I believe the Savior here teaches us a great lesson. There are those who have want, and in his great charitable way he will provide, for I believe the pure love of Christ is welfare. I believe it seeks out beyond the dimensions of that which we do. I think it is charity in its purest form.
Myra Brooks Welch in her great poem, “The Touch of the Master’s Hand,” said:
“ ’Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer
Thought it scarcely worth his while
To waste much time on the old violin,
But held it up with a smile:
‘What am I bidden, good folks,’ he cried,
‘Who’ll start the bidding for me?’
‘A dollar, a dollar’; then, ‘Two!’ ‘Only two?
Two dollars, and who’ll make it three?
Three dollars, once; three dollars, twice;
Going for three—’ But no,
From the room, far back, a gray-haired man
Came forward and picked up the bow;
Then, wiping the dust from the old violin,
And tightening the loose strings,
He played a melody pure and sweet
As sweet as a caroling angel sings.
“The music ceased, and the auctioneer,
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said, ‘What am I bid for the old violin?’
And he held it up with the bow.
‘A thousand dollars, and who’ll make it two?
Two thousand! And who’ll make it three?
Three thousand, once, three thousand, twice,
And going, and gone!’ said he.
The people cheered, but some of them cried,
‘We do not quite understand
What changed its worth.’ Swift came the reply:
‘The touch of a master’s hand.’
“And many a man with life out of tune,
And battered and scarred with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd,
Much like the old violin.
A ‘mess of pottage,’ a glass of wine;
A game—and he travels on.
He’s ‘going’ once, and ‘going’ twice,
He’s ‘going’ and almost ‘gone.’
But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd
Never can quite understand
The worth of a soul and the change that’s wrought
By the touch of the Master’s hand.”
“I know there are powers that can draw close to one who fills his heart with … love. …
The Lord has declared that missionary work is the responsibility of all who follow Him (see Matthew 28:19–20; D&C 88:81). Members of the Lord's Church can, by the goodness of their lives and the strength of their testimonies, share the gospel message and help prepare family members, friends, and other acquaintances who are not Latter-day Saints to be taught by the full-time missionaries.
When we experience the blessings of gospel living, we naturally want to share those blessings with others. The Lord spoke of the joy that comes into our lives when we share His gospel.
“My dear friends, today there are more ways than ever for us to open our mouths and share with others the joyful news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is a way for everyone—even the hesitant missionary—to participate in this great work.
“ 'Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God, ye are called to the work' (D&C 4:3).”
And now, my son, see that ye take care of these sacred things, yea, see that ye look to God and live. Go unto this people and declare the word, and be sober. My son, farewell. - Alma 37:47
Ten things members can do to help the missionary work go forth and to bring people unto Christ.
1) Learn the names of the missionaries serving in your ward.
2) Pray for the missionaries serving in the ward by name.
3) Pray for missionary experiences.
4) Feed the missionaries
5) When you go to church, look around and talk to any stranger you don't know.
6) Invite the missionaries to come to your home and practice teaching you.
7) Offer the missionaries that you will fellowship their investigators and new members.
8) Offer to let the missionaries bring their investigators over for dinner or for a lesson.
9) Decide to not be so shy about sharing the gospel.
10) Offer to take the missionaries' investigators to the Visitors' Centre.
Every member its Missionary .
These members have been a great example to me, these sisters are so willing to help at any time and any one. Great sisters :)
Brother and Sister Gardner are amazing missionaries, they are so willing to help missionaries. I ams so grateful to know them.
I am so grateful for the Scanderra family and for all the work they do to help the missionary work go forth.
Ian Parker, our wonderful investigator, such a nice man
Service time for Relief Society
Cherisse's baptism :)
We went with our investigators to the temple Visitors' Centre during Christmas time and the spirit was so strong there. That day one of our investigators said that she felt the need to be baptised and prepare herself to get baptised. We are so excited for her :)
The Nabrotzky Family and Abnett at Christmas time :) I am so so grateful for them and for the good work they do to help the missionaries. God Bless them!
My companion, Sister Morgan, and I were invited to our member's house for Christmas lunch with Sister Burgess :)
Sister Bastian and I
Knocking time :)
David, one of our investigators in the Kingston area :)
Sister Bastian is such a great missionary
Seven Simple Suggestions for Sharing the Gospel.
Sharing the gospel should be a natural part of life as a Latter-day Saint. As the Church grows, more and more people will ask questions, and it will be easier to respond with confidence if we pay attention to some basic principles.
