Elder Carlos A. Godoy — 'I Believe in Angels': The Mortal Angels Who Saved a Brazilian Teenager's Conversion (c. 1970s–2020)

Elder Carlos A. Godoy, a General Authority Seventy who served in the Presidency of the Seventy, shared his remarkable conversion story in the October 2020 General Conference address titled "I Believe in Angels." His testimony is a powerful modern witness that the Lord sends angels — not only heavenly beings from the other side of the veil, but mortal angels walking among us — to guide His children into the restored gospel.

Elder Godoy was a young man in Brazil when the gospel first came into his life. His parents were not willing to have the missionaries in their home, so he took the missionary lessons in a Church building. The first "angels" in his conversion were two sister missionaries: Sister Vilma Molina and Sister Ivonete Rivitti. He called them "the first angels that I will mention" — the ones who taught him the gospel. One month after these sister missionaries introduced him to the gospel, he was baptized.

But his conversion was not without struggle. As a new member, he felt uncomfortable and uncertain trying to fit into his new religion. He found the courage to participate in a three-day youth conference, hoping to make new friends. This is when the Lord sent him another saving angel: a young woman named Mônica Brandão.

She was new in the area, having moved from another part of Brazil. She quickly got Elder Godoy's attention and accepted him as a friend. He said she "looked at me more from the inside than the outside." Because she befriended him, he was introduced to her friends, who became his friends. They enjoyed many youth activities together.

Then two additional mortal angels were sent by the Lord: a seminary teacher who gave him a "daily dose of the good word of God" (Moroni 6:4), and a Young Men president named Marco Antônio Fusco who gave him assignments to teach and go on home teaching visits, trusting him "more than I trusted myself."

Thanks to all these mortal angels, Elder Godoy received enough strength to remain on the covenant path and gained a spiritual witness of the truth. And that young angel girl, Mônica? After they both served missions, she became his wife.

Elder Godoy's conversion stands as a powerful witness that:

— The Lord sends angels to help those who are seeking the truth. Not all angels are from the other side of the veil. Some walk among us, "so good and so pure that angelic is the only word that comes to mind" (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland).

— Sister missionaries can be the first angels the Lord sends. Elder Godoy credited Sister Molina and Sister Rivitti as the angels who first brought the gospel into his life.

— Fellowshipping angels are essential to conversion. Without Mônica's friendship, Elder Godoy might not have stayed. The Lord knew exactly what he needed and sent the right person at the right time.

— Leaders who trust and give assignments are angels. Marco Antônio Fusco trusted the young convert more than the convert trusted himself — a powerful example of how priesthood leaders can be angels in the lives of new members.

Elder Godoy concluded his conference address with a call to action: "Brothers and sisters, I believe in angels! We are all here today, a giant army of angels set apart for these latter days, to minister to others as extensions of the hands of a loving Creator. He knows who needs angelic help, and He will put them in our path. The Lord puts those who need angelic help in our path daily."

His conversion story is a powerful modern testament that the Lord is actively involved in bringing His children to the gospel, and that He does so through mortal angels — missionaries, friends, teachers, and leaders — who are willing to be instruments in His hands.