My heart has been filled lately. It has been filled with a greater desire to be missionary minded. My hope is that my missionary mindedness will not just be missionary thoughts but will be transfered into missionary actions.
I have had some great opportunities lately that have come in very simple ways. As simple as fullfilling my role as a visiting teacher or knocking on a strangers door to deliver a birthday card.
About a week ago I read the First Presidency message given by President Eyring in the January Ensign and felt a fire lit underneath me to get up and work. As I read it, it hit me in an extremely powerful way and I felt the great urgency and the great obligation that I have to follow through.
I now want to share some of the powerful words from this vital message.
If You Know You Should Warn
"Here is the charge given to each of the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: “Behold, I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor” (D&C 88:81)."
There is Danger in Not Warning
"The Lord would not use the word warn if there was no danger. Yet not many people we know sense it. They have learned to ignore the increasing evidence that society is unraveling and that their lives and family lack the peace they once thought was possible. That willingness to ignore the signs of danger can make it easy for you to think: “Why should I speak to anyone about the gospel who seems content? What danger is there to them or to me if I do or say nothing?”
Well, the danger may be hard to see, but it is real, both for them and for us. For instance, at some moment in the world to come, everyone you met in this life will know what you know now. They will know that the only way to live forever in association with our families and in the presence of our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, is to choose to enter into the gate by baptism at the hands of those with authority from God. They will know that the only way families can be together forever is to accept and keep sacred covenants offered in the temples of God on this earth. They will know that you knew. And they will remember whether you offered them what someone had offered you. It’s easy to say, “The time isn’t right.” But there is danger in procrastination."
The Keys to Missionary Work
"I can still remember my mother speaking softly to me one Saturday afternoon when, as a little boy, I asked her for permission to do something I thought was perfectly reasonable and which she knew was dangerous. I still am amazed at the power she was granted, I believe from the Lord, to turn me around with so few words. As I remember them, they were: “Oh, I suppose you could do that. But the choice is yours.” The only warning was in the emphasis she put on the words could and choice. Yet that was enough for me.
Her power to warn with so few words sprang from three things I knew about her. First, I knew she loved me. Second, I knew she had faced similar situations and had been blessed by making the right choice. And third, she had conveyed to me her sure testimony that the choice I had to make was so important that the Lord would tell me what to do if I asked Him. Love, example, and testimony: those were keys that day, and they have been whenever I have been blessed to hear and then heed the warning of a servant of the Lord.
I testify that only accepting and living the restored gospel of Jesus Christ brings the peace the Lord promised in this life and the hope of eternal life in the world to come. I testify that we have been given the privilege and the obligation to offer the truth and the choices which lead to those blessings to our Heavenly Father’s children, who are our brothers and our sisters. Jesus is the Christ, He lives, and this is His work."
These are only a few selections of this powerful talk and I urge you to read it in it's entirety.
We can and we must show a greater love to our neighbors, our colleagues, and our families and friends. We can and we must be good examples. We can and we must share our testimonies of the truth. We know what other's do not know. We have been warned. We have the truth. We have testimonies.
I urge us all today to find the courage within ourselves to share what we know with someone who has not yet been warned or who has forgotten the warning they had once received. I challege us all to pray for opportunites to share the gospel, to have the courage to bear our testimonies, and to stop procrastinating the sharing of this urgent message.
Let us go knock on our neighbor's door, mention the gospel to a co-worker, or share our testimonies with our loved ones. As I felt when I read this article I hope we can all feel and act on the urgency and the obligation of this charge.
Let Us Raise Our Voice of Warning!
I have had some great opportunities lately that have come in very simple ways. As simple as fullfilling my role as a visiting teacher or knocking on a strangers door to deliver a birthday card.
About a week ago I read the First Presidency message given by President Eyring in the January Ensign and felt a fire lit underneath me to get up and work. As I read it, it hit me in an extremely powerful way and I felt the great urgency and the great obligation that I have to follow through.
I now want to share some of the powerful words from this vital message.
If You Know You Should Warn
"Here is the charge given to each of the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: “Behold, I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor” (D&C 88:81)."
There is Danger in Not Warning
"The Lord would not use the word warn if there was no danger. Yet not many people we know sense it. They have learned to ignore the increasing evidence that society is unraveling and that their lives and family lack the peace they once thought was possible. That willingness to ignore the signs of danger can make it easy for you to think: “Why should I speak to anyone about the gospel who seems content? What danger is there to them or to me if I do or say nothing?”
Well, the danger may be hard to see, but it is real, both for them and for us. For instance, at some moment in the world to come, everyone you met in this life will know what you know now. They will know that the only way to live forever in association with our families and in the presence of our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, is to choose to enter into the gate by baptism at the hands of those with authority from God. They will know that the only way families can be together forever is to accept and keep sacred covenants offered in the temples of God on this earth. They will know that you knew. And they will remember whether you offered them what someone had offered you. It’s easy to say, “The time isn’t right.” But there is danger in procrastination."
The Keys to Missionary Work
"I can still remember my mother speaking softly to me one Saturday afternoon when, as a little boy, I asked her for permission to do something I thought was perfectly reasonable and which she knew was dangerous. I still am amazed at the power she was granted, I believe from the Lord, to turn me around with so few words. As I remember them, they were: “Oh, I suppose you could do that. But the choice is yours.” The only warning was in the emphasis she put on the words could and choice. Yet that was enough for me.
Her power to warn with so few words sprang from three things I knew about her. First, I knew she loved me. Second, I knew she had faced similar situations and had been blessed by making the right choice. And third, she had conveyed to me her sure testimony that the choice I had to make was so important that the Lord would tell me what to do if I asked Him. Love, example, and testimony: those were keys that day, and they have been whenever I have been blessed to hear and then heed the warning of a servant of the Lord.
I testify that only accepting and living the restored gospel of Jesus Christ brings the peace the Lord promised in this life and the hope of eternal life in the world to come. I testify that we have been given the privilege and the obligation to offer the truth and the choices which lead to those blessings to our Heavenly Father’s children, who are our brothers and our sisters. Jesus is the Christ, He lives, and this is His work."
These are only a few selections of this powerful talk and I urge you to read it in it's entirety.
We can and we must show a greater love to our neighbors, our colleagues, and our families and friends. We can and we must be good examples. We can and we must share our testimonies of the truth. We know what other's do not know. We have been warned. We have the truth. We have testimonies.
I urge us all today to find the courage within ourselves to share what we know with someone who has not yet been warned or who has forgotten the warning they had once received. I challege us all to pray for opportunites to share the gospel, to have the courage to bear our testimonies, and to stop procrastinating the sharing of this urgent message.
Let us go knock on our neighbor's door, mention the gospel to a co-worker, or share our testimonies with our loved ones. As I felt when I read this article I hope we can all feel and act on the urgency and the obligation of this charge.
Let Us Raise Our Voice of Warning!
I'd love to hear your wonderful missionary experiences or thoughts on different ways we can reach out and share the gospel.
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