Sharing the Gospel

I heard a man this week share an experience regarding the sharing of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Two men of different Christian faiths were speaking about this topic, and one of them said to the other that the reason for sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ is not about trying to convert others but rather done because we are converted. The Savior invited his apostles at the end of his life to share the gospel with others saying, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations” (Matthew 28:19) and “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Elder Bednar shared an experience that he had that illustrates why sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ is such an integral part of being converted to Jesus.

“One evening Susan and I stood near a window in our home and watched two of our little boys playing outside. During the course of their adventures, the younger of the two boys was injured slightly in a small accident. We quickly recognized that he was not seriously hurt, and we decided not to provide immediate assistance. We wanted to observe and see if any of our family discussions about brotherly kindness had sunk in. What happened next was both interesting and instructive.

The older brother consoled and carefully helped the younger brother back into the house. Susan and I had positioned ourselves near the kitchen so we could see what next took place, and we were prepared to intervene immediately if additional bodily harm seemed likely or a serious accident was imminent.

The older brother dragged a chair to the kitchen sink. He climbed up on the chair, assisted his brother onto the chair, turned on the water, and proceeded to pour a large quantity of dishwashing soap onto the scratched arm of his little brother. He did his best to gently wash away the dirt. The reaction of the little brother to this procedure can only be described accurately using language from the holy scriptures: “And they shall have cause to howl, and weep, and wail, and gnash their teeth” (Mosiah 16:2). And did that little boy howl!

After the scrubbing was finished, the arm was carefully dried with a towel. Eventually the screaming stopped. The older brother next climbed up onto the kitchen counter, opened a cabinet, and found a new tube of medicated ointment. Though the scratches on his little brother were not large or extensive, the older brother applied almost all of the ointment in the tube to the entire injured arm. The screaming did not resume, as the little brother clearly liked the soothing effect of the ointment much more than he appreciated the cleansing effect of the dishwashing soap.

The older brother returned again to the cabinet in which he had found the ointment and located a new box of sterile bandages. He then unwrapped and put bandages all up and down his brother’s arm—from the wrist to the elbow. With the emergency resolved, and with soap bubbles, ointment, and wrappers all over the kitchen, the two little boys hopped down from the chair with bright smiles and happy faces.

 What happened next is most important. The injured brother gathered up the remaining bandages and the almost empty tube of ointment, and he went back outside. He quickly sought out his friends and began to put ointment and bandages on their arms. Susan and I both were struck by the sincerity, enthusiasm, and rapidity of his response.”

                This story serves as a good analogy, I believe, for the sharing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The soothing medication is like the Gospel and the sharing of the medication with others is like the missionary work that goes on throughout the world. I know for me, it can be overwhelming and shocking to have someone come up to me suggesting I try something new to fix a problem I might have. I believe it is probably the same way when talking with others about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 I think I saw this particularly in Germany as a young man. I served for a period of 2 years trying to tell people about the joy I had felt from the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Many times people were not interested, and I believe this was in part due to their past experiences in their country. They had heard of the wonderful things that were supposed to be happening under a previous governmental regime only to have the reality of those wonderful things come crashing down after the war. I believe this happens with others as well. Sometimes, something that can sound too good to be true turns out to be just that. But the Gospel of Jesus Christ has turned out to be as good as advertised for me.        

                I know that I have been changed because of my conversion to Jesus Christ. I still have much to learn. I still have much I can improve on. I struggle with sharing the gospel with others even though I know it will bless and help and lift the lives of those around me. I try to live my life in a way that reflects my belief in the Savior. I try to share what I believe and will continue to seek to do so. I know God loves all of us. He is looking out for our well-being.

Fathers

                The chorus of a favorite primary hymn of mine goes: “Fathers are so special with a very special love. They watch us and protect us. They guide us and direct us back to our home above.”  And I believe that to be true. Today is Father’s Day. I, like Nephi of old, was blessed with goodly parents. My Dad taught me the importance of work and always provided for me and my family. My Dad is strong and did not cry very often. One of the few times I remember him doing so was when a cousin of mine was bearing his testimony after returning home honorably from a mission to Idaho. I asked my Dad why he was crying. He answered that it was because of the change that had taken place in my cousin during the course of his mission.

                

                  Dad helped me with homework, a lot; particularly with my math homework. He would look over the chapter regarding the problems we were working on and then try to help me get the answer and understand the concepts. I remember one time when I had an assignment over Christmas break that I procrastinated to do until the day before I was scheduled to go back to school. My Dad asked me why I had waited so long to start on the project. I didn’t have a good answer but with his help, I got it done. This is just one of many examples of patience that Dad had with me.

                I love sports and that love has grown, in part, due to my Dad’s love for sports. I remember playing catch with Dad once right after he arrived home from work. We were only about 10 feet away, but I felt it necessary to throw that ball as hard as I could. Dad blocked the ball as best he could, but I knocked the lenses out of his glasses. He could have been quite angry with me, but I don’t recall that being the case.

                That song I quoted earlier has a verse about a fathers in our home, fathers in our church, and our Heavenly Father. I am grateful to have a Heavenly Father who listens to us. One day while I was pretending to be a person taught by the missionaries I was working with in the MTC, I was asked to say a prayer. I began by saying, “Heavenly Father” and stopped. In that moment of praying, although I was pretending to be someone investigating the church, I felt the power of being able to speak with my Father in Heaven. Sometimes when I forget who I am or what Heavenly Father has done for me, I remember that experience and it strengthens me.

