Inviting Others to Come Unto Christ

We have many many opportunities to invite others to come unto Christ, regardless of where we live. We invite others to come unto Christ when we visit the families that we home teach or the sisters that we visit teach. We invite others to come unto Christ when we reach out to less active members and encourage them to attend activities or church meetings. We invite others to come unto Christ when we read the scriptures and pray as a family.

In 1 Timothy 4:12, Paul exhorts Timothy to "be an example of the believers" and specifically lists some ways that he can be an example, including with his words (the type of language he uses), conversations (the things he talks about - or doesn't talk about), charity (service, kindness), spirit (Spirituality), faith (faith is shown through our actions), and purity (living virtuously).

The Sons of Mosiah taught with "power and authority from God" and were instrumental in bringing many people unto Christ. In Alma 17:2-3, we learn that they were able to teach with such power because they searched the scriptures diligently in order to know the word of God, which gave them a "strong knowledge of the truth" and "strong understanding," and they also gave "themselves to much prayer and fasting," which helped them to have the "spirit of prophesy and the spirit of revelation."

All throughout the scriptures, the Savior invites us to come unto Him, and his chosen prophets also invite everyone to come unto Him. One of the most beautiful of these passages is found in Moroni 10:32-33, at the end of the Book of Mormon, where Moroni invites us all:

32 Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.

33 And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot.

Moroni describes a process that can and should occur within each of us frequently as we come unto Christ through repentance and partaking of the sacrament with the offering of a broken heart and a contrite spirit.

Remember that "if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work;" (D&C 4:3) - the work is inviting others to come unto Christ.

Ask the Missionaries! They Can Help You.

In Elder Nelson's talk, Ask the Missionaries! They Can Help You, he describes the many ways that missionaries can help. He says, "All missionaries, younger and older, serve with the sole hope of making life better for other people."

But what if a young man doesn't feel the desire to serve? Elder Nelson explains that "A desire to serve is a natural outcome of one’s conversion, worthiness, and preparation." So if we do not feel the desire, we need to work on one or many of those areas: Conversion, worthiness or preparation.

To those who are not members of the Church: "As you learn more about us, you will find that we share many of the same values. We encourage you to keep all that is good and true and then see if we can add more."

Missionaries serve throughout the world today on the same charge that Jesus gave his disciples two millennia ago: "“go … and teach all nations,baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”"

His talk goes through and lists many of the things for which people could and should stop the missionaries to ask them questions such as returning to church, life after death, family history, the purpose of life, etc...

This also means we need well prepared missionaries!!

The Lord's Refined People

In 3 Nephi 24:3 (also Malachi 3:3) it reads:

"And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness."

Let's seek to understand what this can mean for us. The refiner/purifier is obviously Jesus Christ. The sons of Levi (gold/silver) who are to be purified and refined represent the Church, or it can be interpreted further to mean Priesthood holders, or even further to mean holders of the Aaronic Priesthood or Levitical priesthood after Levi. Let's consider that sons of Levi refers to us to liken this scripture unto ourselves. Why are we to be purified/refined? That we may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. What is an "offering in righteousness?" I think this phrase is vague for a reason - it can mean different things for all of us in a very personal way. At the very least it must refer to righteous service. Righteous offerings could be temple service, service in our callings, service in our families, sharing the gospel and any other good deeds done towards our fellow-man.

The Prophet Spencer W Kimball once said that a "portion of the offering in righteousness" is our family history work and bringing temple blessings to those who have passed on (link to his talk). This is consistent with Malachi's message of "turning our hearts to our fathers."

So to paraphrase this verse: The Lord seeks to refine us so that we may better serve Him and others, especially those who have gone before us through temple work.

How does He refine us? I think there is a reason that silver and gold were chosen for this analogy. I did a quick search on Google and it looks like refining gold is a long, complicated process involving dangerous acids and hot temperatures (2,000 degrees Fahrenheit is the melting point of gold). Key take aways for me were that it's a long, difficult, painful process from the gold's perspective. I don't expect it's too different as the Lord refines us. It definitely doesn't happen overnight (probably closer to a lifetime), overcoming sin, temptations and trying to live a perfect life is not easy, and the repentance process when we stumble is painful but necessary. Our trials, the furnace of affliction, refines us because it forces us to be humble, turn to and trust in God, and increase our faith.

Let's remember the end goal again. The Lord wants us refined in order to selflessly serve. So with the end in mind, we have a good idea of what the product of this refinement is. I think of some of the men and women I have known who dedicate their entire lives to serving God through missionary work, church service and temple service. They are the end product. They are also the people I respect and look up to most on this earth. That is the goal. Do our actions bring us closer to that goal or take us further away from that goal?

Sometimes when I think of temple work and genealogy I think of elderly women or elderly couples taking care of these things for the rest of us. Maybe instead I should see temple work and genealogy as the desire of those who have been refined, which more commonly happens to be those who have lived of lifetime of being refined by the hand of the Lord.

