You don’t need a name tag, satchel, and pair of walking shoes to effectively share the gospel.
When my dad was in high school, he was less active in the Church. At the end of his senior year, a friend encouraged him to pray and ask if God exists. “If you find out there isn’t a God, then you can put the Church behind you after graduation and not look back,” his friend said.
My dad took his friend’s advice—not having to think about the Church ever again sounded appealing. But after praying, he received the answer that there is a loving Heavenly Father. This answer prompted my dad to read the Book of Mormon for the first time, return to the Church, and serve a mission.
What would have happened if that friend hadn’t encouraged my dad to act? How would my life differ today if my dad hadn’t become active? While I don’t know the answers, I do know that stories like this one remind me why missionary work is important.
Photo by Mehdi Genest
In the general conference talk “The Essential Role of Member Missionary Work,” Elder M. Russell Ballard states, “The Savior’s impassioned charge to ‘feed [His] sheep’ continues in force today.” We must remember that every individual who has been blessed with the gospel is to share it with others so that God’s children can be nourished with the truth.
We don’t have to serve a mission to share the gospel. We don’t have to know everything about the doctrine to be a member missionary. We simply need faith, genuine love, and the willingness to open our mouths.
Elder Ballard states that our love for the Savior, his Church, and our fellow men should be the driving reason we share the gospel. Elder Ballard also testifies that most people want happiness in life and that as members of the restored Church, we have the key to that happiness.
We can be member missionaries by trusting in the Lord and sharing with others why the gospel makes us so happy.
To learn more about member missionary work, read Elder M. Russell Ballard’s talk “The Essential Role of Member Missionary Work.”
Source: LDS General Conference
—Marisa Peel, Mormon Insights
feature image by ben white
Find more insights
Read Elder Dallin H. Oaks’s talk “Sharing the Restored Gospel” for tips on how to be a member missionary.
For more insights on how members and missionaries can work together, read the talk “Preach My Gospel—the Unifying Tool between Members and Missionaries,” by Elder Erich W. Kopischke.