Having Hope When Sharing the Gospel | Alma 8-12 | Come Follow Me

Sharing the Gospel is tough and can sometimes be very discouraging. Alma definitely felt this way after leaving the people of Ammonihah to the point where an angel had to command Alma to return to the city. 

The term "every member a missionary" coined by President David O. Mckay, is a command to all members to be missionaries and to share the Gospel with those whose lives aren't blessed by it yet. 

In the book, How to be a Powerful Modern-day Missionary, the authors Matthew Spurrier and Dakota Pierce, give advice on how to be the best missionary both on the mission and off the mission. 

No one wants to listen to or be converted by an eighteen-year-old who says,

“You should join the Church because my mom knows it’s true.” That’s not your why. The best missionaries go on their missions with honest, personal testimonies. There are many different ways to gain a testimony, and everyone’s spiritual journey is unique. However, if you want a formula that we know works every time, then read the Book of Mormon and sincerely ask God if it’s true. In other words, test Moroni’s promise:

And when ye shall receive these things [the Book of Mormon], I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things. (Moroni 10:4–5)

At this point in your life, you have probably spent many hours in Sunday School and seminary classes listening to youth leaders and teachers repeatedly beg you to put Moroni’s promise to the test. To appease their nagging, you may have even lamely tried it, but gaining a personal witness takes more than half trying. It takes your real try, and often even more.

Think of Enos. He prayed all day and into the night before the Lord answered his prayer (Enos 1:4–5). Don’t read five pages of 1 Nephi, give a five-minute prayer, and then wonder what you did wrong when you don’t see an angel. God needs to see your real try, because, contrary to intuition, faith does not  flow from miracles but rather precedes them (see “Miracles,” Bible Dictionary).

Your why must consist of spiritual knowledge gained through communication with your Father in Heaven. There is no other way. Many people who serve missions come back with mature planning skills, more effective goal-setting methods, and powerful stress-management techniques. Many people go on missions in hopes of learning a new language or experiencing a new culture. You will inevitably learn and gain most, if not all, of these skills and experiences, but that’s not why we go on missions.

We go because Jesus Christ died for us and lives again. We go because He asked us to (see Matthew 28:19). We go because the gospel has been restored, and Christ is coming again! We go because, like Ammon and the sons of Mosiah, we hope to be “instruments in his hands” to bring if but “some soul” unto the feet of Christ, to taste of that fruit which is “desirable above all other fruit” (see Alma 26:15, 30; 1 Nephi 8:12).

The catch is, you need to taste that fruit first before you can ever hope to have any fun sharing it. Taste that fruit by testing Moroni’s promise. Read the Book of Mormon and sincerely pray to know if it’s true. “As a missionary, you must first  have a personal testimony that the Book of Mormon is true” (Preach My Gospel, 103; emphasis added).

The following was an excerpt from the book, How to be a Powerful Modern-day Missionary, currently on sale at cedarfort.com