Be Ourselves – in sharing the gospel
August 12, 2012 - Ellsworth Ward
“Brothers and Sisters.”
I’m happy to have the opportunity to speak and I hope that we can all be
edified by the Holy Ghost as we consider our responsibilities towards
missionary work today. We use the term
“brothers and sisters” a lot in the Church.
Have you ever asked yourself “why?” Sometimes we use the term only for
members of the Church…members of the ward family. But in reality, aren’t we all members of our
Heavenly Father’s family? Isn’t everyone
that lives on earth a child of God, and as such our Brother or our Sister? Didn’t we all live “in the premortal realm as
spirit sons and daughters where we knew and worshiped God as our Eternal Father
and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and
gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize
his or her divine destiny as an heir of eternal life? Of course you know that this is true. If we considered everyone as our brother or
sister would we treat them differently?
Our ward mission plan is for every family in the ward to have a family mission plan. What is a family mission plan? It is not an elaborate list of things that we intend to do to share the gospel with others. It is simple, and short and dynamic. Bishop Watson has explained that it is simply our next step.
We have had opportunities to fast and to pray for missionary
work. Indeed, I think every one of us
has prayed for missionary opportunities.
As you have done so, what name
has come to your mind? (pause) As you
have prayed and pondered about missionary work, what name has come to your mind?
Make a note of that name. That person or
that family is your brother or sister. Think
of the next step you might take to help that person know about the restored
gospel. It might be just to get to know
them better…or to let them get to know you.
After all, you are brothers and sisters.
You could invite them over to your house. Maybe the next step it is to just to be their
friend. As they get to know you, they
will learn that you are a member of the Church and perhaps will want to know
more.
President Thomas S. Monson said: “Our
missionary experiences have to be current. It is not enough to sit back and
ponder former experiences. To be fulfilled, you have to continue to naturally
and normally share the gospel.”
Elder David F. Evans, in our last
general conference said:, “You have thought of someone to whom you should reach
out and either invite to come back or share with him or her your feelings about
the gospel of
Jesus Christ. My invitation is to act, without delay, on that
prompting. Talk to your friend or family member. Do it in a natural and normal
way. Let them know of your love for them and for the Lord. Missionaries can
help. My counsel is the same that President Monson has given so many times from
this very pulpit: “Never delay a prompting.” As you act on the prompting and
do it with love, watch as our Heavenly Father uses your willingness to act to
bring about a miracle in your life and in the life of the person you care
about.”
I like the emphasis that Elder Evans
has placed on naturally and normally sharing the gospel. This work is not about us, it is His
work. We don’t get extra points or
smiley faces on our membership record in the Bishop’s office when we share the
Gospel. We don’t want to befriend
someone, and then if they don’t accept our invitation, not be friends
anymore. Remember, we are all brothers
and sisters.
President Gordon B. Hinckley emphasized this when he said: “We are here to assist our Father in His work
and glory, ‘to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man’. Your obligation is as serious in your sphere
of responsibility as is my obligation in my sphere.”
"Let there be cultivated an awareness in every member’s
heart of his own potential for bringing others to a knowledge of the truth. Let
him work at it. Let him pray with great earnestness about it.”
Many times when I’ve asked people about the next step they
think they should take in sharing the gospel, they mention that they want to
invite their friend to the Temple
Open house Temple Open house
“First, we must be bold in our declaration of Jesus Christ. We want others to know that we
believe He is the central figure in all human history. His life and teachings
are the heart of the Bible
and the other books we consider to be holy scripture.”
I think it is good to always remember that this is the church of Jesus Christ
Elder Perry continues: “Second, be righteous examples to
others. After our declaration of our beliefs, we must follow the counsel given to
us in 1 Timothy
4:12: “But be thou an example of the believers, in word, in
conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”
The words we use, the manner that we talk to others, and the
manner that we serve others will be observed by others. If we want our friends to listen to us talk
about the gospel of Jesus Christ, our actions need to be consistent with His
teachings.
Elder Perry’s third suggestion is on how to speak to our
friends, “Next, speak up about the Church. In the course of our everyday lives,
we are blessed with many opportunities to share our beliefs with others. When
our professional and personal associates inquire about our religious beliefs,
they are inviting us to share who we are and what we believe. They may or may
not be interested in the Church, but they are interested in getting to know us
at a deeper level.
My recommendation to you is to accept their invitations. Your associates are not inviting you to
teach, preach,
expound, or exhort. Engage them in a two-way conversation—share something
about your religious beliefs but also ask them about their beliefs. Gauge the
level of interest by the questions they ask. If they are asking a lot of
questions, focus the conversation on answering those questions. Always remember
that it is better for them to ask than for you to tell.
We should appreciate and approach
such conversations with Christlike love. Our tone, whether speaking or writing,
should be respectful and civil, regardless of the response of others. We should
be honest and open and try to be clear in what we say. We want to avoid arguing
or becoming defensive in any way.”
I want to repeat that part… Your associates are not inviting you to
teach, preach,
expound, or exhort. Again, these are
our brothers and sisters. Talk to them
like we should speak to our brothers and sisters and with love.
In the Doctrine and Covenants the
Lord says, “And let your preaching
be the warning
voice, every man to his neighbor, in mildness and in meekness.”
I’m reminded of the desires of the
Sons of Mosiah when they wanted to go on a mission to the Lamanites, who they
considered their brethren. In Mosiah
28:3 it says, “Now they were desirous that salvation should be declared to
every creature, for they could not bear
that any human soul
should perish;
yea, even the very thoughts that any soul should endure endless
torment did cause them to quake and tremble.”
Elder Jim Wright, our Area Seventy, speaking in a recent
training session with ward mission leaders and other leaders, stated, “When we
increase our own level of conversion, our desire to share is increased.”
In the Doctrine and Covenants the
Lord revealed “Now behold, a marvelous
work is about to come forth among the children of men.
Therefore, O ye that embark in the service
of God, see that ye serve
him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless
before God at the last day.
Therefore, if ye have desires to serve
God ye are called
to the work;
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;”
Let me mention a little about the
field being white already to harvest.
Our ward is growing. In our ward we have just over 600
members. Living within the ward
boundries are about 5,000 – 6,000 of our heavenly father’s children…our
brothers and sisters. So we have a lot
of work to do. We’ve had two convert
baptisms this year so far in 2012, and in the past 12 months we have had 4
convert baptisms. These good people have
made sacrifices to become members of the Church. They have had to make changes in their lives
and give up friends and family relationships.
It is not easy. We are their
family…at least their ward family.
Whenever anyone comes through the doors to be with us, we should treat
them like family. Do you know their
names? If you look around, is there
someone here that you don’t know? My
guess is that there is. We have had
quite a few members move into our ward lately.
I would hope that every week, we will look for those that we don’t know…that
are new or visiting. Let’s let them know
that we are their brothers and sisters.
President Ezra Taft Benson taught: “We are commanded by God
to take this gospel to all the world.
That is the cause that must unite us today. Only the gospel will save the world from the
calamity of its own self-destruction.
Only the gospel will unite men of all races and nationalities in
peace. Only the gospel will bring joy,
happiness, and salvation to the human family.”
We will be blessed for our efforts in
sharing the gospel. In the Doctrine and
Covenants we read, “And if it so be that you should labor all your days in
crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul
unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!
And now, if your joy will be great
with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom
of my Father, how great will be your joy
if you should bring many souls
unto me!”
The Prophet Joseph Smith wrote, “The
Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from
progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble,
calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and
independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept
every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be
accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done”
May we work to naturally and normally
share the gospel with our brothers and sisters.
