“Sharing the Gospel Heart to Heart,” Liahona, Sept. 2012, 4–6
First Presidency Message
Sharing the Gospel Heart to Heart
God will put prepared people in the way of His prepared servants who want to share the gospel. You have had that happen in your own life. How often it happens depends on the preparation of your mind and your heart.
I have a friend who prays every day to meet someone who is prepared to receive the gospel. He carries with him a copy of the Book of Mormon. The night before a short trip, he decided not to take a copy with him but instead to carry a pass-along card. But as he got ready to leave, a spiritual impression came to him: “Take a Book of Mormon with you.” He put one in his bag.
When a woman he knew sat next to him on the trip, he wondered, “Is this the one?” She rode with him again on the return trip. He thought, “How should I bring up the gospel?”
Instead, she said to him, “You pay tithing to your church, don’t you?” He said he did. She said she was supposed to pay tithing to her church but didn’t. Then she asked, “What can you tell me about the Book of Mormon?”
He explained that the book is scripture, another witness of Jesus Christ, translated by the Prophet Joseph Smith. She seemed interested, so he reached into his bag and said, “I was impressed to bring this book with me. I think it is for you.”
She began to read it. As they parted, she said, “You and I are going to have more conversations about this.”
What my friend could not know—but what God did know—was that she was looking for a church. God knew she had watched my friend and wondered why his church made him so happy. God knew she would ask about the Book of Mormon and that she would be willing to be taught by the missionaries. She was prepared. So was my friend. You and I can also be prepared.
The preparation we need is in our mind and our heart. The woman had heard and remembered words about the Book of Mormon, the Lord’s restored Church, and the commandment to pay tithes to God. And she had felt the beginning of the witness of truth in her heart.
The Lord has said He will reveal truth to our mind and our heart by the Holy Ghost (see D&C 8:2). Most of the people you will meet have had the beginning of that preparation. They have heard or read of God and His word. If their hearts are soft enough, they have felt, however faintly, a confirmation of truth.
The woman was prepared. So was my friend, the Latter-day Saint who had studied the Book of Mormon. He had felt a witness that it is true, and he recognized the direction from the Spirit to take a copy with him. He was prepared in his mind and his heart.
God is preparing people to receive your testimony of restored truth. He requires your faith and then your action to share fearlessly what has become so precious to you and to those you love.
Prepare to share by filling your mind every day with the truths of the gospel. As you keep the commandments and honor your covenants, you will feel the testimony of the Spirit and more of the Savior’s love for you and for those you meet.
If you do your part, you will increasingly have the sweet experience of meeting people who are prepared to hear your testimony of the truth—offered from heart to heart, yours to theirs.
Teaching from This Message
Consider reading the message with the family and discussing the next-to-last paragraph, where President Eyring discusses ways to strengthen one’s testimony. Discuss with the family the importance of bearing testimony when sharing the gospel. Children in the family may find it helpful to role-play how to bear testimony to friends.
Illustration by Dan Burr