Farewell Talk July 30th 2023 

Hello Brothers and Sisters. My name is Gavin Goodman and I have been assigned to labor in the Liberia Monrovia mission. I begin my at home MTC experience tomorrow morning and leave for the Provo MTC on August 9th. I will then report to my mission in Liberia on August 25th. Throughout this process of preparing for my mission, one thing that has really stood out to me is how much the Spirit has comforted and guided me. Some days have been more difficult than others whether I’m feeling excited to start my mission or having a nervous breakdown, but one consistent influence I feel every day is the Holy Spirit comforting me and reminding me that my mission is exactly what I need to do and exactly what I need in my life. At first when I received my call, I wasn’t altogether reassured that Africa was where I was needed. I mean lets be honest, I wanted to go somewhere beautiful like New Zealand, Europe, or even go back to Thailand. However, that night as I knelt in prayer, I asked Heavenly Father to help comfort and reassure me that Liberia was where I was needed as a missionary. As an immediate answer, I was reminded and directed to read the section in my patriarchal blessing where it talks about my mission. As I began reading, this line was as if it was illuminated by a light, highlighting what I needed to see at that time. It reads, “You will be called to serve and assigned to people who are ready to hear the message of the gospel.” Brothers and Sisters from that moment on, I have never felt more sure about my mission assignment. Every day I think of the Liberian people I will be able to serve, teach, and impact but also the influence they will have on me as I learn more about the gospel and grow my testimony. I cannot wait to meet my new eternal friends that I will be able to teach this wonderful and restored gospel. 

Before I begin my topic today, I would like to talk a little about what has made me want to serve a mission. In the Aaronic Priesthood Quorum Theme it states, “I will prepare to become a diligent missionary…” and also to “prepare the world for the Savior’s return by inviting all to come unto Christ and receive the blessings of His Atonement.” As I have strived to remain a diligent, faithful, and worthy priesthood holder, I have been preparing for a mission for all my life. Being an Aaronic priesthood holder, I have come to realize the importance and duty that I have to be a missionary. Now as I have received the Melchizedek priesthood, I still strive every day to serve others and use my priesthood to bless and impact others. Service is an integral part of being a missionary and priesthood holder. It is a sacred privilege to serve the Lord as a missionary. As I have served throughout my life, I have come to know that service not only blesses those we serve, but everyone around them. Service has a way of connecting others in a very special way. It surrounds us with love and also the Spirit. It is a feeling that I treasure very much. Now, I have the opportunity to serve my brothers and sisters in Africa for two whole years and be able to share that feeling we get as we serve, and also the true and restored gospel on this Earth. 

As some of you know, last summer I had the opportunity to travel to Thailand on a humanitarian trip known as HXP. I lived in Thailand for almost three weeks where I spent my time building a schoolhouse for children that had almost nothing. From day one, they shared so much of so little that they had. Their example of serving me and my group even as we were serving them built and grew my testimony of service and its power. However, the most critical, life changing moment that made me realize why I wanted to serve a mission occurred in sacrament meeting. As the handful of priesthood holders prepared, blessed, and passed the sacrament, I was overwhelmed by the Spirit. As they blessed the sacrament and said the sacrament prayer in Thai, I realized how amazing and true this gospel is. Even on the other side of the world in a completely different society and culture, our Heavenly Father’s latter day church remains the same. He loves all His children and knows every one of us individually, probably better than we know ourselves. This divine truth is an enormous and powerful part of my testimony that I cannot wait to share as a missionary. 

In one of my missionary interviews with Bishop, he asked me a question. “How has the Atonement of Jesus Christ helped to prepare you to serve a mission?” As I have reflected and asked myself this question throughout the months I’ve been preparing to leave, all I can feel is pure love of Christ and His love towards me. I can’t help but get emotional when I think of all the things he has done for me and all of you. His Atonement has always been the foundation of my testimony and it has only grown throughout my life. His ultimate sacrifice remains a part of all of us no matter where we are in this world. The Atonement of Jesus Christ can often be divided into two separate parts. His suffering for our sins in Gethsemane and His crucifixion on Calvary. Brothers and sisters I would like to talk about each of these sections and not only discuss how they have helped to prepare me for a mission, but how they can help all of His children, and why it is so important. 

Jesus Christ’s Atonement was planned long before we came upon this Earth. “The Fall of Adam brought two kinds of death into the world: physical death and spiritual death. Physical death is separation of the body and spirit. Spiritual death is separation from God. If these two kinds of death had not been overcome by Jesus Christ’s Atonement, two consequences would have resulted: our bodies and our spirits would have been separated forever, and we could not have lived again with our Heavenly Father.” Elder McConkie once said, “Nothing in the entire plan of salvation compares in any way in importance with that most transcendent of all events, the atoning sacrifice of our Lord. It is the most important single thing that has ever occurred in the entire history of created things.” Brothers and Sisters, how amazing is that! The single most important event in history is at our fingertips if we just ask our Heavenly Father. As such, we should be using this remarkable gift in every instant of our lives. We may sometimes overlook the importance of His Atonement but we need to realize that it is one of God’s greatest gifts to us. It is essential to God’s plan and helps show how much He truly does love us. 

