Reasons We Don't Do Missionary Work

There seems to be a mini-theme going on with my blog posts recently, namely lists of reasons to do things. Today, I'd like to continue with a variant of the theme and address some concerns on the topic of missionary work.

First, let's talk about general timidity. It's hard to talk to people sometimes. It's especially hard to talk about religion. And it's even harder to tell people that they should quit their religion, if they have one, and join yours. It takes a surprising amount of boldness to force some words out of your mouth, and one of those combinations of words is "I am a Mormon." Yet, so many brave Mormons have said those very words (on camera!) and posted them online for all the world to see. Perhaps we can take some courage from their examples by watching a few of those "I am a Mormon" videos until we feel like we could say something like that to our friends. If they can do it, so can we.

Second, what if we genuinely don't know what to say? Again, those "I am a Mormon" videos can help. Despite how I may have made things appear in my previous paragraph, those videos aren't just of people saying "I am a Mormon." They talk about themselves first. They talk about their lives, their families, their hobbies, etc., then maybe they share a personal experience, or talk about a particular aspect of the gospel that's especially meaningful to them, something that has helped them get through trials, or something that makes them joyful and excited about life (something that other people would want in their lives), and they say all this before dropping the M-word into the conversation. So, here's the formula I took from that: 1. Let them know you're a real person. (If they're already your friends, you may be able to skip that step.) 2. Talk about a part of the gospel that you find meaningful to your life, or may be helpful in theirs. 3. Tell them that you're a Mormon and invite them to learn more.

It can still be hard to know, specifically, what to say, but if you pray for the Spirit's help (knowing that He can help with both courage and inspiration), you'll find an opening.

Third concern, hypocrisy. None of us are perfect. There is no "Molly Mormon" or "Peter Priesthood." They don't exist. The church is filled with flawed, imperfect people who try and fail to reach such lofty goals on a daily basis. We're not trying to tell them that we're so perfect, they should be more like us, we're telling them that the gospel is perfect, and it had made us better and happier than we were before. I don't blog because I'm some spiritual giant who feels morally obligated to share my wonderfulness with the world. If anything, I blog to improve myself, to help myself keep going, to inspire myself (and whoever happens to read this) to do good. I may touch on other people's concerns, but mostly, I'm just listing my own and trying to convince myself that while these concerns may be valid, there are ways to get around them and I shouldn't let them stop me from doing what I know I should do. While I don't want to give anyone the false impression that I think I'm better than them, I should share my honest opinion that the Gospel of Jesus Christ could really bless their lives, especially when they get it straight from modern Apostles and Prophets.

Probably the biggest concern I have about sharing the gospel, number four on our list, if we're still counting, is my fear of offending people. You can't say that your church is the best church, or the true church, or the most complete church, without implying that theirs isn't. "Yeah, your church is okay, but you'd be better off with mine," is NOT something I want to say to anyone, ever. Thankfully, there are ways to share the gospel without offending others. Tell them that the gospel has really blessed your life, and that the things you've learned in the church are truly inspiring and helpful. Tell them how good it feels to know the meaning of life and to know that you can be with your family again. Try not to make it a competition ("My church blesses me more than your church blesses you.") because people hate to lose. Just tell them what you like about your church and then, when they start to feel like maybe they would like that, too, offer to share it with them.

Some people worry about being too pushy - that if they go over-the-top with trying to share the gospel, it might just push people away. I don't think I could get that problem if I tried, but I can see where the concern is coming from. As I've said before, we don't do missionary work just to baptize people or just to get them into the church. We do missionary work because this gospel blesses lives, and that's what we want: to bless their lives. On my mission, I heard the phrase "People won't care how much you know until they know how much you care." I'd like to adapt that. "People won't care until they know that you do." Or maybe "People won't care about your gospel until they know that you care about them." Something like that. Basically, when people know that you're sharing the gospel with them because you honestly believe it'll help them and you genuinely want that to happen, then they're much more likely to listen to you and not be offended than if they thought you were sharing the gospel just because you're a Mormon and that's what Mormons do. You may have heard this before, but if it comes from your heart (and they know that it comes from your heart), they won't be as bothered by it.

Tomorrow, I'm going to blog about the blessings of the gospel - the blessings that we can (and should want to) share with others by sharing the gospel with them. What I'm hoping for is a list of specific ways how the gospel can bless people's lives. Once we have that, we can apply it to real-world situations and circumstances. For example, if someone is struggling with a difficult and important question or decision, you can tell them about personal revelation and about how God can answer questions we bring to Him through prayer. You might mention that the answer will likely come through the Spirit, and explain that the Spirit testifies of truth, and tell what the presence of the Spirit feels like. That way, not only will they recognize the answer they receive in this specific circumstance, but they may also recognize the answer if/when they pray about the Book of Mormon and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. And there are plenty of other blessings of the gospel besides personal revelation, so there should be lots of good reasons and opportunities to share. I'm looking forward to listing some of them. I think I'm starting to like using lists.