   

             My wife and I have not yet been blessed with any children on this earth. We have had miscarriages and during the first of those, I wrote some words to our unborn child. It was a good experience for me to be able to do so. To articulate some of the feelings I had toward my unborn child. I felt such love and desire for him/her to be alright. I felt the weight of the responsibility to care for that child.  I do not know Heavenly Father’s plan for me and my wife regarding children in this life, but I do know that I love those children of mine and I look forward to the day, in this day or the next, when I get to be their Dad.

 

I know Heavenly Father loves me. I know He loves you. I hope that on this Father’s Day you remember what He has done for you.


This is a video that I enjoy about  Fathers. I hope you enjoy it as well!

             

Unity

    In 4 Nephi we read of a people who achieved a Zion state of living. They cared for each other and loved one another and took care of the poor and needy among them. One verse in this account that always stands out to me is in verse 17: "There were no robbers, nor murderers, neither were there Lamanites, or any manner of -ites; but they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God." The idea that there were no manner of -ites once led someone in a lesson I attended to make the observation that they were "un-ited" or we could say they were united.

   

    Satan does not like it when we are united. He is like one of the predators in the wild who seeks to separate an animal from the herd or group and kill it. Satan understands, if he can separate us, he can destroy us more easily. Conversely, our Heavenly Father desires to see us united. He wants us to be a part of his heavenly home. In the parable of the lost sheep, the shepherd left the 99 and sought after the one who was lost.

    Becoming united can seem daunting especially where there are so many things that can be disagreed upon from race, politics, religious beliefs, interpretation of the word of wisdom, and on and on. The people in 4 Nephi had just seen their Savior, Jesus Christ so it may seem that they had it easy. But I believe they made the conscious decision to be united. Being united does not mean being uniform or robotic in our ways. Elder Renlund has said, "God is not interested in His children just becoming trained and obedient 'pets' who will not chew on His slippers in the celestial living room. No, God wants His children to grow up spiritually and join Him in the family business."

    Sheri Dew wrote a book titled Oh, How We Need Each Other. In this book she addresses the need for women to be unified, but I think some of the thoughts from that book can be expanded to include everyone. In the book, Sister Dew writes: "We need each other's strength and compassion. We need to be able to lean on, learn from, and help each other along the path." I remember hearing a story about horses pulling weight. In researching the topic, I learned that one horse can pull as much as 8,000 pounds! No small task to be sure. However, when 2 horses are yoked together, they can pull up to 24,000 pounds which is about 3x that of which a single horse can do by itself. The moral of this story, to me, is that we are stronger when we work together.

    Ultimately, becoming unified is achieved through the help of Jesus Christ. In Matthew 11:28-30 we read,

    "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon         you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For         my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

We are all children of a loving Heavenly Father and He has prepared a way for us to return to live with Him, together. Jesus makes that possibility a reality as we trust Him.

Change

Last night, I watched the movie “Aladdin” with my wife Molly. One thing that stuck out to me in the movie was the Genie’s desire to be freed. Eventually Aladdin is able to set the Genie free. This reminded me of my desire to be free and the desire we all have to become free from sin and sorrow and heart ache and all other afflictions. While we may not have a magic lamp or genie who can grant us wishes, we do have a master who sets us free. That master is our Savior Jesus Christ. He sets us free. I love these words found in Alma 7:11-13:             

“And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to their flesh, that he may know according to the flesh, how to succor his people according to their infirmities. Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people; that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold this is the testimony which is in me.”

What a miracle and blessing it is that Jesus came to earth and prepared a way for me and you to be able to repent and change and overcome natural tendencies in order to return to live with our Heavenly Parents.

                I recall a talk from Elder Robbins who spoke about repentance and forgiveness. In that talk he said with regards to our constant need for repentance: “Our success, then isn’t going from failure to failure, but growing from failure to failure without any loss of enthusiasm.”  I love this idea of growing from mistake or failure to failure. I used to think of repentance as being a bad thing because it implied I had done something wrong; that I had failed. I have a great fear of failure. I do not like to fail or feel that I have disappointed someone. To quote the British track athlete Harold Abrams, “If I can’t win, then I won’t run.” Fortunately, for me and for you, there is a way for us to run and to win, even if we stumble and fall along the way. Harold Abrams’ girlfriend replied to his comment with one of her own, “If you don’t run, you can’t win.”  And so it is in life. We run the race of life and yes, we stumble. Yes we fall down. But we have a loving Father in Heaven who prepared a way through His Son Jesus Christ for us to grow from each misstep and each fall along the way.

                That way is through repentance. Through turning to Jesus and asking for his help. A talk given at BYU in 2011 by Brad Wilcox titled “His Grace is Sufficient” has really been a go to talk for helping me understand how Jesus’ amazing grace works. In the talk, Brad Wilcox talks about one of the ways in which grace works:

“So grace is not a booster engine that kicks in once our fuel supply is exhausted. Rather, it is our constant energy source. It is not the light at the end of the tunnel but the light that moves us through the tunnel. Grace is not achieved somewhere down the road.  It is received right here and right now. It is not a finishing touch; it is the Finishers touch (see Hebrews 12:2).”

                Because of the Savior’s amazing grace, I can repent and be changed from a sinner to a saint. I can become what the Lord wants me to be. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneht me.” (Philippians 4:13). I know that Jesus lives and loves me and all of us very much. It is my hope that the next time we stumble or fall, we reach our hand out to His, which is always stretched out to us, and walk with Him hand in hand. I know as we do so, we can and will be changed.