OUR RESPONSIBILITY

The mission of the Church is threefold:

1.  Proclaim the Gospel
2.  Perfect the Saints
3.  Redeem the dead

It is interesting  to note that all three of these directives have one thing in common.  Proclaiming the Gospel is obviously missionary work.  Perfecting the saints very much includes fellowshipping the new members and ensuring they stay in the Church and progress.  Redeeming the dead is performing the physical work for those who are being preached to in the spirit world.  All three are about missionary work.  Therefore, we can safely conclude that the Church is a missionary church. 

The saints of this dispensation have been commanded to take the gospel to all the world.  We can achieve this through two ways:

1.  Influence

President Gordon B Hinckley shed some light on this when he said the following:

"If we will go forward, never losing sight of our goal, speaking ill of no one, living the great principles we know to be true, this cause will roll on in majesty and power to fill the earth.  Doors now closed to the preaching of the gospel will be opened.  The Almighty, if necessary, may have to shake the nations to humble them and cause them to listen to the servants of the living God.  Whatever is needed will come to pass.  The key to the great challenges facing us and to the success of the work will be the faith of all who call themselves Latter-day Saints". (Ensign Nov. 1997, 68)

According to this statement, how faithfully we live the gospel will have a great impact on the success of missionary work in the world. Not only do we influence people individually through being an example but the more righteous the saints collectively, the greater the spirit and where the spirit is strong, missionary work yields success. Our faith also plays a very crucial part in this success. I remember some years ago Australia was going through a terrible draught.  The Area President residing here at the time promised the saints that if they paid their tithing faithfully that the draught would break.  It was such a responsibility knowing that the fate of the whole country depended on the minority and their faithfulness.  I think it is the same with missionary work. 

Another way our influence can be felt is through the greatest window to the world we have been given in this dispensation, that of the internet.  Here again, you don't even have to step out of your house to spread our influence far and wide.  Ask yourself if you are a righteous influence on all the forums and networks you belong to.  Do people know you are a member of the Church?  Do they know how much you love the Church?  Are you telling them what your life is like because of the Church?  Are you sharing your knowledge about God with your internet friends? Just something as simple as sharing a quote from a general authority could spark someone's interest in the Church.  As I stated in my last blog on missionary work, our message should be one of love, but it is often curiosity about the Church that will bring someone to the knowledge of the Saviour.   

2.  Physical Effort

If you feel that finding someone to lead to the baptismal font is beyond you, find one thing that you are good at when it comes to missionary work.  Perhaps you have a strong testimony of The Book of Mormon that you want to share.  Ask the missionaries in your ward if you could write your testimony in the Books of Mormon that they intend to pass out.  Or you can make a goal to give out one copy of The Book of Mormon in a certain period of time and then pray that you can find someone to give it to.  If you love to bear your testimony in person, ask the missionaries in your ward if you can accompany them when they teach discussions to their investigators.  If fellowshipping is something you highly enjoy, ask the missionaries to make you aware who they are bringing to Church so you can make yourself available to sit with them and make them feel welcome.  There is at least one thing each one of us can excel in and it's up to us to find what that is and do it.  We are not required to do everything, as long as we do something.  Whatever it is, we should be endeavouring to bring someone to Christ in some way.  That is our mission, that is our purpose, that is our goal.

"The day will come the Lord will unveil the heavens and invite each of his disciples to come forward - one by one - and greet and embrace Him.  On that day, we will want to be surrounded by as many as possible of our brothers and sisters, surrounded by those we have influenced in some way to come unto Him - our children, our family members, our ward or branch members, our friends, our neighbours - as many as we have touched with the power of our testimonies.  If we do so, He will take us into His loving embrace and whisper to us, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant".
(Breck England, Lesson 41 "Every Member a Missionary", Meridian Magazine)