Share the Gospel

My oldest son just started his virtual MTC training from home this week, so my mind and heart were extra aware of the principles of missionary work that were shared in this weeks study of Come, Follow Me (D&C 71-75). The following are a list of principles related to sharing the gospel that I found in these sections...

• 71:1 The way to combat darkness is to introduce light. Share the good news of the gospel.
• 71:2 Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints need to be taught just as much as those who have not yet been baptized.
• 71:9 Truth will always prevail.
• 73:4 When your full-time mission service is over, continue to make room in your life for sharing the gospel. 
• 75:2 Take some personal initiative to get involved in sharing the gospel (see footnote a).
• 75:3, 29 Be diligent in our efforts to share the gospel.
• 75:10, 27 Always involve the Holy Ghost in our teaching and finding efforts.
• 75:11 Pray for courage.
• 75:24 As members of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, it is our duty to support the efforts of missionary work in whatever ways we can.

As with all principles of the gospel, as we act on these principles we are promised blessings in return for our faithfulness. Here's a list of blessings that I found in Section 75 that relate to sharing the gospel...

• You shall be crowned with honor, glory and eternal life. (75:5)
• The Lord will be with you to the end. (75:11, 13)
• You shall be filled with joy and gladness. (75:21)
• You shall overcome all things and be lifted up at the last day. (75:22)

For some of us, sharing the gospel can be a daunting responsibility. Because I often feel that way, I found this article by President Uchtdorf (A Word for the Hesitant Missionary) very enlightening. He shares four suggestions that can help us fulfill the charge to preach the gospel to all the world. My favorite suggestion is to "Be a Light." He said: “A favorite saying of mine often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi reads, ‘Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words.’” It is a comfort for me to know that just because I get tongue-tied when I'm trying to teach the gospel or share my testimony with someone, that doesn't mean that I'm a failure. We can share the gospel just by consistently living our standards. As people see our happiness and joy they will occasionally approach us with questions about where our happiness and positive attitude come from.

Pres. Uchtdorf concludes the article by saying "There is a way for everyone-even the hesitant missionary-to participate in this great work. We can each find a way to use our own particular talents and interests in support of the great work of filling the world with light and truth." What a blessing it is to know that there are many different ways to share the gospel. We don't need to compare our method of sharing the gospel to how someone else shares the gospel because the gifts and talents that we’ve each been blessed with will lead to different approaches to missionary work.

True and Faithful Friends

I read a quote last Sunday by Elder Neil L. Andersen that gave me pause to think. The quote was in a Church News article report about a recent Single Adult Face to Face event. He said "We really do have to find other people of faith, don't we? In this world [in which] we live, [we need] other people of faith, who we can connect with at a very deep level, and talk openly about how our prayers are answered, [and] how we feel about the Holy Ghost." That support is "one of the beauties of gathering together as Saints in the gospel" added Sister Jean B. Bingham.

This idea really struck me and I was reminded of it again as I studied D&C 69 this week. In this revelation Oliver Cowdery is called to "carry the manuscript of the compiled revelations and commandments to Independence, Missouri, for printing. He was also to take with him money that had been contributed for the building up of the Church." (see Section 69 heading) But the Lord also instructs in this revelation that Oliver be given a companion to go with him on his journey.

The personal application for me was seeing that the Lord puts "true and faithful" (v. 1) people in our lives that help us on our journey here in mortality. Some of these people are with us for only a short amount of time (think of childhood friends, missionary companions or people we’re called to serve with in the church). Other people will be more long term (like parents, siblings and spouses). The companion that was assigned to go with Oliver was John Whitmer (v. 2) and not only was John to help Oliver but Oliver was supposed to "counsel and [give] assistance" (v. 4) to John with his responsibility to be writing church history. So not only does the Lord put people in our lives to help us, but the Lord also puts us in other peoples lives to help them too. There’s a Quaker proverb that describes this kind of symbiotic relationship: "Thee lift me and I'll lift thee and we'll ascend together."

The Lord will put people in our paths to help us on our journey, but we also should choose to surround ourselves with others that are "true and faithful." These people can help shield us from temptation and outside influences. They can help us stay safe on our journey. At my son's recent High School graduation one of the speakers quoted a famous study by a businessman named Jim Rohn. The study concluded that "you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with."  My take away from that quote is that we are greatly influenced by those we surround ourselves with.

Think about who your greatest influencers are? Who do you spend the most time with? Thinking of these questions brought me back to Elder Andersen's quote and the idea that we need other people of faith that we can connect with at a deep level. These are true and faithful friends and family members that can influence us in a deeply spiritual way, and that we can also share our feelings with. As I continued to think about who my greatest influencers were, the Spirit whispered to me "is Jesus Christ one of your greatest influences? Is He someone you spend a lot of time with?" 