One of those principles, Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles teaches, is that the gift of discernment operates best when we are listening. So while talking about the Church, remember that it may help to ask clarifying questions and to do as much listening as we do talking. With that principle in mind,
1. LIVE YOUR RELIGION. A Latter-day Saint’s life is his or her best sermon. Our conversations ought to be open, genuine, and engaged in with a spirit of kindness. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are most believable when our actions are in harmony with our beliefs.
2. ESTABLISH A FOUNDATION. Rather than responding to random questions, it might be helpful to establish a foundation—explain that we embrace Jesus Christ as our Savior and accept the Bible’s teachings, but believe that the Christian world departed from basic truths, and so Christ needed to restore His Church.
3. CONNECT THE DOTS. Try to discern the gospel principle at the heart of a question, and connect the answer back to the Savior. We do not need complicated, sophisticated arguments when the principles we try to live by come from the Son of God.
4. SHARE EXPERIENCES. Answering questions is not about reciting memorized answers. Sharing genuine, personal experiences can invite the Spirit to bear witness and carry the message into the listener’s heart.
5. UNDERSTAND YOUR AUDIENCE. The same conversation isn’t going to work for everyone—we all have different backgrounds. And remember that a casual question doesn’t require a half-hour lecture as a reply. Be sensitive to interest, comfort, and level of understanding. Signal that sensitivity so that those who are curious can feel at ease.
6. USE RESOURCES. The Church has created online resources that can be helpful for members to share with those who have questions. Church magazines are available online and in print, and items available at distribution centers may be helpful. Sharing a copy of the Book of Mormon may also be appropriate. You can also create an online profile on Mormon.org.
7. BE A FORCE FOR GOOD. Members of the Church can help clear up misconceptions and increase understanding of who we are and what we believe. People may see differences between what they believe and what Latter-day Saints believe, but they may also find common ground on which to build better relationships.
Jeffrey R. Holland
"The call of the Book of Mormon is always 'Look that ye might live.' Whether that is to look up to a staff held aloft by a prophet of God or down upon a personal, sphere-like Liahona, it is the same. They mark the way of eternal life. Indeed, they are similitudes of the Way of Eternal Life. All things are the typifying of Christ."
Life’s most challenging questions seem to be those that begin with the word why. “Why is life so hard?” “Why is there so much sorrow, hate, and unhappiness in the world?” “Why does death take the young?” And “why must the innocent suffer?” We all have wrestled with such questions from time to time as we struggle with the vicissitudes of mortality. I particularly want to talk to the younger members of God’s family about why I believe the only satisfying answers to such questions come from the comforting perspective of faith in our Heavenly Father and his eternal plan for our happiness.
It is known more commonly as the plan of salvation. It is beautiful in its simplicity to all who seek prayerfully to know and understand the true meaning and purpose of life.
Through prophets past and present, God has revealed the doctrines of his “great plan of happiness.” It consists of infinite, eternal, absolute, unchanging principles. From Alma we learn that “God gave unto them commandments, after having made known … the plan of redemption” (Alma 12:32; emphasis added). The plan teaches that all who have or will live on earth are the spirit children of heavenly parents. We lived with them before coming to this earth to receive our bodies of flesh and bone.
“If Adam [and Eve] had not transgressed [they] would not have fallen, but [they] would have remained in the garden of Eden. …
“And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy. …
Our Father’s plan provides for redemption from the Fall through the atonement of Jesus Christ. As the Only Begotten Son of God and the only sinless person to live on this earth, he made a perfect atonement for all mankind. It applies to everyone unconditionally as it pertains to there resurrection from temporal, or physical, death, for all shall rise from the dead with immortal bodies as a result of the Atonement. However, the Atonement is conditional as it pertains to each person’s individual sins. It touches everyone to the degree that he or she has faith in Jesus Christ, repents, and obeys the gospel. Exaltation and eternal life with God are reserved for those who keep the commandments.
My testimony coincides with the testimony of the beloved Apostle John: “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them” (John 13:17). May we search for the doctrines and commandments of the great plan of happiness; and when we learn them, may we embrace them willingly. By doing so we will find lasting joy, happiness, and peace. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).
I leave you my testimony that the Lord’s promise of peace comes from knowing and living the principles of our Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness. May his peace and joy be with all of us I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
"And
I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way
before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore,
inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the
promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led." (1
Nephi, 17:13)
Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I acreated the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. bI am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name.
(3Nephi 9:15)
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye alove one another; as I have loved you,
We are told in the scriptures that it is essential to endure to the end:
“Wherefore, if ye shall be obedient to the commandments, and endure to the end, ye shall be saved at the last day. And thus it is” (1 Ne. 22:31).
