Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf - August 13, 2020
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf: Yes, He lives indeed. Thank you for this beautiful musical number, this choir. I think these missionaries expressed our feelings of our testimony that He lives.
Well, my dear missionaries, my dear friends, what a pleasure it is to meet with you in a virtual missionary devotional. I bring you the greetings and love of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Sister Uchtdorf is in the audience. She is with me here and extends her love and gratitude to you. She loves the missionaries. She loves the Church. She was found by missionaries. And how blessed am I in our family because of that!
Behind me is a painting by Harry Anderson entitled Christ Ordaining the Apostles. You may recall the Savior’s words to His Apostles: “[You] have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain.”1
Every missionary has been set apart by proper authority that is traced back to Jesus Christ through His holy Apostles. Each of you is given the same challenge and promise He gave to the original Apostles. You should go and bring forth fruit, and your fruit should remain. My dear elders and sisters, this is a unique time in the history of the world and in the work of the Lord. He has sent you to bring forth fruit even during this special year, a year you will always remember throughout your lives.
I believe it is appropriate to give you a flavor of the situation we are in at this time. At the beginning of February 2020, almost 68,000 missionaries were serving full time. In the face of COVID-19 outbreak, the number dropped to about 42,000 by April 28. As of today, the number of full-time missionaries has risen to more than 52,000. You know about our efforts during the pandemic to return many missionaries to their home countries. Many of you were involved in this great undertaking. With faith and trust in the Lord, about 32,000 missionaries had to be moved during this time. It is exciting to hear that more than 400 of our wonderful missionaries serving in missions all around the globe have extended their service because they couldn’t return home yet. Four hundred of them. Some of your presently serving mission presidents and companions are extending their missions to accommodate travel and visa restrictions. Twenty-one couples, local couples, have been called to serve as interim mission leaders until the regular replacements arrive. As of now, in more than 200 of our missions, our faithful missionaries are still mainly working from their apartments using technology and other means of fulfilling their sacred callings.
These are interesting and challenging times for a worldwide missionary service. We receive exciting and enthusiastic reports from the field about how the Lord is blessing the missionaries. In these changing situations around the world, we need to remember Paul’s admonition:
“For God [has] not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
“Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, … but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God.”2
Now, prophets have seen our day and have opened our minds to the possibilities of how we can help fulfill the prophecies about taking the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.3
You will recall that the Lord said to Jeremiah, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and … I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”4
Now, what the Lord revealed to Jeremiah is also true for each of you. Before you were born, my dear brothers and sisters, the Lord knew you. He blessed you, and He prepared you to serve as missionaries at this time.
That the Lord already saw our day long ago should give you great comfort and confidence. God has not been surprised by the events that have put the world in commotion. He knew about the events that have brought us to this, our unique virtual missionary devotional. He has prepared the means to help us take the gospel to the people of this world in these extraordinary days.
To increase your faith that the Lord knows what lies ahead and that He will assist you, I will share an observation. Before you were born, and before many of your parents were born, President Spencer W. Kimball gave a historic address on missionary work in April 1974, entitled “When the World Will Be Converted.” Now, let’s look a little closer at how President Kimball saw our day and how the Lord would prepare you and the Church to take the gospel to the entire world.
In 1974, President Kimball provided three suggestions. One of them was the urgent need for better and additional methods and approaches. And he said, “I believe that the Lord is anxious to put into our hands inventions of which we laymen have hardly had a glimpse.” President Kimball then quoted President David O. McKay from even further back that these modern inventions “stagger the imagination,” and although “this age is fraught with limitless perils, [there are] as well untold possibilities.” Then President Kimball added that these untold “possibilities were beyond comprehension.”
Now, among the many possibilities that certainly your ability to use technology in new and significantly important ways to interact with your fellow missionaries, share the gospel with people, and fulfill your duties as servants of the Lord.
It has been said that the recent pandemic may have been a divine reset that could help us as a Church and as individuals and as missionaries recalibrate our efforts to reach more people—and especially a younger audience. Recently, advances in technology, many of which you are very familiar with, are used by you in normal and natural daily interactions. This may well be among these discoveries.
President Kimball spoke about new developments that may be “recorded by future historians as [events] even greater than the invention of the printing press.” He envisioned a day when missionaries would be supplied with handheld devices that would help them teach the gospel. Fifty years ago, he was most probably thinking of small recording devices, but the Lord had much bigger plans, recognizing what is possible today.
Now, President Kimball also noted “millions of people are anxious and willing to learn, if only they can hear the ‘sound’ [of the gospel] in their own language and in a manner that they can grasp and understand.” So you need to learn the language—that’s important. And you need to teach in the right language. Remember that.
As he reviewed the advances in satellite technology in his day, President Kimball noted, “Certainly these satellites are only the genesis of what is in store for the future of worldwide broadcasting.” Then President Kimball summarized his vision as follows: “With the Lord providing these miracles of communication, and with the increased efforts and devotion of our missionaries and [members], … surely the divine injunction will come to pass: ‘For, verily, the sound must go forth from this place into all the world, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth—the gospel must be preached unto every creature. …’ [Doctrine and Covenants 58:64]. And we must find a way.”5 End of quote.
