Commandment:
54 years ago, President David O McKay called on every member
to be a missionary. At baptism we
covenant “to stand as [a witness] of God at all times and in all things, and in
all places” (Mosiah 18:9) Many of us have also covenanted to consecrate our
time, talents, etc, to the building up of the kingdom. Elder L. Tom Perry recently said, “The bishop
holds the keys to preside over his ward mission.” (“Missionary Work in the
Digital Age”) With that said, our Bishop
has asked us to give one more hour a month than we are currently doing to
missionary work. This is not in addition
to our other covenants but will help us meet our covenants. In Bishop’s talk, he emphasized some of the
blessings that will come from missionary work, and I found it very moving. How many of us don’t like being blessed?
So we have been commanded to be missionaries and help build
the kingdom and stand as a witness of God.
This commandment is not easy and I have struggled with it in my own life
because sometimes it just seems really hard.
But in 1 Nephi 3:7 we read, “And it came to
pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the
Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the
children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish
the thing which he commandeth them.” God
will prepare a way for us too.
In Elder L. Tom
Perry’s talk, “Missionary Work in the Digital Age” he tells us to become one
with the missionaries in missionary work.
For this we need a common goal and purpose or role to play. Our goal as a ward is to have every member do
one hour a month of missionary work.
I would suggest
that our purpose as member missionaries is the same as the full-time
missionaries. In Preach My Gospel we can
learn our purpose is “to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them
receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement,
repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the
end.” We can invite anyone and everyone,
member or non-member to come closer to Jesus Christ.
We need Charity and Humility which will bring the
Spirit:
In missionary work
we need charity and humility which will bring the Spirit.
To have charity we
need to recognize what Christ and His Atonement has done for us. What blessings have come into our lives
because of the gospel? Then we can have
the desire for our friends to be equally blessed. Don’t we want the best for our friends? We need to remember that what we have is the
most precious gift we can give to our friends.
So when we invite our friends we don’t have to be pushy- we just need to
show we are inviting out of love. We
love this Church, it’s a part of our lives and we want to share it.
President
Benson gave a definition for humility in his talk, “Keys to Successful
Member-Missionary Work”, “Humility is the recognition of our dependence upon a
higher power, a constant need for the Lord’s support in His work.” When we have humility, we depend on the Lord
and have His Spirit with us more fully.
And the Spirit is the only thing that can convert a person.
I
grew up very shy. I wanted to serve a mission but I really
didn’t know how I was going to talk to people.
When I turned 21, I left to serve in the Baton Rouge, Louisiana mission
and I was terrified of speaking to people.
I prayed every day. I knew I
wanted to be a missionary, but I knew I could not do it alone. To the end of my mission, I said silent
prayers before knocking on every door.
But the Lord helped me and I saw success. Elder Neil L. Andersen said, “Our desire to share the gospel takes all of
us to our knees, and it should, because we need the Lord’s help.” (Elder Neil
L. Andersen “It’s a Miracle)
Importance of You:
The Lord needs
every one of us. There are people that
only you can touch. Elder Neil L. Andersen said, and I
quote “Brothers and sisters, as surely as the Lord has inspired more
missionaries to serve, He is also awakening the minds and opening the hearts of
more good and honest people to receive His missionaries. You already know them
or will know them. They are in your family and live in your neighborhood. They walk past
you on the street, sit by you in school, and connect with you online. You
too are an important part of this unfolding miracle. If you’re not a full-time missionary with a
missionary badge pinned on your coat, now is the time to paint one on your
heart—painted, as Paul said, ‘not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living
God.’” End quote. (It’s a Miracle,
Ensign May 2013)
People are Ready:
People are being
prepared for us to find. President
Benson said, “People are hungry for an anchor, for something that will give
them inner peace and a feeling of security.
They can’t find it in the churches of the world today. They cannot find it in our uncertain economic
system.” (President Benson “Keys to Successful Member-Missionary Work”)
He also said, “Don’t worry about being
successful. We are going to be
successful- there is no doubt about it.
