Bridging the Confidence Gap

Sometimes when I sense a “missionary moment” with a friend or neighbor, I feel unsure of what to say. Although I’d like to launch right into an explanation of gospel beliefs, I often lack the confidence to do so. To help bridge this confidence gap, I’ve found the following ideas helpful.

• As Church members, we can pray for the full-time missionaries and for ability to share the gospel ourselves.

• We can look for the many opportunities available to share the gospel and pray to become more sensitive to them.

• We can ask for discernment and clearheadedness that we may know how to respond to inquiries about our beliefs.

• It helps to practice expressing testimonies both at home and at church during fast and testimony meetings. Once we become comfortable sharing our feelings, it won’t seem so difficult to share them with friends.

• We can allow visitors to our homes to see the things that bring us happiness and joy and let them know the seeds of such good feelings lie in gospel living.

• While we have a responsibility to share our testimonies, we needn’t worry about teaching discussions; the stake and full-time missionaries will do that.

• We can answer questions simply and focus on what we believe, not on what we don’t believe. If we don’t know the answer to a question or are unsure of how to give a clear explanation, we can admit it and offer to find out.

While at times we may feel anxious about sharing the gospel, finding missionary moments comes more naturally as we focus on our love for others and our desire to share the gospel message with them.—Julie B. Morra, Loveland, Ohio