Missionary Work is as Important as Temple Work

Elizabeth spoke on Sunday for the last time before she leaves for the MTC.  She did a great job, and it was wonderful to see how the spirit is already working in her.  Here is a copy of her talk for those who couldn't be there:

Missionary talk for Sacrament Meeting

November 24^th, 2013

Elizabeth Bryans

My dad always tells my brother that when he has to speak in church he should do a scripture chain. He usually listens and does a great job. I wasn’t told to do a scripture chain, but that thought did help to trigger the inspiration for my talk which is a verse by verse analysis of Section 4 of the Doctrine and Covenants:

1 Now behold, a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men.

            In the October 2012 General Conference, we heard these words spoken by our beloved prophet, Thomas S. Monson, in his opening address Saturday morning:

Brothers and sisters, I now turn to another matter—namely, missionary service.

For some time the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles have allowed young men from certain countries to serve at the age of 18 when they are worthy, able, have graduated from high school, and have expressed a sincere desire to serve. This has been a country-specific policy and has allowed thousands of young men to serve honorable missions and also fulfill required military obligations and educational opportunities.

Our experience with these 18-year-old missionaries has been positive. Their mission presidents report that they are obedient, faithful, mature, and serve just as competently as do the older missionaries who serve in the same missions. Their faithfulness, obedience, and maturity have caused us to desire the same option of earlier missionary service for all young men, regardless of the country from which they come.

I am pleased to announce that effective immediately all worthy and able young men who have graduated from high school or its equivalent, regardless of where they live, will have the option of being recommended for missionary service beginning at the age of 18, instead of age 19. I am not suggesting that all young men will—or should—serve at this earlier age. Rather, based on individual circumstances as well as upon a determination by priesthood leaders, this option is now available.

As we have prayerfully pondered the age at which young men may begin their missionary service, we have also given consideration to the age at which a young woman might serve. Today I am pleased to announce that able, worthy young women who have the desire to serve may be recommended for missionary service beginning at age 19, instead of age 21.

We affirm that missionary work is a priesthood duty—and we encourage all young men who are worthy and who are physically able and mentally capable to respond to the call to serve. Many young women also serve, but they are not under the same mandate to serve as are the young men. We assure the young sisters of the Church, however, that they make a valuable contribution as missionaries, and we welcome their service.

We continue to need many more senior couples. As your circumstances allow, as you are eligible for retirement, and as your health permits, I encourage you to make yourselves available for full-time missionary service. Both husband and wife will have a greater joy as they together serve our Father’s children.

            What more marvelous a work could come forth than the announcement that encouraged more young men and young women to prepare now to serve the Lord as missionaries. This opens the door to allow the gospel to travel out at a more rapid rate than it ever has in the past. The church needs full time and member missionaries at this time to prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Savior, and I am so excited to be of service to the Lord at this time.

 2 Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.

            How do we serve “with all our heart, might, mind and strength”?

            To serve “with all out heart,” we must first gain a testimony of missionary work.  For me, this testimony didn’t begin to grow until I began to practice being a missionary. I love it when I am able to bring up gospel related topics in normal conversation with friends, family and coworkers, but my favorite thing to do is give away copies of the Book of Mormon. I try and give away at least one each year to someone I have grown to care about and admire, or to someone I feel would benefit from having the gospel in their life. As the years have gone by, I have found that it is easier to practice being a missionary when I pray for missionary opportunities because I am more aware of the spiritual promptings that come.

            Next, how do we serve “with all our might”?  

            When we serve with all our might, it means we serve with the Spirit of love. Missionary work cannot be accomplished without the Spirit to lead and guide us to the hearts of those who are searching for the truthfulness of the gospel.

A good example of serving with all our might is the Nephite missionary Ammon. He loved the gospel so much that he desired to serve a mission among the Lamanites. Upon entering his first area, Ammon was arrested and taken to King Lamoni. Because of the Spirit, Ammon was able to work as a servant for the King. He was protected by the Spirit while he defended King Lamoni’s flocks. And, later, he listened to the Spirit to know the questions that were troubling the King’s heart when he saw the results of the power and strength of Ammon. Had Ammon not served with the Spirit of love when he entered the kingdom of Lamoni, he would not have had the great success as a missionary which allowed him to convert whole kingdoms.

What does it mean to serve “with all our mind”?  

Serving “with all our mind,” means we need to be actively seeking spiritual knowledge from the scriptures and the words of the prophets. The more we know about the gospel of Jesus Christ, the more we can share with others when we are prompted by the spirit. The act of gaining spiritual knowledge comes by careful study and prayer. It comes by actively practicing what we are learning about the gospel. And it means acting on faith when we don’t know all the answers.

Isn’t it wonderful that we have access to the same tools the missionaries use to teach, so we can study to know the doctrine ourselves. When I made the decision to serve a mission, I took the Missionary Prep institute class. I began learning the lessons the missionaries teach, and I got to practice teaching them to my class mates. When I came home for the summer, I began studying Preach My Gospel as I got ready to submit my papers for missionary service. I also began reading Jesus the Christ. All of these things have helped strengthen my gospel knowledge and have made it easier to share the gospel with those I come in contact with.

Finally, how do we serve “with all of our strength”?

To serve with all of our strength means to focus all our energies on the work of spreading the gospel. I love the gospel so much that I want to share it with everyone. Why would anyone not want to share what they love the most with the world? I eagerly await the day when I will begin serving as a full time missionary in the Fort Collins Colorado Mission.

