Lesson 199: Missionary Preparation

Sharing the Gospel out of Christlike Love

Love of God and Others

There are many reasons we might choose to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with others. Our desire to share the gospel increases as we learn to love God and those around us. This lesson can help students understand how their love for Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and other people can motivate them to share the gospel.

Possible Learning Activities

Motivation to serve

Consider displaying pictures of youth serving in a variety of situations. Invite students to share multiple possible reasons the youth in each picture may have chosen to serve. (Possible reasons might include duty, love, parental expectations, guilt, or social interaction.)

• Although there are many reasons to serve others, which reasons are most likely to help us become like the Savior? Why?

You could then display a picture of someone sharing the gospel as you invite students to discuss the following questions:

• What are some reasons someone might choose to share the gospel with a friend or even choose to serve a full-time mission?

• Which reasons are most likely to help them be effective in bringing others to God?

Consider giving students time to ponder and record their feelings in their study journals about the following:

• How do you feel about sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with others? Why do you feel the way you do?

• Are you planning to serve a full-time mission? If so, what motivates you?

Invite students to seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost during the lesson as they think about their desires to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

God’s motives

Consider explaining to students that when we know what motivates Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ to serve us, we can better emulate Their examples.

To help students understand this, you could display the following references. Invite each student to choose one or two passages to read and ponder.

Read one or two of the following passages, looking for what they teach about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ:

• John 3:16–17

• John 15:12–13

• 2 Nephi 26:24

• Doctrine and Covenants 18:10–13

• Doctrine and Covenants 34:1–3

• Doctrine and Covenants 95:1

• Doctrine and Covenants 138:1–4

Invite students to move around the classroom and share with classmates who chose different passages what they learned about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

When students are done sharing, ask for volunteers to summarize what they learned about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

Help students recognize that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are motivated to serve by love.

Students may need time to ponder the following questions before they feel ready to answer aloud. You may want to give them time to write their answers in their study journals before asking volunteers to share.

• What experiences have helped you feel Heavenly Father’s and Jesus Christ’s love for you?

• How can understanding why Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ serve us influence your desire to share the gospel with others?

Love can motivate us to share the gospel

This section of the lesson uses the Savior’s teachings in John 21 to help students see that love can motivate us to share the gospel.

An alternate way to accomplish this is to invite partnerships to study the “Charity and Love” section, including the “Scripture Study” ideas, on page 127 of Preach My Gospel: A Guide to Sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ (2023), looking for how love can motivate us to share the gospel.

Soon after the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ, several of His disciples went fishing. While they were fishing, a man on the shore invited them to cast their nets on the right side of their ships. After doing so and catching many fish, the disciples realized that the man was the resurrected Savior. When they came ashore, Jesus served them by feeding them a meal and teaching them.

Consider inviting students to look for the Savior’s repeated invitations to Peter by reading John 21:15–17 together or watching the video “Feed My Sheep” (5:47), available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org, from time code 2:46 to 4:29. (It may be helpful for students to know that the word these in verse 15 could refer to all the fish the disciples caught.)

• What do you learn from how Jesus wanted Peter to show his love?

Read the following statement from the Prophet Joseph Smith (1805–44), looking for what it adds to your understanding of Jesus’s invitations in John 21.

Love is one of the chief characteristics of Deity, and ought to be manifested by those who aspire to be the sons of God. A man filled with the love of God, is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race. (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 426)

• What stands out to you from Joseph Smith’s statement?

• What did you learn from John 21 and Joseph Smith’s statement that could motivate you to share the gospel or possibly to serve a mission?

• What do you think are effective ways to deepen our love for God? To deepen our love for other people?

Overcoming hesitancy to share the gospel

Students could form groups to complete the following activity. It might be helpful to provide each group with paper.

1. As a group, create a scenario in which a young man is hesitant to serve a full-time mission or a teenager is hesitant to share the gospel with a friend. Choose a scribe to write the scenario on a piece of paper. Be sure to include reasons why the person in the scenario is holding back.

   Here is an example of a scenario groups might create: “Antonio recently heard a conference talk that encouraged more youth to prepare to serve as missionaries for the Lord. He knows it’s the right thing for him to do. However, he struggles to speak to people he doesn’t know, and he feels like he doesn’t know the scriptures well enough to teach other people. He worries that he wouldn’t be an effective missionary.”