As we think about the true and faithful people that the Lord has placed in our lives, hopefully we realize that the greatest person we can choose to have influence in our lives is our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Forgiveness and Mercy

My biggest Come, Follow Me insight this week came while listening to the Podcast called "Follow Him". The guest on the program, S. Michael Wilcox, talked about the phrase found in D&C 64:6, 8 that says "sought occasion against him/one another".  He asked some critical questions about this phrase. Questions like "do I seek occasions to be critical and find faults and weaknesses in others in order to feel better about myself? Am I looking for the motes in other peoples eyes and not seeing the beam in my own? (Matt 7:1-5). An example of this is when Mary (Lazarus's sister) anoints Christs' feet with an expensive spice. Upon witnessing this act, Judas becomes outraged feeling like Mary wasted money by using this ointment on Christs' feet instead of selling it and giving the money to the poor (John 12:3-5). Judas was seeking occasion to find fault in someone else and to make his idea look better. He "condemned for evil that thing in which there was no evil", and when we do that the Lord withholds His Spirit from us (D&C 64:16). Do we condemn people for doing things a different way just because its not the way we would do them?

Falling into this trap can destroy the concept of a Zion people. Zion is a place where the people are of one heart and one mind and if we're constantly "seeking occasion against others" that behavior is going to separate us from others instead of binding us together.

What is the remedy for this type of behavior? One thing that will help is to cultivate the Christlike attribute of forgiveness. Section 64 teaches the necessary steps:

1. Confess/acknowledge our shortcomings (v. 7)
2. Ask to be forgiven (v. 7)
3. Extend forgiveness to others (v. 9-10)

The natural man reacts to sin with outrage and intolerance, but Jesus Christ reacts to sin by first extending an offer of forgiveness and mercy. Christlike behavior is to give others the benefit of the doubt. It is to celebrate the good that people do and forgive their imperfect moments. If Christ can do that for us then we can strive to do the same for others. Our efforts to shed the natural man will help us become more like Christ who "delights in mercy and does not begrudge its use." (Elder Renlund)

Miracles come by Faith

As I read D&C 63 this week, I was struck by the two principles taught in verse 9: "faith cometh not by signs, but signs follow those that believe." 

Faith cometh not by signs: there are several examples of this principle in the scriptures. My favorite is the story of Lehi's sons being visited by an angel.  After several failed attempts to retrieve the brass plates, an angel appears to the four brothers and affirms that the Lord will help them in their efforts. But even after seeing an angel, Laman and Lemuel still lack the faith to believe that that is possible (1 Nephi 3:29-31).

Signs follow those who believe: stories representing this principle abound in the New Testament. My favorite is about the woman with the issue of blood being healed simply by touching the hem of Christ's clothing. Because of her faith, she was blessed with the miracle of being healed (Luke 8:43-48).

Those who seek signs for proof of God's existence and involvement in their lives are "lazy learners and lax disciples." It takes work and effort to increase our faith, but we will see miracles as we increase our faith in the Lord. (Pres. Nelson, Christ is Risen; Faith in Him Will Move Mountains)

Elder Rasband stated in his last General Conference talk: "Many of you have witnessed miracles, more than you realize. They may seem small in comparison to Jesus raising the dead. But the magnitude does not distinguish a miracle, only that it came from God." (emphasis added). As we continue to increase our faith in Jesus Christ, we will be blessed to witness miracles in our lives, both big and small. "For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them." (Ether 12:12)

Journey Speedily but not in Haste

I would like to share a short lesson that stood out to me this week while studying Come, Follow Me. In D&C 60: 5, 8, and 14 the Lord instructs the pairs of missionaries to leave Missouri and return to Ohio. Twice He tells them to "return speedily" but "not in haste." So how do you find the right balance between these two seemingly contradictory directives?  

While listening to the podcast "Unshaken Saints", the host gave a wonderful example of how Jesus was able to do this exact thing. He pointed out that in Mark 5:22-43, Jesus has been called on a "911 emergency call" by Jairus to come heal his daughter who is on her death bed. But, as Jesus is rushing to help this little girl, a "certain women which had an issue of blood" (v. 25) reaches out and touches His clothes. In the midst of His hurry to heal Jairus' daughter, He stops to bless and minister to this woman. He says to her "Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague" (v. 34).