 3 Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work;

            In every General Conference and in our most recent Stake Conference, we are reminded that every member is a missionary. We all desire to serve God. In his talk The Essential Role of Member Missionary Work, Elder M. Russell Ballard shares what we can do to be effective member missionaries:

First, we should exercise our faith and pray individually and as families, asking for help in finding ways to share the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Ask the Lord to open the way. Prayerfully set a date with your family to have someone in your home for the missionaries to teach. Remember, brothers and sisters, this is the Lord’s Church. Let Him guide you through constant prayer. With a prayer in your heart, talk to everyone you can. Don’t prejudge. Don’t withhold the good news from anyone. Talk to everyone, and trust in the promised power of the Spirit to give you the words you should say. Let them make the decision to accept or reject your invitation. Over time, the Lord will put into your path those who are seeking the truth. He is the Good Shepherd. He knows His sheep, and they will know His voice, spoken through you, and they will follow Him (see John 10).

President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “It will be a great day when our people not only pray for the missionaries throughout the world, but ask the Lord to help them to assist the missionaries who are laboring in their own ward” (“Missionary Service,” First Worldwide Leadership Training Meeting, Jan. 2003, 19).

Second, leaders must lead by example. The Spirit will prompt and guide you in finding those interested in our message. Your personal worthiness will give you the courage and the spiritual power to inspire your members to actively help the missionaries.

Some years ago a faithful convert, Brother George McLaughlin, was called to preside over a small branch of 20 members in Farmingdale, Maine. He was a humble man, driving a milk delivery truck for a living. Through his fasting and earnest prayer, the Spirit taught him what he and the members of his branch needed to do to help the Church grow in their area. Through his great faith, constant prayer, and powerful example, he taught his members how to share the gospel. It’s a marvelous story, one of the great missionary stories of this dispensation. In just one year, there were 450 convert baptisms in the branch. The next year there were an additional 200 converts. President McLaughlin indicated: “My job as branch president was to teach [the new converts] how to be Mormons. I had to teach them how to give talks and lessons in church. I had to teach them how to teach the gospel to their children. I trained the new members to become strong members.” Pretty simple.

Just five years later, the Augusta Maine Stake was organized. Much of the leadership of that new stake came from those converts in the Farmingdale Branch. Now we might ask why there was such great success in those days, and the answer may be because of the urgent need to strengthen the Church. Let me assure you that that same urgency in all units of the Church is every bit as critical today as it was then.

Third, member missionary work does not require the development of strategies or gimmicks. It does require faith—real faith and trust in the Lord. It also requires genuine love. The first great commandment is to “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. … The second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matt. 22:37, 39).

So let the power of love guide us in sharing the gospel with family members, friends, neighbors, business associates, and any other people we encounter as we go through life. Most everyone wants to enjoy peace and happiness. That is a natural human desire. People want to find answers to the problems they face. This is increasingly true in the world we now live in.

            The steps are easy: pray in faith for missionary opportunities, lead with the spirit, and love through your faith.

 4 For behold the field is white already to harvest; and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul;

            Missionary work is hard work. It is necessary work. It is fun work. And it is a saving work. It is as crucial to the plan of salvation as temple work is. Elder Jeffry R. Holland said, “Missionary work isn’t the only thing we need to do in this big, wide, wonderful Church. But almost everything else we need to do depends on people first hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ and coming into the faith. … With all that there is to do along the path to eternal life, we need a lot more missionaries opening that gate and helping people through it.” The people of the world are ready to hear the message of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. All we have to do is share our message with those we meet.

 5 And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work.

            Our faith and our testimony give us the tools we need to share the gospel with those around us. It is with faith and hope that we seek out those who are ready to learn more about the Savior, his plan for them and about the restored gospel. Through charity and love, we see people through God’s eyes. It is with that same love that we never relinquish our invitation to come unto Christ. When we have our “eye single to the glory of God,” we desire to help him “bring to pass immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). As members of this church, we desire eternal life. Why wouldn’t we want to help others attain eternal life too?  

 6 Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence.

These are all the attributes which make up a successful missionary. The Book of Mormon prophet Abinadi is a perfect example of a successful missionary. He went to the people of King Noah hoping that someone would listen to his words. Fortunately, he was taken prisoner by King Noah. While standing trial, he was able to deliver the message of the Lord to the people at court. One of which was Alma the Elder. He felt the spirit and defended the prophet only to be chased out of the court and sentenced to death. Abinadi never knew if he was successful because he gave his life for his testimony of the Savior. Because of the Book of Mormon, we know that Alma the Elder taught and baptized a multitude at the waters of Bountiful and went on to become a great prophet.

7 Ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Amen.

            One of the best known pictures of the Savior is of when he is knocking at a door with no handle waiting for us to let him in. Missionary work is the same way. There are many people who knock seeking for the knowledge of the gospel. We can help if we only open the door and share with them what they desire most which is the peace and joy that comes to all who find the gospel of Christ.

            I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer. I know that he atoned for me in the Garden of Gethsemane. I know that this gospel is true. I know that it was restored to the earth by a prophet of God, Joseph Smith. I know that the Book of Mormon was saved for these latter days to act as another testament of Jesus Christ, and I know that it was translated by the will of God. I know that we have a living prophet on the earth today, President Thomas S. Monson. I know that all of these things are true, and I know that Missionary Work is important; I am so excited to serve the Lord and act as his hands in the Fort Collins Colorado area. These things I leave with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.