If all of this refinement that we go through on this life (which is a lot!) is to help turn our hearts to our fathers (family history work) and live a life of service, then it must be very important! It must be key to the purpose of our existence on this earth.

We will also find joy in this righteous offering for how great is the joy we feel when bringing souls unto God (D&C 18:15-16).

Planting Seeds - Samuel the Lamanite

As I read this passage in Helaman 16:1-3 I had a few thoughts that I would like to share.

Helaman 16:1-3

1 And now, it came to pass that there were many who heard the words of Samuel, the Lamanite, which he spake upon the walls of the city. And as many as believed on his word went forth and sought for Nephi; and when they had come forth and found him they confessed unto him their sins and denied not, desiring that they might be baptized unto the Lord.
 2 But as many as there were who did not believe in the words of Samuel were angry with him; and they cast stones at him upon the wall, and also many shot arrows at him as he stood upon the wall; but the Spirit of the Lord was with him, insomuch that they could not hit him with their stones neither with their arrows.
 3 Now when they saw that they could not hit him, there were many more who did believe on his words, insomuch that they went away unto Nephi to be baptized.

A few thoughts:
(1) Samuel boldly testified to the people. In this case he was preaching from the city wall.

(2) In the previous chapter he had already been rejected by the people, yet he followed the Spirit's direction to try one more time.

(3) Samuel planted seeds, both while in the city and while on the city wall; however, he never experienced the harvest and saw the fruits of his labor. I'm pretty sure he knew this going into it, and it did not deter him one bit. He may have felt like a total failure if all he saw were angry people throwing stones and shooting arrows at him. As Preach My Gospel explains, success is determined by following the Spirit and working diligently and obediently, not by the number of baptisms you have.

(4) Nephi enjoyed the fruit of Samuel's labor for "as many as believed on his word went forth and sought for Nephi." How grateful he must have felt for Samuel and his preaching. In the previous chapters, we read how Nephi had put his own safety at risk to preach unto the people, doing everything in his power to convince them to repent.

(5) Samuel trusted the Lord enough to stay on that wall while stones and arrows were coming at him. This is important because "when they saw that they could not hit him, there were many more who did believe on his words." We may not always understand why trials are coming at us, but we can trust the Lord that we'll make it through safely - plus we don't always know who is watching.

(6) We can see the great love that God has for his children in these verses. He sent one of his beloved "noble and great" sons into a dangerously wicked city in an attempt to save any of his children. After Samuel was rejected in the city, God did not give up on his children and sent Samuel again unto them (this time on the city wall). Even while the people threatened Samuel's life, God instructed him (by the Spirit) to stay on that wall until as many as possible of his children in that city had the opportunity to believe and repent if he or she so chose.

I only focused this entry on the first three verses of the chapter, but there are so many additional nuggets of truth that we can learn from Samuel and his example. For example, when he returned home from "his mission" among the Nephites, what do you think he did? In verse 7: he "began to preach and to prophesy among his own people." A great example for every RM.

Why Is LDS Missionary Work So Successful?

I just read a promise that was given by the Lord through his prophet, Joseph Smith, back in 1840 to a couple of missionaries. This same promise holds true for today's nearly 60,000 missionaries throughout the world. First I'll give the quote, and then I'll explain why I think it is important:

"Do not be discouraged on account of the greatness of the work; only be humble and faithful...He who scattered Israel has promised to gather them; therefore inasmuch as you are to be instrumental in this great work, He will endow you with power, wisdom, might, and intelligence, and every qualification necessary; while your minds will expand wider and wider, until you can circumscribe the earth and the heavens, reach forth into eternity, and contemplate the mighty acts of Jehovah in all their variety and glory."
- Joseph Smith, May 14, 1840

First of all, you must understand what missionary work is. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is God's church on the earth, so it is doing His work. The same Jehovah that scattered Israel in Old Testament times, is now gathering Israel, just as he promised dozens of times throughout the Bible. This gathering is being done by our missionaries. The house of Israel are all those who convert to Christ's church and choose to gather to it.

This post's title phrases the question, "Why is LDS missionary work so successful?" Well an obvious answer is because it's God's work. This promise quoted above from Joseph Smith is more specific. The promise is that those who are instrumental in His great work [missionary work or the gather], will be endowed with "power, wisdom, might, and intelligence, and every qualification necessary." How can anyone fail with a promise like that from God's prophet?

Think about it. Mormon missionaries are almost all between the ages of 19 and 21. How much does a 19-year-old boy know? How influential and persuasive are 19-year-olds? How smart, intelligent, wise is a 19-year-old kid? Sometimes they think they know everything, but really they are weak. Paul was not far off at all when he said:

"But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;"
1 Corinthians 1:27

So, with this explanation, I hope it is a little more clear how our missionaries are so successful. They not only are on the Lord's errand, but they are also filled with his power. Feel free to see for yourself by inviting them to speak to you some time. You'll notice in just one visit that they are empowered from on high.