The Great Commission

(The following is from a sermon I gave in Edmond, Oklahoma in 2012.)

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Go with me in your mind to the time in which we all lived in the presence of our Heavenly Family, before we were born. Our Father was there. Our Savior was there. You were there. I was there. All of your friends, family members, and acquaintances were there. The people you pass on the street, see in the halls, share the restaurant dining room with, and who sit with you in the line at the DMV were all there. That mean kid who picked on you in school was there. Your coworkers, employer, doctor, plumber, teacher, neighbor, client, and customer were all there, every one of them, with you. Together you had shared many, many years in the glorious presence of God. You had come to enjoy spending time with them and with our Heavenly Father. You and they knew and loved Him. You and they spoke with Him face to face on many occasions. You and they understood what would need to take place in order for you and they to return to this glorious state and again enjoy His presence. You and they understood the absolute necessity of accepting and living the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who had paved a path for you and for them to walk back to this glorious kingdom. You and they joyfully anticipated the time when you would come to earth and receive a physical body. You looked with faith upon the place in which you would soon live. Your heart swelled to know that you would be placed in close proximity to these precious friends you had grown to love.

The day came when you parted ways and traveled in the spirit to your body, beautifully crafted by way of your earthly parents. Your precious friends did the same, receiving a veil to cover their minds and having their memory blurred to the point of oblivion. You grew and developed, learned and practiced, fell down, and got back up. You were blessed to be placed in circumstances that led you to the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. A few of your friends were also. A few of these are here in this room. Though all of them stood for Christ in that primeval childhood, many of your premortal friends were not born into homes where the Gospel was directly lived and taught, and have not yet happened upon opportunity to be taught and live the Gospel. But they have been mercifully placed by our Heavenly Father close to you. They are entitled to opportunities to remember their long history in the warmth of their Father’s presence. They are here among us, waiting. They go about their lives, many of them oblivious to the great offerings made available by the Atonement of Christ and the Restoration of His Gospel. They stumble and then assume that they are responsible for getting up on their own without aid, never pondering the truths we have that will bless their every moment. God loves them just as He loves you. They really are our brothers and sisters. Now that these doctrines are at the front of your mind, let’s go together to see what principles have been given to help us act in this doctrine.

Foremost are the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: Faith in Christ and His Atonement building within us desire for repentance, leading to baptism in water by one in authority, baptism by fire and the Holy Ghost, and enduring in faith to the end by magnifying all our covenants. That single sentence contains the fullness of the Gospel. How simple and beautiful is this pattern for living! This is the way of life and salvation. This is the path that Jesus Christ invites you and me to walk. How fortunate we are to have this pattern and plan made known to us! Whether our beloved friends know it or not, they must follow this path to achieve the peace and joy they are seeking.

I have in mind another principle set in place for us. I speak of scripture study. Remember with me the words spoken by Alma as he passed to his son the sacred records handed down for his safekeeping: “Behold, I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise. And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls. And now, it has hitherto been wisdom in God that these things should be preserved; for behold, they have enlarged the memory of this people, yea and convinced many of the error of their ways, and brought them to the knowledge of their God unto the salvation of their souls.” (Alma 37: 6-8, emphasis added)

I testify to you that the scriptures do indeed enlarge our memory of the great things done by our God among His children. I have been blessed to experience firsthand this beautiful process, where a person is brought to a remembrance of things they once knew in another world. The events recorded in the scriptures feel familiar to us as we connect with our premortal memories of them as we personally witnessed them. Our dear friends need not have a full, encyclopedic knowledge of the scriptures to experience their powerful influence. We ourselves do not need a full, encyclopedic knowledge of the scriptures in order to effectively share them. We must read and study and ponder and pray over them. We must encourage others to do the same. By the power of the Holy Ghost, in ways far more powerful than any we could replicate, the transcendent truths of the Gospel will sink deep into first, our, and then their hearts. Remember it was a “man without eloquence” whose simple words allowed the Holy Ghost to illuminate the understanding of Brigham Young as he struggled for testimony. Your words will be enough if you have studied and pondered and prayed about the scriptures. That is the Lord’s promise to you. (Doc. & Cov. 100: 5-8, 84: 85)

