{letter #71} Have a Very Merry Christmas!

Hi everyone! Merry Christmas! I hope you all have had a fantastic day (and week)! It's been a super busy week here between MLC, Mission Christmas devotional, exchanges, and today.

All those were seriously awesome! But today I just want to bear my testimony of Jesus Christ!

He lives!

Jesus Christ lived a matchless, sinless, and perfect life! He performed His great and infinite atonement on behalf of you! He has restored His priesthood and His church, through the prophet Joseph Smith, on the earth so we have a way to return to our Heavenly Father!

All things Christ did were on our behalf so we can obtain God's greatest gift of eternal life (Doctrine & Covenants 14:7).

Christ loves you individually and specifically! Turn to Him! Find His Joy! He will bless you and help you!

I hope you all are doing well! Have a merry Christmas! I love you all! Please let me know if I can do anything or pray for anything for you!

Love,
Elder Goold

Watching for falling walnuts...

Christmas gifts...Names of Christ ornaments, 12 days of Christmas caramels, lots of ties....

{letter #70} Jesus is the Living Christ!

Hi everyone! I hope you all are great! This week has been awesome! We had a great zone council, transfers, and an awesome Christmas concert!

Zone council was seriously so fun! We did it just before transfers happened, so it was a great way to reflect on the last transfer and everything that has happened. We talked a bunch about the Doctrine of Christ and how we can apply it to our life. It was very beneficial! I would invite you to study and apply it to yours as well!

Transfers was Friday! I'm staying in the same area with Elder Shaw! This is only the second time on my mission that I'll be with a companion for 2 transfers. Or 12 weeks. It's kinda crazy. It's gonna be a blast though! It's Elder Shaw's last transfer. We are ready to put in some hard work!

Lastly, the choir concert was amazing! Lots of Christmas songs. And lots of people from past areas I've served. We tried to get a friend that we are teaching to come because he loves music. But he didn't come unfortunately. It was still great!

My spiritual thought for this week is from "The Living Christ"

"We bear testimony, as His duly ordained Apostles—that Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son."

I love this! Christ is the light and life of the world! This time of year is special because of the extra light in each of our lives through Christ!

Study His life! Express gratitude for it! You will feel the happiness and peace that only He can bring!

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

Love,
Elder Goold

 

 A glimpse at our family phone call this week:   (Ellie, Mom, and Spence in Alpine; Me in Tualatin; Emma in Provo; Garrett, Lucie, and Cam in B-ham; Dad was in a meeting and couldn't get on)

{Letter #69} Exponential Encouragement

Hi everyone! This week has been so good! We got to go on 2 exchanges, had a meeting with our Stake President, going to the temple, and two ward Christmas parties!

It's been a crazy week! Exchanges were so much fun! I got to bike in the pouring rain all day Wednesday. That was fun. We got to talk about so many good things between those two Elders! A specific theme between them was relying on Jesus Christ!

Christ will Heal us. Encourage us. Uplift us. Guide us. Comfort us. Strengthen us.

"And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember that every good gift cometh of Christ"(Moroni, 10:18).

It was cool talking with them about that and how that applies to missionary work. How they can apply that to their own conversion, the conversion of other missionaries, the conversion of all God's children!

We had a meeting with our Stake president on Sunday. He shared John 13:34-35. Christ taught:

"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another"

Love one another! It is a commandment.

President Dummer (our stake president here) said:

"When we show love, we feel God's love"

It's true!

The Christmas parties were awesome! One was a Hawaiian themed brunch. The other was a formal dinner. Both the same day. Both awesome!

Both wards have so many people filled with love!

My Spiritual thought for this week is Moroni 7:48. I've shared it before. But it's awesome. Mormon taught:

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen."

Pray for love! Christ will bless you forever!  Find one way to love someone this Christmas season!

I love all of you! Have a great week! Let me know if I can do anything for you all!

Love,
Elder Goold

 

 

 

 

 

A glimpse at our family phone call today:  Ellie freshly back home in Alpine, Mom in Alpine, me in the car on the way home from an activity, Spencer just back from the gym, Emma in Provo.  Missing:  Dad (at dinner with his brother), Cami (at work), Lucie (probably sleeping), Garrett (at work)

{Letter #68} Joy to the World

Hi Everyone!
I hope you all have had a great week! It's been a great week full of rain here! Here's some things that happened: interviews with President Botchway, training from Sister Botchway, some exchanges, and lastly the First Presidency's Christmas devotional!

I'll start with the First Presidency Christmas devotional. It was really really really good. If you have not had the chance to watch It. I encourage all of you to go watch It. The words of a living prophet are amazing and they allow us to look more to Jesus Christ and find joy!

Second off, interviews and training by President and Sister Botchway. Those were awesome. They talked a lot about faith and the importance of having faith in Jesus Christ and in doing his work. Because if we don't have faith, then we're trying to make it our work, which it's not!

Lastly, exchanges were awesome. We were able to find a few  people to teach and we discussed how we can always increase our faith in Jesus Christ. So it was a very, very good exchange.

From my spiritual thought and it's going to share a little something from the "Living Christ," which I've been reading a lot recently.  {Note from Mom:  He's been reading it a lot lately, because he just finished memorizing it.}

It says:

" We solemnly testify that His life, which is central to all human history, neither began in Bethlehem nor concluded on Calvary. He was the First Born of the Father, the Only Begotten Son in the flesh, the Redeemer of the World."

Jesus Christ can bring us more joy than anything else! Turn to Him! He loves you and will bring you that Joy!

Love you all! Have a great week! Let me know if I cam do anything for you!

Love,
Elder Goold

PS Here's a glimpse at our family phone call today:  Me in Tualatin, Mom and Cami in Alabama, Emma in Provo, Dad in Saint George, and Spence at home in Alpine.