting a baptismal date. If you could be praying for the Montiel family, Ashley, Blessing, Viola, and Wendy that would be great! The members in this ward are really great at connecting with our friends and being a part of their lives so it's always great to bring them along and see them become friends!

This week in training we have had all sorts of fun things. It's still a work in progress helping Elder Guymon, but he has already grown a lot! Working with new missionaries is awesome because they always give such simple and powerful testimonies! It's been awesome!

My spiritual thought for this week is going to be from Alma's teachings to his son Helaman in The Book of Mormon-Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Alma taught:

"I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise."

I love this principle! The Lord can do great things in our life but it often comes by small and simple means. This also applies to our own efforts! When we put forth small but consistent efforts, we will be able to make big changes!

I hope you all have a great week! I am praying for all of you!

Love,
Elder Goold 

Here are some photos from this week:

A cute duck family

P-day trip to Costco after a trip to the doctor for his comp earlier.  Rotisserie chickens were purchased...

Departing missionaries from my zone, along with President and Sister Botchway.

  I've been comps with three of them (Nielson, Moore, and Crum)

Another departing missionary shot...

A glimpse at our family phone call this week: (me in Gresham/Mount Hood, Mom at home, Spence at home--Dad was driving to Saint George, Emma, Cami, and Garrett were at work, Ellie is in the middle of finals week)