My dear missionaries, my dear fellow servants of the Lord, I believe we are finding a way. And our recent experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic will help us to do so. This is truly an exciting time in the history of the world. The possibilities are endless, and I encourage you to please embrace these new possibilities. Use the approved and appropriate technology tools to help solve the challenges you face with gated communities, secured apartment complexes, and shifting feelings about home privacy and street approaches. And this may stay with us for a long time. Stay focused on Preach My Gospel and how to apply its principles, its structured daily schedule, and its teachings as your guide to missionary work in a creative and inspired way.
In the past, we may have been limited in our thinking about how to take the gospel to the world. We often considered using technology only when geographic distances forced us to do so. Now, in the wake of what we have learned through this difficult period of time, we realize that the use of technology is a blessing in ways we had not considered. Instead of being the last resort, technology needs to be considered up front as an option for us to become more efficient and more effective. The Missionary Department will continue to share with you best practices from missions that embrace technology as a solution to the challenges they face during this unprecedented time.
My dear missionaries, you have to help each other as companionship, as districts, and zones on how to better find, teach, and make disciples in normal and natural ways—including by use of technology.
Let me now address one specific part of your scriptural commission to find, teach, baptize, and make disciples. And because of its significance, I have titled today’s remarks “Making Disciples.” From the beginning of the Church of Jesus Christ, the teachings we find in Matthew 28 were always at the center of our responsibilities to do missionary work. The teachings include the Savior’s words to His disciples after His Resurrection. In the more current Bible translations, including the English King James Version, Matthew 28 reads:
“Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, …
“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
“Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen.”6
This admonition—to make disciples by finding, teaching, baptizing all nations, tongues, and people—is called the great commission. You might want to look up this scripture in the Bible of your teaching language.
To be commissioned by the Savior means He has formally chosen disciples to carry on the work of the Father. This commission rests with the living Apostles today and as it did in ancient times. Now, you missionaries have been called, set apart, and commissioned to assist the Savior and living Apostles in this great work. One of the best ways to make disciples is to do so in normal and natural ways.
As you review the scriptural records and the early history of the Church, you will see how Peter, Paul, Samuel Smith, or Sister Lucy Jane Brimhall and Inez Knight—by the way, they were in 1898 the first two single sister missionaries of the Church—and many others connected with people, spoke to them, related to them, showed an interest in them, and shared what they felt in their own hearts and minds in normal and natural ways. All of you are quite familiar with how to visit and talk about nonreligious topics with your peers. You do so in very normal and natural ways. Many of you are also familiar with and know how to communicate with others through text messaging and various social media platforms about similar topics, and sometimes parents are almost concerned about that you are doing this too much. But you know how to do it.
Now, as missionaries, you have a new and more supernal task to accomplish. Your topic is the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and what it means to every child of God here on earth. This topic may be somewhat new to you, but Preach My Gospel, the scriptures—both in your teaching language—and the Holy Ghost will be your guides to feeling comfortable when sharing and teaching these topics in your teaching language. Just be courageous, full of faith, and trust in the Lord, and you will experience miracles in your own missionary experiences. Use the social and technology skills you have already learned in your youth and apply them as you reach out to people in person or through modern technology. Do it in natural and normal ways. The shift from your lives before your full- time missions to what you do as missionaries will be easier to negotiate if you interact with people in normal and natural ways. Remember, that they are just like you and me, children of Heavenly Father. They are our brothers and sisters.
Another normal and natural way for you to interact with people is to serve and to minister to them in a wide range of opportunities. This will help you join members in their efforts to invite others to come and help, come and see, and come and belong. As you all know, missionaries are authorized to participate in service activities up to 10 hours each week—and more during natural disasters. Last month, for example, missionaries serving in Okinawa, Japan, helped to get food to families in trouble when 800 boxes of food were delivered to one of our chapels. From there, members and missionaries distributed them to families in need.
As missionaries serve in this way, they apply the Ammon principle found in the Book of Mormon. It is certainly one of the most amazing missionary stories you will find in the Book of Mormon. Ammon’s remarkable conversion was followed by a 14-year mission among the Lamanites. He and his fellow missionaries were the instruments in the Lord’s hand to converting thousands of Lamanites to Christ, thereby changing the course of Lamanite history.
One reason for Ammon’s success was his honest and intentional service to the people he labored among. When Ammon entered the land, he was bound and taken before the king. When the king asked what he wanted, Ammon replied, “I desire to dwell among [these] people for a time,”7 as you do. King Lamoni was so impressed with Ammon that he offered him his daughter’s hand in marriage—an extraordinary turn of events. But Ammon, having already forsaken one position of royalty, declined the offer, saying, “Nay, but I will be thy servant.”8 Ammon was willing to serve, whatever it would be. He was given the task of helping to watch the king’s flocks and to feed his horses. I invite you to read again the rest of this dramatic story in the precious Book of Mormon in Alma chapter 17. Now, in the end, King Lamoni—on hearing of Ammon’s acts of selfless service—was ready to listen to Ammon’s gospel message. What a wonderful reminder for all of us to serve the people because we love the Lord and we love our neighbors.
