Sharing the Restored Gospel

All Christians are under the injunction to share the gospel with all the world.

1. We can all pray for the desire to help with sharing the gospel.
2. We can all keep the commandments.
3. We can pray for inspiration for what we can do.
4. Our efforts to share the gospel should not be limited to our circle of friends.
5. Ward bishoprics can plan a special sacrament meeting for members to bring interested people.
6. There are many opportunities to share the gospel.
7. Those comfortable with social media can use it to share the gospel.

We should never set ourselves up to judge who is ready to hear the gospel.

Nearing the end of His earthly ministry, our Savior, Jesus Christ, commanded His disciples: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations” and “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” All Christians are under these commands to share the gospel with everyone. Many call this the “great commission.”

As Elder Neil L. Andersen described in the morning session, Latter-day Saints are surely among those most committed to this great responsibility. We should be because we know that God loves all of His children and that in these last days He has restored vital additional knowledge and power to bless all of them. The Savior taught us to love all as our brothers and sisters, and we honor that teaching by sharing the witness and message of the restored gospel “among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people.” This is a vital part of what it means to be a Latter-day Saint. We look on this as a joyful privilege. What could be more joyful than sharing the truths of eternity with God’s children?

If sharing the gospel isn’t something you would wish to do (at least if you weren’t too timid or scared to do it) then you should examine in your heart if you are really converted.

Sharing the restored gospel is our lifelong Christian duty and privilege. Elder Quentin L. Cook reminds us, “Missionary work is not just one of the 88 keys on a piano that is occasionally played; it is a major chord in a compelling melody that needs to be played continuously throughout our lives if we are to remain in harmony with our commitment to Christianity and the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

There are three things all members can do to help share the gospel, regardless of the circumstances in which they live and work. All of us should do all of these.

First, we can all pray for desire to help with this vital part of the work of salvation. All efforts begin with desire.

Second, we can keep the commandments ourselves. Faithful, obedient members are the most persuasive witnesses of the truth and value of the restored gospel. Even more important, faithful members will always have the Savior’s Spirit to be with them to guide them as they seek to participate in the great work of sharing the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

Third, we can pray for inspiration on what we can do in our individual circumstances to share the gospel with others. … Pray with a commitment to act upon the inspiration you receive, promising the Lord that if He will inspire you to speak to someone about the gospel, you will do it.

These actions are universally available.

We need the guidance of the Lord because at any particular time some are—and some are not—ready for the additional truths of the restored gospel. We should never set ourselves up as judges of who is ready and who is not. The Lord knows the hearts of all of His children, and if we pray for inspiration, He will help us find persons He knows to be “in a preparation to hear the word.”

… Elder M. Russell Ballard has given this important counsel, with which I concur: “Trust the Lord. He is the Good Shepherd. He knows His sheep. … If we are not engaged, many who would hear the message of the Restoration will be passed by. … The principles are pretty simple—pray, personally and in your family, for missionary opportunities.” As we demonstrate our faith, these opportunities will come without any “forced or … contrived response. They will flow as a natural result of our love for our brothers and sisters.”

{S}uccess in sharing the gospel is inviting people with love and genuine intent to help them, no matter what their response.

This should remind us that part of the importance of missionary work isn’t finding new converts, it is putting our faith into action.

1. We need to remember “that people learn when they’re ready to learn, not when we’re ready to teach them.”
2. As we speak to others, we need to remember that an invitation to learn more about Jesus Christ and His gospel is preferable to an invitation to learn more about our Church. We want people to be converted to the gospel.
3. When we seek to introduce people to the restored gospel, we should do this in ways that are authentic and in loving concern for the individual. This happens when we are trying to help others with problems they have identified or when we are working with them in community service activities.
4. Our efforts to share the gospel should not be limited to our circle of friends and associates.
5. Ward bishoprics can plan a special sacrament meeting to which members are urged to bring interested persons.
6. There are many other opportunities to share the gospel.
7. Our young members’ fascination and expertise with social media gives them unique opportunities to reach out to interest others in the gospel.

Clayton M. Christensen, who has impressive experience as a member missionary, states that “over the past twenty years, we have observed no correlation between the depth of a relationship and the probability that a person will be interested in learning about the gospel.”

That is an important but counterintuitive fact.

Sharing the gospel is not a burden but a joy. What we call “member missionary work” is not a program but an attitude of love and outreach to help those around us. It is also an opportunity to witness how we feel about the restored gospel of our Savior. As Elder Ballard has taught, “A most significant evidence of our conversion and of how we feel about the gospel in our own lives is our willingness to share it with others.”

This was what I was trying to convert earlier.