Love, Share, Invite Talk
Intro
Good morning Brothers and Sisters! It is always such a pleasure to be with you all, even if this week it is by way of Zoom. I actually had the unique opportunity to attend the online MTC for six weeks, so this makes me feel right at home.
For those of you who don't know me, or at least haven't read my name tag yet, I am Elder Matt Jackson. Just as a little bit about myself, I am from Alpine Utah, I am the third oldest of six kids, and as a fun fact I am actually a twin! I have been out on my mission for just under 11 months now and I have loved every second of it. That's not to say that every second of it has been easy, far from it, but that's really what has made my mission so meaningful for me. Much like the work that many of us performed in the vineyard this past week, it has been meaningful because it is difficult, but that is also ultimately what makes it so rewarding and joyful.
Before I go any further in my talk I just want to encourage all of you who have ever thought of going on a mission to sincerely pray about it. Counsel with the Lord and your loved ones and priesthood leaders regarding that decision.
My mission has not been what I expected it would be, but I would not change a single second of it. So far, it has been exactly what I have needed to help me learn and grow, and I know that it will continue to do so for me and that a mission can do the same thing for you. If you choose to serve with all of your heart, might, mind, and strength you will never regret it.
Overview
The topic I chose to speak on today is, surprisingly enough, is missionary work! But more specifically, the new missionary directive that the church recently announced. For lack of a better term I will call it the "new missionary directive," but I believe you will all come to realize, as I have, that this new program is really something we've been doing for pretty much forever, the only difference is that now we finally have a name for it. This quote on quote new directive is summed up in three simple words "Love, share and invite." That's it. Just three short words, but the truth of the matter is that those three short words simply and beautifully encapsulate the essence of missionary work and should influence every effort that we make as we participate in it.
Since the worldwide broadcast in which this program was announced a few weeks ago, I have recognized those three principles over and over in conference talks, scriptures, and most importantly in experiences in my own life and in the lives of others. I can promise you that you will experience the same thing as you make this new directive a part of your life.
Today I want to discuss each of these three principles, and I will do my best to explain why they matter and what exactly they entail. I am far from a perfect speaker or missionary, but if you bare with me and listen to the Spirit I promise that He will fulfill his divine role by showing you how you specifically can liken and apply these principles to yourself.
I want to preface the rest of my remarks by emphasizing that these principles and missionary work as a whole apply to all of us, regardless of our age, gender, personality type, interests, or any other distinguishing characteristic imaginable. As we learn in Section 4 of the Doctrine and Covenants, the only deciding factor in who is called to share the gospel are their desires to serve God. Everyone from primary to the First Presidency who has that desire to serve God and love their fellow man can and should participate in this great work! My favorite part of the worldwide broadcast in which Love, share, and invite was announced was how well they demonstrated this truth. From a relief society president in New Zealand who wanted to magnify her calling to a young boy in Africa who simply invited his friends to play the recorder with him at their ward's Christmas activity, we all can and should contribute to sharing the Gospel! This call is extended to all who sincerely desire to serve God, and I can testify personally that God qualifies those that he calls, especially when it comes to missionary work!
Love
The first and most important of these principles is love. It should come as no surprise to any of us that love would be the foundation of missionary because it is, as President Monson put it, the essence of the Gospel. There are two verses I would like to share to demonstrate just how fundamental love is to this Gospel. The first scripture is John 3:16
16 ¶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
As we learn from that verse, God sent His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ because he loves us. God's great plan for us, the restored truths that bless our lives in so many ways, and the indescribable sacrifice of Jesus Christ are all a part of that love. Everything that we teach of and learn about in this church is merely a variation of this eternal truth: Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us infinitely and have given us an infinite Atonement so that we might live with them again. That is the Gospel, that is the good news that we strive to share with the world
To drive this point even further, I'd like to share Matthew 22:37-40.
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
As Jesus Christ himself said, all of the law and the prophets, everything in this church hangs upon the principle of love. Love for our Heavenly Father and then for our fellow man.
Every single thing that we do in this church and in our day to day lives should be driven by love, because that's how it was with our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. If we truly want to emulate him and follow his example, then we have to be motivated by the same thing that he was. Love.
I want to tie this back to missionary work by sharing one of the greatest pieces of advice that my father gave me before I left on my mission:"No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care." I have seen that to be true in so many different ways in the past few months. If we want to share this good news with others we have to make it clear first through our words and most importantly through our actions that we truly do love them. That piece of advice brings me to the next principles I would like to review.
Share
Let's shift gears a little bit and now focus on sharing. How is it that sharing is related to love? Well, the first thing that comes to mind is the oft repeated saying "sharing is caring." As simple as that statement is, it is also profoundly true. If we truly care about the Gospel and our fellow man, then we will sincerely want to share it with them. Elder Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught this principle beautifully in his talk "Your Great Adventure" He explained that,
We do not hide our faith.
We do not bury it.
To the contrary, we talk about our journey with others in normal and natural ways. That’s what friends do—they talk about things that are important to them. Things that are close to their heart and make a difference to them.