Christ’s suffering in Gethsemane occurred first between the two phases I explained earlier. On His way to the garden and before His suffering, Jesus and His disciples offered a special prayer. As He is about to suffer immense pain and anguish, Christ still focuses His prayer on others. In John 17:9 He says, “ I pray for them, for they are thine.” And then later on in verse 20, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.” Jesus Christ is about to atone for every single person that has ever lived or will live and feel the most immense pain ever felt, yet He still focuses on others as He prays to His Father. How selfless and inspiring is that! It is often said that charity is the pure love of Christ and this proves to be a perfect example of His pure love He has for us. Another example of this selfless prayer comes in 3 Nephi 19:23 it says “And now Father, I pray unto thee for them, and also for all those who shall believe on their words, that they may believe in me, that I may be in them as thou, Father, art in me, that we may be one.” In this example, Christ is asking that through His Atonement, that we can have a greater unity with Heavenly Father. Yet again, Jesus is praying for everyone selflessly. After studying and pondering these sections of the scriptures, I pondered on why so many of my prayers are about myself. Why can I not be like Christ and focus my prayers on others? These past few months as I have been preparing, I have made a habit of focusing my prayers on others. Through this process, I have noticed a significant impact on the Spirit I feel as I pray. I feel more connected not only to the Spirit but also to others. As I have been praying for the people of Liberia, I now feel connected with them already and I can already tell that they will be my new best friends as I serve them. Brothers and Sisters I encourage you all as you pray in the future, to pray on the wellbeing of others. I promise that you will feel a deeper connection with them, but your testimony of prayer will also increase. 

Another aspect of Christ’s Atoning sacrifice in Gethsemane was that Jesus had agency. Agency is an essential part of God’s plan. It is a fundamental principle of God’s plan of salvation and as such, Jesus Christ had agency during His time here on the Earth. This important aspect is that Jesus Christ had a choice on whether or not He would atone for us. He was tempted just as we are every day, but He knew that He was to follow the instructions of our Heavenly Father. I cannot imagine the amount of faith that it took for Jesus to keep on going and fulfill the Atonement. Jesus Christ is the perfect example of using moral agency to choose righteousness over self interest and sin. He didn’t leave the garden until His mission was finished because of His pure love He has for all of us. He didn’t leave then and he won’t ever leave us now. Jesus Christ will always love us and always be there alongside us as we go through our own trials in life. Throughout my life, I have had many hardships and trials. From physical pain and injuries, to losing loved family members, to never meeting loved ones, to sin, pain, and guilt, I know without a sure doubt that Jesus Christ has been there alongside me and has never left. His Atoning sacrifice and love towards me has kept me going through all these years. He knows my pains, my weaknesses, but He also knows my joy and strengths. Throughout my life, I have used His Atonement to strive to be a better man, a better brother, a better friend, a better son, a better priesthood holder. But as I have been preparing for my mission these past few months, I have used His Atonement more and more. Me and my dad have a common word that we use to describe my process of preparing for my mission. Refinement. As I have been preparing and refining myself for my mission, Jesus Christ and the Atonement have been right with me. My refining process has become more and more rewarding as I realize how amazing it is to use His Atonement. His sacrifice is meant to be used, to help all of us receive and inherit eternal life. I pray that we can all use His Atonement to better refine ourselves on a daily level to feel His love. I often wish that I could tell my past self to have become more familiar with the Atonement and been able to use it earlier to prepare for my mission. Because of the Atonement I have never felt more prepared for my mission, even though I know that I’m not nearly ready for some crazy adventures in Africa. I will never be able to repay my Brother for what He did, but I can try and be like Him. As a missionary, I will be a representative of Jesus Christ. As such, I will be using the Atonement every day so I can feel His constant influence and love and share my testimony and this gospel with others. One of my favorite parts of His Atonement is the fact that we can all use it. It is a gift God has given us because He knows we need it and He wants us to use it. Brothers and Sisters, I hope we can all make the use of His Atoning sacrifice a part of our daily lives. I promise it will bless you, grow your testimony immensely, and be able to feel our Savior’s love on a whole new level. 

The second phase of the Atonement that I would like to talk about is His Crucifixion. When we think of the Atonement, most of us think of Christ’s time in the garden of Gethsemane. However, we need to remember that His Crucifixion is another important and integral part of the Atonement. His death is vital to the plan of salvation and as such we should remember it and recognize it just as much as His suffering in Gethsemane. When Christ introduced himself to the people in the Americas after His death, He says, “Arise and come forth unto me that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.” Notice how He introduces Himself. He puts emphasis on His marks from his Crucifixion and how He was slain on the cross. Once again in Doctrine and Covenants 35:2, Jesus says, “I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was crucified for the sins of the world.” Jesus Christ often introduces himself putting emphasis on his Crucifixion because of its magnificent importance. It also shows how important it truly is to Him. It is important to note also that Jesus Christ did not die for us because He wanted the glory for Himself. Rather, He died for us because He truly does love us and He knows it is part of our Heavenly Father’s plan. Another important thought is that without His death, there would be no resurrection. Without His Resurrection, we would not be able to be saved from physical death. Seeing as this is part of Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation, Jesus Christ’s Crucifixion is vital and crucial to God’s plan. As I have studied the scriptures recently, I have realized how important Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection is to me. My testimony for His Crucifixion has multiplied and I have been able to grow my testimony of His Atonement as well. I hope we can realize the power of His death on the cross. Without it, we would not be able to be resurrected one day. I encourage you all to study this topic and pray for a sure understanding of it.

Brothers and Sisters, Jesus Christ’s Atonement is one of the most miraculous events in the history of time. It is easy to overlook its amazing and magnificent features and traits that it has. Although it is such a big event, we all can use His Atonement every day, whether it be big or small, simple or complex. I challenge each of you to try to realize its importance and try to use it in our everyday lives, even if it is a simple way. I promise that you will feel a greater love for our Savior and your testimony of the Atonement will magnify so greatly.