Sharing Time:

I Can Be a Missionary Now

By Sydney Reynolds

“I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth” (Rom. 1:16).

Have you ever thought you might like to be a missionary? Did you know that you can be a missionary now? Missionaries love the Lord and others. When we love others, we want to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with them.

We learn how Ammon became a great missionary in the Book of Mormon (see Alma 17–20). He and his brothers were sons of King Mosiah, and the Nephites expected one of the brothers to be king after Mosiah. However, each one said he wanted to be a missionary more than he wanted to be king.

Ammon traveled to the land of King Lamoni, a Lamanite, and volunteered to be the king’s servant. Because he faithfully tended the king’s flocks and fought the king’s enemies, he was asked to teach the gospel to the king and his people. When the king and queen understood that Jesus Christ would come and redeem them from sin, they were overwhelmed with joy. Ammon learned that the Lord welcomes everyone who repents and believes in Him.

The Apostle Peter knew the gospel could help sinners, but he was a Jew and thought that it was wrong to be with someone who was not a Jew. Cornelius was an army officer for Rome, the government that had conquered the Jews. But Cornelius was a good man who wanted to do right. An angel told Cornelius to send for Peter to come and tell him what God wanted him to do. When Peter was praying on the housetop of Simon, a tanner, God gave him a vision to help him understand that he should teach the gospel to people from all nations.

Three times Peter saw this vision before he was prepared to teach Cornelius about Jesus Christ. When Peter taught Cornelius, the Roman believed him. Peter learned that the Lord loves and accepts all people (see Acts 10).

You can be like Ammon and Peter. You can be a missionary right now by living the gospel and showing love to all of Heavenly Father’s children.

Instructions

Remove page 7 from the magazine and mount it on lightweight cardboard. Cut out the backdrop scenes, and fold them along the dotted lines. Cut out the figures, and glue a stick about 10 centimeters long to the back of each figure (see example). Use the scenes and the figures to tell the story of Peter and Cornelius (see Acts 10) in a family home evening.

Sharing Times Ideas

1. To help the children apply Romans 1:16 [Rom. 1:16] to their lives, print some situations on pieces of paper and ask them to dramatize how a good missionary would respond. Possible situations: being a good neighbor, including a newcomer in a game or in a circle of friends, helping a younger child avoid a dangerous situation, being honest in a store or classroom, encouraging others to avoid substances that are bad for our bodies or minds, inviting a friend to a Church or Primary activity.

2. Display missionary pictures, name tags, maps, and language books. In advance, invite several children to share a personal missionary experience, such as part of a letter from a missionary sibling, the story of an ancestor’s conversion, or their own family’s encounter with the missionaries. Remind them that all of us are members of the Church because of a missionary. Sing a favorite missionary song, such as “The Church of Jesus Christ” (Children’s Songbook, 77; Tambulilit, February 1990, 11).

The Gospel Is for All Nations. Acts 10
Illustrated by Tadd R. Peterson