Missionary Work: Inviting Others to Come Unto Christ

    Lately I have been thinking a lot about "member missionary work." I remember when I was growing up, I always looked forward to the day that I would get to finally share the gospel. I knew that day would come when I was 21, and then I would finally get to preach and teach and work like missionaries did. In April of last year I recieved my call to serve as a full time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. My opportunity to share the gospel had arrived!
    Since that moment, I have learned a lot about missionary work, and a lot about how and where and when we can share the gospel. Here in NC Our Ward Mission Leader asked each family to create a family mission plan. Now before you go staying up late developing your 10 page, single spaced, detail oriented Family Plan to do missionary work, may I offer a few suggestions for what you could do to help hasten the work of salvation in your kneck of the woods? To do so I'm going to share 3 of my favorite "missionary stories" from the scriptures.
    The first is in Alma 53-57. At this point in Nephite history the people of Nephi are in grave danger of losing their war with the Lamanites. So great is their danger that the people of Ammon, who had buried their weapons of war for peace, were on the verge of breaking that covenant they had made with God. But we read,

    "...behold, it came to pass they had many sons, who had not entered into a covenant that they would not take their weapons of war to defend themselves against their enemies; therefore they did assemble themselves together at this time, as many as were able to take up arms, and they called themselves Nephites. And they entered into a covenant to fight for the liberty of the Nephites...And they were all young men...men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted...men of truth and soberness, for they had been taught to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before him...
    "...Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death...yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them...And they rehearsed unto me [Helaman,] the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it."

     And so this little band of 2060 Strippling warriors went into battle, and of them and that battle we read,

     "as the remainder of our army were about to give way before the Lamanites, behold, those two thousand and sixty were firm and undaunted...and even according to their faith it was done unto them; and I [Helaman] did remember the words which they said unto me that their mothers had taught them.... [and] there was not one soul of them who did perish...
    "And now, their preservation was astonishing to our whole army, yea, that they should be spared while there was a thousand of our brethren who were slain. And we do justly ascribe it to the miraculous power of God, because of their exceeding faith in that which they had been taught to believe..."

    Did you catch the missionary reference?
    Let's look at another missionary story, this time in Acts 8. Here we read of Philips ministry in Samaria

    "And there was great joy in that city. But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God
    "...But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John
    "...And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.
    "...Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity. Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me."

    Ok what about that time? What can we learn about missionary work from Phillip, Peter and John?
    The final missionary reference I want to share with you is found in Matthew 11. Here Christ says,

"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."

    With that last scripture, I want to share with you what I have learned in the last 10 months while serving among the people of North Carolina. I have learned that missionary work is not the miles we rids on our bikes. It is not the number of doors we knock on, or a badge we wear or a lesson we teach. Missionary work at its core, is inviting others to come unto Christ, and I know now, that you don't have to set apart to do that.
    My name-tag is important. It easily identifies me as a representative of Jesus Christ and his church, but as I said before, this is not what makes me a missionary. I am acting as a missionary only when I am inviting others to come unto Christ, and I didn't have to come 2000 miles across the country to start doing that. Because behind this badge, I am still first and foremost a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Just like you.
    I want to emphasize this: You don't do missionary work when you walk around wearing a black plastic badge. You do missionary work when you invite others to come unto Christ.
    So! Going back to family mission plans, let's talk real quick about what your family can do to invite others to come unto Christ.
    From the story in Alma we learn that we invite others to come unto Christ when we follow the example of the Ammonite women, and teach our "strippling warriors" correct gospel principles. Your family mission plan might read, "We are going to read our scriptures for 30 minutes as a family every day." or "We are going to pray every morning together before we all to go off to school and work." or even simply "We are going to try a little harder to be more like Jesus"
    From the Story in Acts we learn that we invite others to come unto Christ when we 1) fulfill our church callings and 2) help strengthen new and less active members. Your family mission plan might read, "We are going to go and do our Home and Visiting teaching this month." or "We are going to reach out to the Smith family" or "We are going to attend all of our necessary meetings with a smile on our face and in our hearts."
    And finally from the story in Matthew we learn that we invite others to come unto Christ when we reach out to those around us who labor and are heavy laden. Your family mission plan might read, "We are going to visit 3 home-bound members this month as a family." or "We are going to help Sister H. with her new twins" or even the simple but important "We are going to more fully support and sustain our chosen church leaders."
    Brothers and Sisters, I testify to you that Missionary Work is not a separate auxilary organization of this great Church of which we are a part. Missionary work IS the church, it IS the gospel, beause the purpose of the gospel, the purpose of the church, the purpose of missionary work, is one and the same- to bring every son and daughter of God closer to their savior Jesus Christ.
    Perhaps this is what we really mean when we say, "every member a missionary."