The Lord has sent us to earth at the time of harvest. He does not expect us to fail. He has called no one to this work to
fail. He expects us to succeed.” And in D&C 4:4 it reads, “For behold the
field is white already to harvest; and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with
his might, the same layeth up in store that he perisheth not, but bringeth
salvation to his soul;”
On my mission I
met a man who found us. He had started
his journey for truth and a friend at work was willing to open his mouth and
share what he believed. Then he met an
inactive girl that he wanted to marry.
He came to the Church with her for his first time and found us and set
up an appointment with us. He had been
prepared. He started his search on his
own. Then a member was willing to share
and it led to us teaching him and him getting baptized. People are being prepared all around us. Sometimes they don’t even realize it because
they aren’t always looking for a new church, sometimes they are just looking
for peace or answers and if they find out that we have them it can open doors.
Ideas:
Elder Neil L Andersen said, quote, “The
Savior taught us how to share the gospel.
I like the story of Andrew, who asked, “Master, where dwellest
thou?” Jesus could have responded with
the location of where He lived. But
instead He said to Andrew, “Come and see.”
I like to think that the Savior was saying, “Come and see not only where
I live but how I live. Come and see who
I am. Come and feel the Spirit.” We don’t know everything about that day, but
we do know that when Andrew found his brother Simon, he declared, “We have
found… the Christ.” To those who show an
interest in our conversations, we can follow the Savior’s example by inviting
them to “come and see.” Some will accept
our invitation, and others will not. We
all know someone who has been invited several times before accepting an
invitation to “come and see.” Let’s also
think about those who once were with us but who now we rarely see, inviting
them to come back and see once more.” End quote. (“It’s a Miracle” Neil L. Andersen)
I
have a close friend who is Catholic and after years of trying, she is still not
a member, but in high school she came to seminary with me one morning. I invited her so she could see what I do so
early in the morning. I invited her to a
stake dance so she could see the fun I had there. She may not be a member yet, but because of
my invitations she grew to respect our Church.
She went to a Catholic University and because she had learned to trust
what I learned in Church, she turned to me for help on her religion
papers. She got A’s on all the ones I
helped her with. J
We
can also invite people to Mutual
activities, Church, the Family History center, Ward activities, Primary
activities, Scouting programs, Relief Society activities- including book club
or play group, or invite people into our homes for Family Home Evening. Invite people to come and see. Invite people to come closer to our Savior by
attending these uplifting activities with you.
Even with members, we can invite them to
attend Church more regularly or prepare to go to the temple. If we are not currently doing home or
visiting teaching, then setting aside an hour to visit the people assigned to
us, especially those less-active, I think counts if we invite them to come
back. If we are doing visiting teaching
already, then our hour “more” should be going to the next level.
We can invite people to come over for dinner
when we feed the missionaries, or to meet with the missionaries or to read the
Book of Mormon. Another way we can help
fulfill our hour a month is to host a missionary lesson. The Mission President here wants to emphasize
getting investigators into the members’ homes.
Offer to host a lesson with someone the missionaries already know. This can be very valuable in missionary work,
even if you don’t know the person ahead of time. When an investigator has a lesson in your
home, the Spirit is magnified because they feel both the spirit brought from
the lesson the missionaries teach and the Spirit we create as families in our
home. It also helps investigators see
how the Church has blessed your life.
One of the most powerful lessons I had on my mission was in a member’s
home. The Spirit was so strong that it
made 2 full-grown men cry- one of whom I never would have expected to cry ever-
he was a tough motorcycle guy- the kind that can come across as kinda scary
when with the rest of their crew. The
Spirit was so strong that our investigator went from constantly pushing against
our messages to committing to baptism.
He has now been married and sealed in the temple and is still active
today.
Another way to do missionary work is through
service. Service softens the hearts of
people and allows them to witness, first-hand, Christ-like behavior. If you want to do service as a means of
missionary work, I would suggest wearing a Church shirt- like an EFY shirt or a
BYU one. It identifies us as
representatives of our Church and of Jesus Christ and can open doors for people
wanting to know more.
