Yesterday, I wrote about one bad reason to do missionary work, namely for the sake of reaching some numeric goal. Today, I'd like to list a few good reasons to do missionary work.
First, to share the blessings that members of this church enjoy. One of the hallmarks of Christianity is compassion and "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," etc. I think we can each personally testify of at least ONE good thing that has come to us as a result of being members of this church. If we have received some blessing for following a certain course of action, and we, as Christians, or even just as good people, desire others to be blessed as well, wouldn't we do well to advise others to the same course of action that has led to blessings in our lives?
Second, to help turn the tides in the war against evil. We all know that the world is slipping into sin. The amoral society of the world is becoming worse and worse by the year. Satan has entered his "end-game" and both he and God are fighting to claim as many souls as possible before Judgement Day. Similar to our desire to share in the ongoing blessings of membership in this church, we also want to share in the assurance of protection* that comes from being on the Lord's side.
*Protection from evil and the punishments thereof, not necessarily including protection from the perils of the world or acts of evildoers.
But you may be thinking, we're not the only good church. Many non-members will be spared at Judgement day. Why would it be so important to convert people to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, specifically? Because we do missionary work. Think about it. Say, you could improve a hundred people's lives by Judgement Day (the actual numbers are probably a lot higher, but work with me here). That's all well and good for you and those hundred people, but let's say that in the process improving their lives, you got them into a church that encourages them to improve other people's lives. Many of the hundred you helped would then go on to help others, expanding your influence exponentially, meaning that hundreds, if not thousands of lives could be improved. And lets say that multiple hundreds of people turn from sin to righteousness. That may make a small, but noticeable difference in the general state of the world.
Third reason, God wants us to. We all know that God wants us to do missionary work, right? Of course He does. Through Prophets and Apostles from Joseph Smith to today, He's told us over and over again that "The greatest and most important duty..." And you've heard it so many times that you already know what it is without me having to finish the sentence. Now, I don't like to use infinitives. I'd freely say that many things, including many duties, are "great" or "important," but I'd consider myself foolish to casually throw around words like "greatest" and "most important." Furthermore, I'd be very surprised if God was any less careful with His words than I am with mine, knowing that they'd be written down, quoted from, and lived, by hundreds of millions of people. God has placed a very strong emphasis on missionary work, especially in the last few General Conferences. I can say with certainty that God thinks this is important. In fact, I'm almost bold enough to say that God thinks this is most important, but I'm not quite that courageous.
Why? Well, either of the two reasons listed above may be reason enough for God to feel that this is important to Him, but as I wrote recently, there may be other reasons for God's commandments beyond the ones that are currently apparent to us. God sees the big picture. He knows what's going on better than anyone. He knows what'll happen if we do X, Y, or Z, and, having everyone's best interest at heart, He has asked us, repeatedly and with very strong language, to go out there and do missionary work. For whatever reason, known or unknown, God really wants us to preach the gospel. That alone should be reason enough for us.
Unfortunately, it's not always that simple. We're human. We have weaknesses, fears, and failings. Often, we're just too timid to share the gospel. I'll talk about the reasons we don't do missionary work later. Right now, I'm going to go to Institute.
1 comment:
On reason I missed here, only in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints do we have priesthood authority and saving ordinances. Many churches and philosophies help people be better people and closer to God, but they lack authority and power.
But my problem with missionary work is still how, when and how much. I don't want to be a person that people hide from because I only harp on one thing or who drives people away instead of drawing them in.
Then there's this whole hypocrisy thing. I am not the best example. I know, live better. But, sadly, that's a slow process here.
Yet God says do it, So there really should be no question, hesitation, or excuses.
I think I'll go share something on Facebook. Every little bit helps, right??
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