“Your Part in the Lord’s Great Work,” For the Strength of Youth, July 2024.
Your Part in the Lord’s Great Work
When you love, share, and invite, you assist the Lord in helping every precious soul come unto Him.
Christ Praying with the Nephites, by Casey Childs
Our prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, has taught that the great gathering of Israel “is the most important work taking place on earth today.” He said, “Nothing else compares in magnitude. Nothing else compares in importance. The Lord’s missionaries—His disciples—are engaged in the greatest challenge, the greatest cause, the greatest work on earth today.”
You do not have to be set apart as a teaching or service missionary to engage in this work. Opportunities are everywhere for you to love, share, and invite. You can help others come unto Christ—right now—by showing your love, sharing your beliefs, and inviting them to join with you to experience the joy of the gospel.
You can take part in the Lord’s great work!
Start with Love
In the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross, Jesus Christ took upon Himself the sins of the world and suffered all sorrows and “pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind” (Alma 7:11). This “caused [Him], … the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore” (Doctrine and Covenants 19:18). Through His Atonement and Resurrection, Jesus Christ has made salvation and exaltation possible for all.
Turning to the Savior and pondering on all He has done for you will fill your heart with love for Him. He will then turn your heart toward others. He has asked that you love them (see John 13:34–35) and share His gospel with them (see Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15). This is what He did when He lived on earth. He shared His life and His love and invited all to come unto Him.
When you share the gospel, start with love. As you reach out to others in love—remembering that they are your brothers and sisters and beloved children of your Heavenly Father—opportunities will open for you to share what you know to be true.
Be Anxiously Engaged and Share
No one was more dedicated to sharing the gospel than President M. Russell Ballard (1928–2023). Throughout his life, he was anxiously engaged in sharing with everyone that the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith. He encouraged us to do the same.
President Ballard taught that you can share the gospel “by being [a] good [neighbor] and by caring and showing love.” In doing so, you can “radiate the gospel in [your] own [life], and … radiate to [others] the blessings the gospel has to offer.” You can also “bear testimony of what you know and believe and what you feel.” President Ballard taught, “A pure testimony … can be carried by the power of the Holy Ghost into the hearts of others who are open to receive it.”
Sharing the restored gospel of Jesus Christ was the greatest desire of President Ballard’s heart. You can be anxiously engaged—as he was—in sharing the gospel in both word and deed. You never know who might be searching for the light of the gospel but does not know where to find it (see Doctrine and Covenants 123:12).
President M. Russell Ballard and Elder Quentin L. Cook in Liverpool, England, on October 25, 2021. They both served missions in England.
Extend Heartfelt Invitations
In helping others come unto Christ, you can invite them to experience the joy that the Savior and His gospel bring. You can invite them to come to an activity, to read the Book of Mormon, or to meet with the missionaries. You can also extend a heartfelt invitation for them to attend sacrament meeting with you.
We attend sacrament meeting each week to “worship God and partake of the sacrament to remember Jesus Christ and His Atonement.” This is a special time for people to feel the Spirit, come closer to the Savior, and strengthen their faith in Him.
As you look for ways to love, share, and invite, try inviting family and friends to attend sacrament meeting with you. If they will accept your invitation and attend, it will help them continue on the path to baptism and conversion. I believe with all my heart that great success will come as you invite others and help them recognize the blessings they can receive from attending with you.
The Lord Will Guide You
You never know what successes and challenges you will have as you love, share, and invite. The sons of Mosiah had great success among the Lamanites as they preached and taught the word of God. Through their efforts, “thousands were brought to the knowledge of the Lord” and many “were converted … [and] never did fall away” (Alma 23:5–6).
While this will not always be your experience, the Lord has promised that He will help you because every soul is precious to Him. As you put your trust in the Lord and engage in His service, He will guide you in how to share His gospel with others by loving them, sharing your life and testimony with them, and inviting them to join you in following Him.
“Great shall be your joy” (Doctrine and Covenants 18:15) when you take the opportunities all around you to assist the Lord Jesus Christ in His great work of bringing souls unto Him.