“Gather—Don’t Scatter,” For the Strength of Youth, July 2023.
Come, Follow Me
Gather—Don’t Scatter
God doesn’t show favoritism among people, and neither should we.
Illustration by Travis Constantine
A few weeks after I arrived in Germany as a missionary, my trainer and I knocked on the door of an older woman, who agreed to let us teach her.
During our first lesson, we invited her to read a scripture aloud. Through thick glasses, she read with great difficulty, stumbling over the words. And her responses to our questions were short. We weren’t sure how much she understood.
We asked her to read certain passages in the Book of Mormon before our next visit. When we came again, she had read them but didn’t seem to understand them. We wondered if she might have some challenges with learning. We wondered if we should go on teaching her. But we kept going.
At our next visit, we were surprised when she said she wanted to be baptized. Then, as we continued teaching her, we noticed that her reading actually got better. Her answers to our questions were still short but seemed better and surer.
I was soon transferred to a different city, but my trainer wrote to me later to say that this woman had been baptized and was supported by the branch members. If you had asked us weeks earlier who of all our contacts was most likely to be baptized and find a place in the Church, she would not have been at the top of our list.
And so we learned an old lesson—the same lesson the Apostle Peter learned long ago and that each of us needs to keep learning: “God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34).
A Big Change
Peter presided over the Church at a critical time. The Savior had told His Apostles, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). But so far they had been preaching and baptizing only among the Jews.
Then a number of remarkable things happened. A Roman centurion named Cornelius—a Gentile, a non-Jew, a soldier who wore the same uniform as those who had crucified Jesus Christ—saw an angel in a vision. The angel told Cornelius to send for a man named Peter to teach him. Not long after that, Peter had a vision in which he saw food that was forbidden under Jewish law, yet he was told to eat it because God had made it clean. Right after Peter had this vision, Cornelius’s servants arrived and asked him to come with them. The Spirit told Peter to go.
After meeting Cornelius and seeing how good and true he was, Peter knew the meaning of his vision. The gospel needed to go to the Gentiles like Cornelius as well. That’s when Peter said, “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him” (Acts 10:34–35). Peter taught Cornelius about Jesus Christ and invited him and his household to be baptized. (See Acts 10.)
Bringing the gospel to the Gentiles marked a big change for the early Church. Some people had a hard time accepting this change. But it was the right thing, and it taught a basic truth about God and our fellow human beings.
No Favoritism
When He blesses His children, God doesn’t show favoritism based on nationality, race, sex, wealth, education, ability, appearance, or any other differences that divide people.1 He “esteemeth all flesh in one; he that is righteous is favored of God” (1 Nephi 17:35). All can come unto Him, for “all are alike unto God” (2 Nephi 26:33). He “looketh on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). He accepts those who “do justly, … love mercy, and … walk humbly” (Micah 6:8).
Anyone can choose to come unto Jesus Christ, make covenants with Heavenly Father, and follow in Their ways. And this truth should guide how we share the Lord’s gospel and His love.
We can’t just look at someone’s outward characteristics and think they’re not the “type” for the gospel. We can’t just apply worldly labels to people and think those labels disqualify them from being included at church. We can’t just decide not to serve someone simply because they have different political opinions, hobbies, or tastes from ours.
God doesn’t see a person as a collection of labels representing various groups or attributes. He sees an individual—His child. And that’s how we should see each person—as a unique individual with an equal chance and ability to come unto God.
Be a Gatherer
President Russell M. Nelson has encouraged us to participate in the gathering of Israel.2 But if we, unlike God, choose to be “respecters of persons” when it comes to sharing the gospel and including people at church, we may be scattering or dividing more than we’re gathering and uniting.
Let’s each make a commitment: no more scattering. Be a gatherer. Love, share, and invite.
My companion and I weren’t sure whether the woman we were teaching in Germany was very likely to get baptized. We didn’t know her heart, but God did. I’m glad we felt prompted to keep teaching her.
As you try to follow the Spirit and try not to be a respecter of persons, you’ll be guided to help those around you come unto Christ, regardless of their differences.