Even full-time missionary work is in the
process of changing. Missionaries will
soon be on facebook and we are invited to become “Facebook friends with the
missionaries in [our] area on [our] own computers and [share] their gospel
messages online and [become] involved in missionary work [ourselves].”
(“Missionary Work in the Digital Age”)
We can also use other websites or blogs to invite others to come closer
to Christ or to “come and see”.
Elder L Tom Perry
tells us, “While the full-time missionaries are responsible for teaching
investigators, they can and should be accompanied by ward council members, ward
missionaries, or members who have a personal connection with the
investigators. Members who accompany the
missionaries should bear their testimony of the principles taught in the
missionary lessons and reinforce these principles between missionary
appointments.” Everyone needs a
friend. If you go out with the
missionaries, make friends with the people you go see. Try to keep in touch with them on your own,
without the missionaries. And if an
appointment falls through, be willing to go with them on their backup
plans. The other day I was asked to go
to an appointment with the missionaries.
Unfortunately he was sick and cancelled on us. So I went with them as they went to a few
back-up options and got to meet some great people, and even were able to share
a brief gospel message with one of them.
Elder Neil Andersen says,". . .I promise
you, as you pray to know with whom to speak, names and faces will come into
your mind. Words to speak will be given in the very moment you need
them. Opportunities will open to you. Faith will overcome doubt, and the
Lord will bless you with your very own miracles.” If we choose to fulfill our hour on our own,
the Lord will help us know who to invite into our homes or to Church or have
over with the missionaries.
Elder
Neil L Andersen also said, “Pray to your Heavenly Father. This is His sacred work. He will guide you in what to do. He will open doors, remove roadblocks, and
help you overcome obstacles. The Lord
declared, “The voice of warning shall be unto all people, by the mouths of my
disciples, … and none shall stay them.” (Neil L Andersen “It’s a Miracle”) Missionary work does not come naturally to us
all, but as this quote promises, God will open doors, remove roadblocks and
help you overcome obstacles. I mentioned
that I was very shy before going on my mission.
As I relied on the Lord, He helped me overcome that obstacle. It still doesn’t come naturally to me, but I
am now no longer the same shy girl I was before. Towards the end of my mission I got to know a
family. I told them how I used to be
very shy and the father said, “What?!
Now we can’t get you to shut up!”
Of course he said it with a big smile on his face. For those of us who aren’t as outgoing I
would recommend contacting the missionaries to help you fulfill your hour. Host a lesson where the missionaries are
responsible for teaching, or go with them and just bear a simple testimony of
what they teach. On my mission we had a
member who wanted to be a better missionary but felt anxiety in opening her
mouth. So she started offering to give
us rides to our appointments and as time went on she started opening her mouth
more to bear simple testimony at our meetings and by the time we left that
area, she was starting to talk to her friends on her own.
I know that this Church is true and I am
grateful for the blessings it has brought into my life. I want to share it, and sometimes I’m better
at it than at other times. The easiest
way to get involved is by contacting the missionaries. Be willing to go out with them, or host a
lesson for them, or invite friends over when you have the missionaries over for
dinner. I know that we can and will see
miracles when we devote time to missionary work. Miracles are real, they happen today, they
happen here and they can happen to each of us.
I have a personal testimony of how the Lord helps us when we rely on
Him, no matter how impossible the task at hand may seem. He will strengthen us and help us become
better missionaries. Talking to our
friends is NOT always easy, but He will help us. The more we have to rely on Him, the more we
pray earnestly for His Spirit and the more miracles we will see. I know Jesus Christ lives and He loves me and
He loves my friends and wants us all to know the blessings of this gospel. I know this Church is true. I know that there is a special Spirit that
comes with the Book of Mormon and that it is true. I am thankful for the Prophet Joseph Smith
and for translating the Book of Mormon and restoring Christ’s Church. I am thankful for the prophets and apostles who
lead and guide this Church today and for the guidance they give. I know we can rely on the promises they give
and that following what they ask will bring great blessings into our
lives. I know that as we strive to
become better missionaries and follow the Lord’s commandments given through his
prophets, apostles and our Bishop, that the Lord will help us. I know God loves me and all of us. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