Dear missionaries, you are true disciples of Christ when you serve without expecting a reward or recognition. But I promise you, the Lord always blesses those who do His will.
Now, I will mention just two of the many blessings that come to you from selfless service. First, as you serve the Lord and your neighbors, you will feel that you are part of a greater cause. A recent BYU study revealed that young people who serve strangers also have higher self-esteem and a confident view of life. A second blessing is that your service to others will create people interested in who you are, why you are here on your mission in your location, and what your motives are.
I believe that serving in the Lord’s way with pure motives is part of what the Savior was alluding to when He said:
“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on [a] hill cannot be hid.
“Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto to all that are in the house.
“Let your light so shine before [the people], that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”9
My dear missionaries, my dear friends, please be creative in finding opportunities of service. You will do this with your mission president’s permission. In some missions, you have access to JustServe. In others, you may have to find opportunities with the help of the ward council. Be wise but be creative. Your service will bless the people you are serving with, and it will also help you to be emotionally and spiritually strengthened. You will become a light on a hill so people will see your good works and glorify their Father which is in heaven.
Some of you might say that this doesn’t work in your mission or that the circumstances of your mission are different. Yes, each country, each mission may be different. But there are a multitude of opportunities to offer service wherever you are. Just follow the Spirit. Be wise and be creative. And please remember, always “focus on the things you can do and not on the things you cannot do.”10 I repeat: focus on the things you can do and not on the things you cannot do. This principle is especially true during this time of uncertainty. What you’re learning during the current COVID-19 pandemic can help you to be more successful in all of your future.
One word of caution, when public restrictions are lifted again, be wise to resist the temptation of going back to the old ways, which too often didn’t work too well anyway. You need to go back to the future.
And I promise you a very bright future with new and exciting opportunities. Please, go back to the future. This work will move forward and upward. Counsel together in a spirit of unity and with a desire to grow and build the Church. As you follow the words of the prophets, use Preach My Gospel as your guide to missionary work, including how to structure your day, your time, your efforts during the day, your preparation. Do it in a natural and normal way and listen carefully to the Spirit. You will thereby find more effective ways to help the world become converted to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Make chapter 3 of Preach My Gospel one of your favorite chapters. Internalize it, especially the shorter lessons to be able to teach more confidently in a normal and natural way. Apply and use your own life’s experiences as a convincing teaching tool. Use your own experiences and love for the gospel and love for the Church as a bridge or door to connect to people in a very personal but also a normal, a very normal and natural, way.
The Lord has put it into your hands many inspired means to share His gospel in normal and natural ways. Technology is just one tool to teach the gospel message to all nations and people. But don’t underestimate its value. In making disciples, your wise use of technology will also allow you to have shorter and more frequent interactions with the people you teach. Be well prepared to do so. Use the same concept for your district and zone meetings. Do the same with local members. When you follow this pattern, you will be more readily invited into the lives of the people you meet. Members will be more open to help you and find and make disciples.
May the Lord bless you, my dear elders and sisters. Regardless of how junior or senior you are on your mission, remember, you are always in the middle of your mission. Use your time wisely. Serve the Lord with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your energy. And I promise you that you will never have any regrets. Open up your minds and hearts to hear what the Lord wants you to hear and feel, and then act upon those promptings. Rejoice in serving the Lord. You are amazing and wonderful. You’re a miracle in this world. The Lord trusts you. His Apostles trust you. We trust you. I’m grateful for your service. I wish you the very best of experiences as you make disciples of the people you find, teach, baptize, and confirm.
I took a few photographs in our home, in my home office, to share with you today. This is one of the walls with several art pieces. One of the art pieces was painted in 1898 by Danish artist Franz Schwartz, and it’s titled Agony in the Garden. This is one of my favorite images of the Savior. Sister Uchtdorf and I love this painting and placed it where I can see it when I study, when I prepare messages, when I conduct Zoom meetings.
The prophet Isaiah writes of this moment when Jesus suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, “I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me.”11 And then we read in the Gospel of Luke, “And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.”12
My dear elders and sisters, my dear friends, because of the great and infinite sacrifice of the Living Son of God, you and I never have to travel such a lonely path. Repentance and forgiveness, hope and happiness are available to you and to me because of Jesus Christ, our Master, His sacrifice. And He lives; He’s there. He will walk beside you, and He will send angels to strengthen you in your hour of need. You are His disciples.
Jesus told His disciples in ancient times, and He talks to us today, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: … Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”13
The Savior of the world invites you to trust Him. He promises hope and peace to your souls. He asks you to not be afraid but to have courage. This invitation and promise are specifically for you. You are called to serve and share the good news of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ with all the people in the nations.
I testify that the Redeemer and Savior of the world is at the head of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and we have a living prophet, and President Russell M. Nelson is His prophet for our day. God knows each of you. God loves you. Of these truths, I bear my witness and leave you my blessing as an Apostle of the Lord. In the sacred name of our Master, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.