That’s what you do. You tell your stories and experiences as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Share your experiences in person, on social media, in groups, everywhere.
There is a phrase in that quote that has really stuck out to me since becoming a missionary, normal and natural. In my mind I never thought that sharing the Gospel could become a normal and natural part of my life, but I can testify that sharing your experiences and your testimony with others will feel natural when you are doing it in response to the promptings of the Holy Ghost. You will want to do it because you love the person you are talking with and you care about the Gospel, and that connection will allow you to share the light and truth you have received in a way that will not be offensive or awkward, it will be normal and natural but even more importantly it will be sincere and touching.
This Gospel that we have given truly is light and truth and if we make it an integral part of our lives that it will shine forth in every part of our lives, and other people will eventually begin to notice it. As the Savior taught,
14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
This light that we have been given, the Gospel, is not ours alone. It has been given to us for a reason, and that reason is to not only bless our lives but the lives of those around us. With that being said I would like to share a few more quotes from Elder Uchtdorf that explain in what matter we should focus on sharing this light.
May I remind you that God does not need you to “sell” the restored gospel or the Church of Jesus Christ.
He simply expects you not to hide it under a bushel.
I am not asking that you stand on a street corner with a megaphone and shout out Book of Mormon verses. What I am asking is that you always look for opportunities to bring up your faith in natural and normal ways with people—both in person as well as online. I am asking that you “stand as witnesses” of the power of the gospel at all times—and when necessary, use words.
I love that part at the end, "when necessary, use words." The truth of the matter is that the most important way we can share the gospel is through our everyday deeds because that is what missionary work should be: an everyday deed.
Missionary work isn't another item on a checklist of things that we do because we are members of this church, it is something we should do naturally every moment of our lives because that is who we are. We should do it constantly through our actions, and as prompted by the Spirit, we should do it verbally in normal and natural ways as we share the truths that we hold dear to our hearts because we have seen them bless our own lives and lives of those we love.
Invite
The third and final principle is to invite. I cannot stress the importance of loving and sharing enough, but the truth is that without the final act of invitation those first two principles will be left incomplete. This is something that is heavily emphasized to us full time missionaries in our guide book Preach My Gospel. It is essential that we love those around us and that we show that love by sharing the things that matter most to us, but if we neglect to invite others to act, then we are denying them the opportunity to truly experience the blessing that we have experienced.
I will share one final quote from Elder Uchtdorf that helps emphasize what makes inviting so essential to missionary work. He explains that,
The difference between casual social contacts and compassionate, courageous discipleship is—invitation!
Why is it that a small invitation on our part makes such a difference? An essential part of our Heavenly Father's plan is that each of us must learn to choose for ourselves. That means that after we have done what we can to love and share, it will be up to others to choose to act on what we share in order for them to receive their own witness of its truthfulness and importance. Without that active choice, those whom we love and with whom we share will not be able to experience all of the things that truly make this Gospel so amazing. That is why it is so important that we give them that choice by extending invitations!
The invitations that we extend though don't have to be large or intimidating. As much as I would love for you all to invite them to meet with the full-time missionaries, it is just as valid to invite them to do something simpler such as attending a church meeting or activity with you. President Uchtdorf uses the three examples of invitations, Come and See, Come and Serve, and Come and belong. We can invite our friends to come and see what the church is like for themselves and to come and serve alongside us at service projects before we ask to come and belong with us here. Through those small invitations they can come to realize for themselves as we have that this church truly is a place of belonging - a place where we can come to be with our brothers and sisters as we worship and rejoice together.
Invitation
As we finish up the harvesting season at our church's vineyard in Madera, we know that the work never truly stops, and so it is with missionary work. The world is the Lord's Vineyard, and his children are the fruit that he so desperately wants us to nourish, cultivate, and harvest. As with our labors in the welfare vineyard, the laborers may be few but the harvest truly is great, and if we are willing to labor with all of our hearts, mights, minds, and strengths this last time we will experience the true joy that comes from being instruments in the Lord's hands to bless our fellow man. I'd like to share another very famous quote from President Thomas S. Monson.
Now is the time for members and missionaries to come together, to work together, to labor in the Lord’s vineyard to bring souls unto Him. He has prepared the means for us to share the gospel in a multitude of ways, and He will assist us in our labors if we will act in faith to fulfill His work.
I know that this quote is true, and I know that God has prepared the means for us to share the Gospel in a multitude of ways. Missionary work is always most effective when we work together and I am so grateful to be able to labor side by side with each of you in this great work!
In staying with the theme of my message today, I want to leave you all with an invitation. I can not take credit for this invitation because it is actually something that has been repeatedly taught to me as I've studied Preach My Gospel and the words of our modern day prophets. My invitation to you all is to simply pray to have missionary experiences. Pray for opportunities to show love to others, to share the precious truths you have learned from the Lord's restored Gospel, and as the spirit directs, to courageously invite others to come to a church activity, meeting, service project or other event. If you pray for those opportunities, I can testify from my own experience as a missionary that those opportunities will come.
7 ¶ Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
When we sincerely ask in faith, God always listens and answers.
Testimony
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