In seeking to bless those around you, you may from time to time ask, “How do I know who is ready to receive the Gospel?” I have found a beautiful answer within one of our Lord’s parables. “Behold, a sower went forth to sow; and when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: and when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: but other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit.” (Matthew 13:3-8) Notice that the sower freely offered his precious seeds to the entire field. Notice that he did not walk over to the good ground and gently plant his seeds where he knew he would have a harvest. He offered every part of the field the same opportunity to receive a seed. The quality of growth was entirely dictated by the ground on which the seeds fell. It is not our duty to judge whether our friends are ready to receive the gospel. It is our duty to allow them the opportunity to use their agency in response to a heartfelt offer to learn more about the Gospel. Those who are not now ready will move a step closer to being ready in the future. No effort is wasted. Remember that repentance is an integral part of the Gospel. Our friends need not be already living Gospel standards in order to be interested in and receive the Gospel. The Savior Himself explained that He came not “to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Matthew 9:13) Brothers and sisters, let’s not pick through the seeds. Let’s give our friends, all of them, a chance. Let’s fill the schedule of our missionaries here. Let’s open up our homes and host the conversations that will lead toward filling these pews.

Where do we start? How can we live up to this great responsibility? Though epic in scope, this task is beautifully simple to accomplish. It is not complicated. Dieter F. Uchtdorf has taught, first, be a light through our example, second, be conversational by using everyday language and opportunities, third, be full of grace by being civil, loving, and respectful, and fourth, to be filled with faith that this is the Lord’s work and that He helps those He sends to carry it out.

So much more could be said. I have been blessed to know people with unshakeable testimonies of the divinity of this work. I am reminded of a story of one of these people. It is the story of a young missionary who once knelt down and, at the conclusion of his full-time missionary service prayed the following: “Wilt Thou grant that Thy kingdom will roll forth as has been prophesied—that it may come forth out of the wilderness of darkness and shine forth fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners. Wilt Thou send righteousness down out of Heaven and more truth out of the earth to bear and confirm testimony of Thine Only Begotten, and wilt Thou cause this righteousness and truth to sweep the earth as a flood to gather Thine elect unto the places which shall be prepared, even Jerusalem the holy city and Zion, a New Jerusalem, to be built up at Thy command by Thine humble servants.” My own testimony of this great work is likewise intricately intertwined with the story of the scriptures and the preparations necessary to precede the Savior’s second coming. He is coming! I invite you to join with me in gaining a sure knowledge of the building up of the Kingdom of God on the earth and the Second Coming of the Savior.

The Scriptures are true. The Book of Mormon particularly has offered me glimpses into the mind of our Heavenly Father. Joseph Smith was and is a Prophet of God. [Russell M. Nelson] is the Lord’s Prophet today. You are better than you think you are. The Lord needs you now. Let your life find its proper context within the great plan of our Father. Let the vision of your friends and acquaintances appear before you not as they are, but as they were, and as they have potential to become. We will then see them in their proper context as ones who once knew so much, and who only need little reminders from us. God lives and loves you. You are His child. “Spiritually, you are of noble birth, the offspring of the King of Heaven. Fix that truth in your mind and hold to it. However many generations your mortal ancestry, no matter what race or people you represent, the pedigree of your spirit can be written on a single line: you are a child of God.” (Boyd K. Packer)

“Nothing is going to startle us more when we pass through the veil to the other side, than to realize how well we know our Father, and how familiar His face is to us.” (Henry B. Eyring) The path back to Him is not meant to be walked alone. Let’s reach out and invite our precious premortal friends to join us in regaining a sure and personal knowledge of God and His plan for us, His children.

I conclude with words of President Gordon B. Hinckley, “God bless us … in the work that is so clearly laid out before us. May we be faithful. May we be valiant. May we have the courage to be true to the trust God has placed in each of us. May we be unafraid.”

Go Ye Therefore, and Teach All Nations