Simplest Conference Message Ever

After expressing his feelings of inadequacy and sharing his insight that we are each to do what we can, Elder Gary E. Stevenson said that what he could do was to "testify of the plain and precious truths of the gospel." He then proceeded to quote from the first lesson in Preach My Gospel and conclude his message with one line of his own testimony.

In case you're not familiar with the first lesson or basic Christian beliefs, this is what Elder Stevenson said:

“God is our [loving] Heavenly Father. We are His children. … He weeps with us when we suffer and rejoices when we do what is right. He wants to communicate with us, and we can communicate with Him through sincere prayer. …

“Heavenly Father has provided us, His children, with a way to … return to live in His presence. … Central to our [Heavenly] Father’s plan is Jesus Christ’s Atonement.”

Heavenly Father sent His Son to the earth to atone for the sins of all mankind. Of these plain and precious truths I bear my testimony, and I do so in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

It was as simple as that. I don't think I've heard anyone share such a simple, fundamental message in General Conference before. Yet, for him, it worked.

I think that we tend to overcomplicate things. Sometimes, all it takes to share the gospel with someone is to relate a simple, fundamental, heartfelt belief. You don't have to be a pastor or a missionary to share what you believe, and you don't need to be eloquent or original, either. Sometimes, all it takes is to quote a scripture (or a missionary lesson manual) and say "I know that this is true." That's essentially what Elder Stevenson did, and he did it in General Conference, where we usually expect to hear unique, original, inspired messages.

Sharing the gospel doesn't have to be difficult, and it doesn't have to take any kind of innate skill. You can share and teach the gospel as easily as sharing a personally meaningful passage of scripture and declaring your witness that what you read is true.