“Bring Souls unto Me”

The shepherd would have been the best person to help, but he seemed to be missing in action.

There is no substitute for member oriented missionary work.

3 objectives for members

• It becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor (D&C 88:81)
• Open your mouth (D&C 33:7-10)
• How Great shall be your joy if ye bring save it be one soul (D&C 18:15-16)

I wondered, “Where is the shepherd?” Certainly he would have the best chance of approaching the ewe without alarming her. The shepherd’s calming voice and helping hand were what the situation needed, but he seemed to be missing in action.

As members of the Church, sometimes we seem to be missing in action, just like this shepherd. Consider for a moment what President Monson told the newly called mission presidents at the 2008 seminar for new mission presidents. He said: “There is . . . no substitute for a member-oriented proselyting program. Tracting will not substitute for it. Golden questions will not substitute for it. A member-oriented program is the key to success, and it works wherever we try it.” (“Motivating Missionaries,” June 22, 2008, 8)

Viewed in this light, member missionaries – both you and I – are the shepherds, and the full-time missionaries, like the search and rescue team, are trying to do something almost impossible for them to do alone. Certainly the full-time missionaries will continue to do the best they can, but wouldn’t it be better if you and I stepped up to do a job that is rightfully ours and for which we are better suited since we know personally those who are lost and need to be rescued?

Unfortunately most of our full-time missionaries spend more of their time trying to find people rather than teaching them. I view our full-time missionaries as an underutilized teaching resource. If you and I did more of the finding for the full-time missionaries and freed them up to spend more time teaching the people we find, great things would begin to happen.

It may be that we cannot be effective member missionaries unless we are stable enough to form nurturing relationships with those around us.

What would each of us say if we had to open our mouth three times?

First and foremost, we should declare our belief in Jesus Christ and His Atonement. His redeeming act blesses all mankind with the gift of immortality and the potential of enjoying God’s greatest gift to man, the gift of eternal life.

The second time we open our mouths, we should tell in our own words the story of the First Vision.

The third time we open our mouths, let us testify of the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.