The lesson I learned from this is to not be so focused on the end goal that we don't take some time to help others or to enjoy the journey along the way. Even though Christ was being crowded by people on His way to heal Jairus's daughter, he felt something different happen to Him when His clothes were touched by this woman. He felt that "virtue had gone out of him" (v 30). It is important to stay in tune with the Spirit so that when a multitude of good things are coming our way, we can know which of those thing is important enough for us to slow down and heed the direction that we are given.

Building Zion

I thought it was interesting learning about the background of Doctrine and Covenants sections 58 & 59. The Lord had asked all of these new members to relocate to Independence, Missouri which He refers to as "the land of promise" (D&C 57:1-3). But as the Saints start arriving to this "land of promise", they aren't very impressed with what they find. "Some thought they would find a thriving, industrious community with a strong group of Saints. Instead they found a sparsely populated outpost, lacking the civilization they were used to and inhabited by rough frontier settlers rather than Saints." (Come, Follow Me manual pg. 92). I'm sure all of us can think of similar experiences we've had when our expectations go unmet that can help us relate to the early Saints during this part of their history. One of those moments for me happened when Brady and I moved into our first family ward. I was looking forward to seeing lots of families in Sacrament meeting and a large primary and youth program (our oldest was a new Sunbeam and living far from family I was excited to meet some young women who could be potential babysitters:). Essentially, I was expecting to attend a ward just like the one I'd grown up in. I was shocked when we walked into that chapel for the first time and it was occupied by a few young families and some senior couples. When we started singing the opening hymn, I felt like I was singing a solo! The primary consisted of about 15 children and I only remember seeing three young women. Needless to say, I was a bit disappointed.

No matter what unexpected situations we find ourselves in, the Lord still expects us to move forward and build Zion. One way we can do this is to practice becoming Zion-like individuals (people of one heart and one mind-Moses 7:18).  These two sections give us some ways that we can do this.

• keep the commandments/be obedient (58:2,6)
• be faithful in tribulation (58:2)
• bear testimony (58:6, 47)
• keep the laws of the land (58:21)
• be anxiously engaged in a good cause (58:27)
• repent (58:42)
• work and labor both to gather Israel and bring life to the land (58:54-56)
• love God and your neighbors (59:5-6)
• show gratitude (59:7)
• broken heart and contrite spirit (59:8)
• keep the sabbath day holy (59:9-13)

These early Saints were "honored in the laying the foundation" of the church (57:7), but we can also lay foundations of faith and help build up Zion one person at a time. We start with ourselves and then over time we will have opportunities within our sphere of influence to help others as well. We only lived in that family ward for two months, but we have some sweet memories and lasting connections from the time we spent there. Building Zion starts with building that feeling in our homes, wards and stakes and we can only do that if we're willing to become Zion-like individuals.

Bloom where you’re planted—even if only for a little season

A wonderful principle of the gospel is taught in these sections (51-57) of the Doctrine and Covenants that I like to call “Bloom where you are planted.”

There seems to be a lot of movement going on in these sections. Saints migrating from the eastern states are beginning to arrive in Ohio (section 51). Missionaries are being sent out to preach the gospel while traveling to Missouri (section 52, 56) and some of the Saints who just got to Ohio are now being commanded to relocate to Missouri (section 54, 57).

In 51:16-17, the Lord tells the Saints (and us) that even if we are placed somewhere “for a little season” we should still “act upon (that) land as if for years.” In other words, make a difference no matter how short or how long you are going to be somewhere. Bloom where you are planted. Not only does this principle apply to our physical location (the land which we live), but it can apply in other settings such as in our church callings or even in any stage of life. 

A good example of this principle is Sidney Gilbert (section 53). In section 52 the Lord is calling all these sets of missionaries to go out and preach the gospel as they journey to Missouri, but Sidney Gilbert doesn’t receive an assignment. So what does he do? He doesn’t go hide out and breathe a sigh of relief like he just dodged a bullet. He asked Joseph Smith to ask the Lord what his assignment should be. He wanted to contribute to the work and make a difference. 

This can be hard to do, especially when you get a new calling that you don’t feel prepared for or when you’re a college student moving around every few months or even in a seminary class where you don’t know anybody. No matter what the circumstances are, the Lord expects us to get involved and do our best to make a difference.

Why is this principle important to the Lord? If you look in section 57, you’ll find the word plant/planted used five times. Just like planting any flower or tree, you won’t see the full beauty or fruit of that plant unless you take it out of its pot and plant it in the soil where it has room to grow. The same is true for our spiritual growth. The only way we’re going to see growth in ourselves is to plant ourselves firmly in whatever situation we are in-even if it’s only for a little season. That’s when the fruit will come.