If the example of my life is what will make my invitation to hear the gospel appealing then at least for the time being nobody would want to listen to my invitation. Such is convenient since nobody would want to listen to me anyway.
Everyone is worthy to receive an invitation to learn the gospel even if most invitations will be declined or ignored.
{T}he Restoration is not only for those of us who rejoice in it today. The revelations of the First Vision were not for Joseph Smith alone but are offered as light and truth for any who “lack wisdom.” The Book of Mormon is the possession of mankind. The priesthood ordinances of salvation and exaltation were prepared for every individual, including those who no longer dwell in mortality. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its blessings are intended for all who want them. The gift of the Holy Ghost is meant for everyone. The Restoration belongs to the world, and its message is especially urgent today.
It strikes me that those on the other side might have a more encompassing perspective on my life and this would not be repelled by my invitation to receive ordinances.
While our invitations are without compulsion, we hope people will find them compelling. For that to be so, I believe at least three things are required: first, your love; second, your example; and third, your use of the Book of Mormon.
After 20 years of ‘come and see,’ ‘come and help,’ and ‘come and stay,’ this precious soul was ready to be baptized.
Nobody spends 20 years of friendship and invitation without it being based on genuine and selfless love for the person they are inviting and what they are inviting them to.
I introduce the second requirement for successfully sharing the message of the Restoration with this question: what is it that will make your invitation appealing to someone? Isn’t it you, the example of your life? Many who have heard and received the message of the Restoration were initially attracted by what they perceived in a member or members of the Church of Jesus Christ. It may have been the way they treated others, the things they said or didn’t say, the steadiness they displayed in difficult situations, or simply their countenance.
Whatever it may be, we cannot escape the fact that we need to understand and live the principles of the restored gospel as best we can for our invitations to be inviting. It is something often referred to today as authenticity. If the love of Christ dwells in us, others will know that our love for them is genuine. If the light of the Holy Spirit burns within us, it will rekindle the Light of Christ within them. What you are lends authenticity to your invitation to come experience the joy of the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Pitty-party me thought there was nothing in my life that would attract anyone to the gospel but even in my hardest times if trial I would hope that someone might have seen steadiness in those difficulties and my efforts to treat people will generally even when we don’t agree on something.
The third requisite is liberal use of the instrument of conversion that God designed for this last gospel dispensation, the Book of Mormon. It is palpable evidence of Joseph Smith’s prophetic calling and convincing evidence of the divinity and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Its exposition of our Heavenly Father’s plan of redemption is unequalled. When you share the Book of Mormon, you share the Restoration.
I prayed this morning for a way to bring the gospel more obviously into my home for my children to be interested. I feel impressed that using the Book of Mormon videos on YouTube is a way to do that with the Book of Mormon.
Perhaps it goes without saying that despite genuine love and sincerity, many, if not most, of our invitations to share the message of the Restoration will be declined. But remember this: everyone is worthy of such an invitation—“all are alike unto God”; the Lord is pleased with every effort we make, no matter the outcome; a declined invitation is no reason for our association to end; and a lack of interest today may well turn to interest tomorrow. Regardless, our love remains constant.
“Our love remains constant” is not based on the prospect that lack of interest today may become interest tomorrow, it is based on our genuine love for a fellow child of God.
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