Jesus Christ makes His gospel known to all of Heavenly Father’s children with the help of the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and through the Holy Ghost. This allows those who receive it to develop faith in Jesus Christ, to sincerely repent of their sins, and to prepare to enter into covenants with Him through baptism and the other ordinances of His priesthood.
The saving power of the priesthood ordinances of Jesus Christ is found in obedience to the different covenants we make in each one of them. We have been called to be a people who honor and keep covenants. As we read in the Doctrine and Covenants, “every person who belongeth to this church of Christ, shall observe to keep all the commandments and covenants of the Church.”ii This is because the blessings promised by our Lord Jesus Christ in the covenants are predicated upon our obedience.iii
We participate in the work of Heavenly Father and of Jesus Christ by sharing the restored gospel with our loved ones and with everyone within our reach. Among many reasons, we do this because –
- We love our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ and we want to be part of Their workiv
- We love all of God’s children
- By doing so, we fulfill our baptismal covenants of being “witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places”v
- It fills us with joyvi
- A blessing of the baptismal covenant is that the Lord Jesus Christ will “pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you”vii
- By helping save souls from death, we are helped to avoid sin.viii
- We cannot bear the idea that “any human soul should perish”ix
Our message is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our purpose is to invite people 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. Below are some suggestions:
- We invite (we find “those who will receive you”x) when-
- We pray and let ourselves be led by the Holy Ghost
- We are “example[s] of the believers”xi
- We talk with everyone exercising faith in Jesus Christ and also use pass-along cardsxii
- We serve others
- We cultivate friendships with our neighbors and co-workers or classmates
- We invite others to Church meetings and activities
- We share with others the Book of Mormon with our written testimony and Church videos
- We open our mouths to share the gospelxiii
- We share the restored gospel onlinexiv
- We know and participate in the ward or branch mission plan
- We provide good referrals to the full-time missionaries
- We help when-
- We invite the full-time missionaries to have special Family Home Evenings in our home
- We are faithful to the commandments and covenants
- We are good friends to those we help to teach
- We go with the full-time missionaries to teach and prepare ourselves well in advance to meet with them
- We participate in the daily contact that the mission leader and full-time missionaries coordinate with those they teach
- We help accompany and/or transport people to Church on Sundays
- We are diligent Home Teachers and Visiting Teachers
- We do and help others with family history
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.”xv
I know that we will have success in being diligent member-missionaries if we invite others and help them receive the restored gospel. We will do it out of love for Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and out of gratitude. We will also do it because it is “that thing which will be of most worth”xvi for us, so that together with these souls we help, we may rest in Heavenly Father’s kingdom.
i See 2 Nephi 31:17-21
ii D&C 42:78
iii D&C 130:20-21
iv See Moses 1:39
v Mosiah 18:9
vi See D&C 18:10-16
vii Mosiah 18:10
viii James 5:19-20; JST 1 Peter 4:8
ix Mosiah 28:3
x D&C 42:8
xi 1 Timothy 4:12
xii See Preach My Gospel, pg. 169
xiii See D&C 24:6, 12; 28:16; 30:11; 33:8-10; 60:2, 13; Moses 6:32
xv See Preach My Gospel, pg. 167
xvi D&C 15:6