Category: Missionary Work

An Adulterous Woman and Her Men

John 8 recounts a most interesting story. Jesus is on the Mt. of Olives, perhaps in or near the Garden of Gethsemane. Early in the morning He went unto the temple and scribes and Pharisees brought a woman before him taken in adultery.

They set her in the midst and claimed to have taken the woman in the very act. Now what does that mean? Where is the man? They quote Moses as to her penalty. She is to be stoned, and in a pitiful attempt, the wisdom of the natural man tempts God,

“What sayest thou?” they ask of the Savior.

We Don’t Need Exaltation – We Want It or Not

During the Sermon on the Mount, which was a sermon designed as an MTC lesson to the apostles, the Lord held a Q&A session (see the JST), and here is what He heard with respect to the Jewish leaders and their acceptance of the restored gospel:

And then said his disciples unto him, they will say unto us, We ourselves are righteous, and need not that any man should teach us.

[How many times have missionaries heard this response from Christian neighbors when presented with more of the gospel? We have a bible and need no more bible, etc?]

Neutral Space

Remember the story of the woman taken in adultery found in the New Testament – John 8?

 

The story is told of the Savior going unto the Mount of Olives when the scribes and Pharisees brought a woman taken in adultery unto Him. As I narrate the story pay attention to how the Savior remained neutral in His response even though He was the only party in the right.

The scribes and Pharisees bring the adulteress before Jesus seeking to tempt Him (deceive and trick would be accurate as well.) Without saying a word (or probably making an expression) Jesus stoops down and commences writing upon the ground.

Missionary Work: The Traditional Approach

You receive a special missionary lesson during the third hour at church.

The lesson emphasizes the importance of warning your neighbor that the gospel has been restored.

Here is your take away and scenario:

  • Get the neighbor to agree that your church is right and that their church is wrong.
  • You run into your neighbor and ask about their church.
  • You explain that you’re a Mormon and that the gospel has been restored.
  • They have no idea what you are talking about.
  • You explain that their church is apostate and yours is the only true church.

How Are Mormons Perceived?

Here is an article that speaks very loudly against our traditional approach to missionary work. This is an eye opening, articulate report on the state of mormonism in the eyes of our friends. This approach is not main stream and can be difficult because our leaders have been touting the traditional approach for 180 years.

We have convert baptisms because of what we do, not because of how we do it.

Approaching our missionary work in the stake from the Perspective of logic, reason and sound business principles and letting the Lord take care of the heavy lifting could have a dramatic impact upon our success.

Mormonism by Tradition

A newly-baptized member accepts a calling as the Gospel Doctrine teacher and really shakes things up. Both the Bishopric and the members are caught off guard and blown away her fresh thinking and new approaches. (This usually leads to complaints and hurt feelings and a meeting in the Bishop’s office.)

A fifty-year old life-long member who has been teaching Gospel Doctrine, Seminary, and Sunday School for decades misses insights and doctrinal connections over and over, because he’s still living in ‘tradition.’ He bores his students into complacency and monologues his way through lessons. (This is deemed acceptable and nobody is offended, moved, or edified.)

Missionary Blind Spots

I’m fascinated by the quick learning abilities of children when they play video games. Most recently my children received a Wii unit for Christmas. Before the day had expired Samuel, my 8-year-old son challenged me to a boxing match.

Finally, I thought, something electronic at which I can beat my children. I have formal training in the martial arts and can certainly move my hands quicker than my 8-year-old boy. The results? I didn’t make it past the first round. Sam KO’d me.

Making a Street Offer

What is a street offer? For a missionary it is initiating contact with a potential investigator. It is identifying if the gentleman walking across the street wants to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, or not.

For a member of the church, it’s being asked what church you attend or a general question about your membership.

An offer means you are offering another person the opportunity to have something. For example, if I were a Chiropractor I would answer the question about what I do for a living as follows:

The Gift of the Holy Ghost

While in the pre-mortal life, our Father in Heaven informed us that we had to conduct 5 saving ordinances during our mortal probation.

  1. Baptism
  2. Gift of the Holy Ghost
  3. Priesthood
  4. Endowment
  5. Sealing

In chiasmatic fashion, the priesthood is the catalyst to all of them. Baptism is symbolic of the Savior’s death and resurrection and in modern-day parlance, it is a signed contract of agency to the Savior. We agree to the terms of membership.

Missionary Work: A Task of Identifying

The current population of the world is in excess of 6 billion people. Of those 6 billion how many, in your opinion, need the gospel of Jesus Christ?

Most people polled on this question answer: 6 billion.

How many want it?

After a moment of contemplation, most people polled answer a lot less than 6 billion.

If the gospel of Jesus Christ were a needs-based religion, then Christianity would be the only religion in the world. Therefore, it appears that exaltation is a wants-based process.

What about the passage that says ‘every knee will bend and every tongue will confess that Jesus is the Christ‘?