   After the groups have written down the scenarios they created, consider asking them to exchange scenarios with other groups before completing the following step.

2. Using what you learned and felt today, ask a scribe to write down what your group would share to help the person in the scenario. Include suggestions of what the person could do to increase his or her love for the Savior and others. You may want to include something about how feeling the Savior’s love could help increase this person’s desire to serve.

Consider inviting groups to share with the class how they responded to the other group’s scenario.

To conclude the lesson, consider giving students time to record in their study journals how love for God and others can help them overcome any reluctance they might feel about sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Additional Resources

What can help me overcome fear to share the gospel?

Elder L. Tom Perry (1922–2015) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained:

Some members seem to want to keep their membership in the Church a secret. They have their reasons. For example, they may believe that it is not their place to share their beliefs. Perhaps they are fearful they might make a mistake or be asked a question they can’t answer. If such thoughts ever run through your head, I have some advice for you. Simply remember the words of John: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear” (1 John 4:18). If we simply love God and love our neighbors, we are promised that we will overcome our fears. …

I promise you that if you will respond to the invitation to share your beliefs and feelings about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, a spirit of love and a spirit of courage will be your constant companion, for “perfect love casteth out fear” (1 John 4:18). (L. Tom Perry, “Perfect Love Casteth Out Fear,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2011, 43, 44)

What is the connection between love and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ?

President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency taught:

From our testimony of the truth and importance of the restored gospel, we understand the value of what we have been given. From our love of God and our fellowmen, we acquire our desire to share that great gift with everyone. …

The most effective missionaries, member and full-time, always act out of love. (Dallin H. Oaks, “Sharing the Gospel,” Ensign, Nov. 2001, 7, 8)

Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

When it comes to gathering Israel, we need to … move away from feelings of mere responsibility or guilt to feelings of love and participation in the divine partnership of sharing the Savior’s message, ministry, and mission with the world.

As members we can show our love for the Savior and our brothers and sisters throughout the world by making simple invitations. (Quentin L. Cook, “Great Love for Our Father’s Children,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2019, 78)

To help students feel the importance of being motivated by love to serve a mission, consider showing “Face to Face with Elder Rasband, Sister Oscarson, and Brother Owen” (1:20:41) from time code 33:58 to 35:43.

Supplemental Learning Activities

Alternate beginning: The good Samaritan

You could begin class by having students read or act out the story of the good Samaritan, found in Luke 10:30–37. You could discuss what might have motivated the priest, Levite, and Samaritan to act in the ways they did. You could discuss how the love of God and the love of others could have motivated the Samaritan’s actions. Students could then ponder their own motives for serving others.

Reach out with love

Consider showing “Reach Out with Love” (8:31) and inviting students to identify Guillermo’s reasons for reaching out to Steve after his bishop asked him to visit Steve. Encourage students to make connections between Guillermo’s experience and their desire to share the gospel with others.

Overcoming distractions in order to serve a mission

To help students identify distractions that could prevent someone from serving a mission, consider sharing the following statement from Elder Marcos A. Aidukaitis of the Seventy:

While there are many ways to help in the gathering, I would like to speak of one in particular: serving as a full-time missionary. For many of you, this will mean being a teaching missionary. For many others, it will mean being a service missionary. But the world tries to distract youth from this most sacred responsibility using fear and insecurities.

Some other distractions might be experiencing a pandemic, leaving a good job, putting off education, or being particularly interested in someone romantically. Everyone will have his or her own set of challenges. Such distractions can arise at precisely the time of embarking in the service of the Lord, and choices that seem obvious later are not always as easy in the moment. (Marcos A. Aidukaitis, “Lift Up Your Heart and Rejoice,” Liahona, May 2022, 41)

Invite students to list common distractions that might get in the way of serving a mission. Students could then share ideas of how to overcome these distractions.

Alternate way of introducing the account in John 21

You could show the video “The First Great Commandment” (19:48) from time code 6:52 to 11:26. In the video, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles relates in his own words the account of Jesus’s invitation to Peter to feed His sheep.