Football and the Gospel.

So the other day I thought back to my high school times.  More specifically,  about the Football team I was able to be a part of my senior year.  I remember long before we were actually together when I was a senior we all started playing together in 7th grade.  We all loved the game, we loved playing as a team.  Seeing the things that could happen when we would play as a team.  Seeing the great things we could accomplish individually when we would listen to what the coach told us to do, and what we had practiced all week before we went out Friday under the lights.  I remember having an English class my freshman year.  We had a writing assignment and I remember myself and Casimiro Zarate our great running back and line backer writing about taking state someday.  So, as you can see this is something we wanted for yourselves.  A goal we wanted to accomplish.  It was only through working as a team and listening to what our coaches taught us.  Then going out on the field and fulfilling the assignments we had practiced all week that we would ever be able to meet that goal.  We eventually met that goal.  It wasn't easy, we never expected it would be.  We truly had to work hard, study our defensive scheme for the week, listen to our coaches.  There were so many things we had to do to make it happen.  One of the best coaches I had would ask us often as we watched game film when we made a mistake because we didn't fulfill our job, "How did that work for you?"  We would usually then say, "It didn't coach."  And he would then say, "All right, well how about we do it my way next time."  To which we would agree and do it the way we had been coached.
All of these things I learned playing football can apply to the Gospel as well.  We know what we need to do to reach our goal of living with God and Jesus Christ again.  We know when we do it our way it doesn't work.  We have to work at it everyday.  We have to study, pray, go to church.  There are things that God tells us to do and we disregard it.  Which doesn't bring us happiness.  When we get it right is when we feel joy.  I hope that when we see others down we will help them up, and be a team.  We are all in this together.  I am grateful for the great friends and coaches that helped teach me about these things.  We must fulfill our jobs, and make our goals happen.  READY...BREAK.

Elder Austin Gene Goff #3