“Be patient in afflictions, for thou shalt have many; but endure them, for, lo, I am with thee, even unto the end of thy days” (D&C 24:8).
“Behold, we count them happy which endure” (James 5:11).
Here are some of My blessings in my life by Enduring to the end.
One day my Mom said: “I have seen some
missionaries in the street ,they are teaching English and religion for free. would
you like to invite them in our home? We
had never talked about religion before, even though we were religious being Muslim, we
had never talked about that before . She asked me if I would like to attend
English classes and invite the missionaries in our home. ?
My 2
sisters and I said yes its okay if they will come to our home. After 2 days
missionaries came to our home and started to teach us, about English and religion. After the lesson they asked us if we would go to church on Sunday. we said yes All of as like family and on Sunday we entered the building, my eyes riveted on
the pictures on the walls. Was this a church? It didn't look like a Orthodox Church
with my mom the only one I had visited before. Most people consider any other
church a cult. Also, when religious beliefs were condemned, and many people
still look at religion as something not right.
I started going to
church regularly. I wanted to know more about its teachings. I wanted to know
why those young people with the name tags had left their country to come to
Albania and plunged themselves into the
hostile religious atmosphere here. Even though I wasn't religious at that time,
something made me keep going to Church activities. I loved the friendly spirit
of the missionaries and the warm smiles of the members.
I became friends with
the young women in the branch. I was amazed by their faith and great desire to
serve others. I remember when I said my first prayer at a Young Women class. I
had never prayed before, and I didn’t know how powerful a prayer could be. I
hadn’t felt the strong connection with our Heavenly Father that a prayer
brings. I hadn’t known I was His daughter. I never quit praying after that.
Every time I had to overcome a hardship, I knew I could ask my Heavenly Father
for guidance. Often, those prayers would bring tears to my eyes because I could
feel the assurance of the Holy Spirit that God loves me. I started trusting the
Lord. And after one month me and my family became members to the church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints in 10. July.2005.
When the temptations of the eight years came
along, I already had firm faith in Jesus Christ, which gave me strength to overcome
these temptations. I could see how Satan tempted my peers with worldly things
and how small compromises led to bigger ones. It was hard to stand for my
principles, but the connection I had with my Father in Heaven through prayer
helped me stay away from temptations. I had decided to live by the principles
of the plan of salvation. I knew without a doubt that one day I was going to be
blessed.
I went to seminary and
later to institute, I attended Church activities, and I even started my own
Personal Progress. I couldn't wait to go to Young Women activities. I will
never forget the hours we spent cooking, making postcards or bookmarks,
decorating our classroom, or playing games, as well as the wonderful spirit of
friendship between us. Each activity helped me understand my divine nature and
role in life.
One of the most difficult Personal Progress
projects was memorizing 'The Living Christ.' When I looked at the
text, I thought it would be a great challenge to memorize it. After a couple of
weeks, I already knew why that project was in the Faith value. It was a test of
faith and patience, a test with rewarding consequences. The testimony of the
Apostles helped strengthen my faith and testimony. By remembering their
inspiring words of Christ’s divine life and ministry, I got the courage to
testify of Him myself.
And now I am 21 years old ,and I am missionary
in England London south being a full-time missionary which is the first time I learned how important it is
to share our testimonies with others. This things helped me realize not only
how hard it is to serve the Lord, but also the joy we feel by sharing the
gospel and seeing how Christ’s teachings change someone’s life. It helped me
understand what it is like to “stand as witnesses of God at all times and in
all things, and in all places” (Mosiah 18:9).
I’m grateful to be blessed
with knowledge of the restored gospel. I know we can overcome the tribulations
of life through faith and patience. We have no greater and more rewarding
privilege than being a member of the only true Church on earth. Nothing brings
greater happiness than the knowledge we have that as worthy members of the
Church, we can live with God again.
Prayeris aconversationwith Heavenly Father as if we talkto each other; butwhenwe talkwithHeavenlyFather, He can direct us. We know HeavenlyFatherwantsthe best forus, because Helovesus and we areHischildren. For this reason He wants us to pray to Him so that He can give us directions in the decisions we make in our lives.
The way wepray to our HeavenlyFatheris very simple
1st-DearHeavenlyFather(we address Him)
2nd -Ithank you for......(we thank Him for his blessings)
3rd -weaskthe......(we ask for Him to help us in decisions and other things we need)
4-In the name ofJesusChrist, Amen. (always close in the name of Jesus Christ)
I would like toshare withyoumyexperiencewhenHeavenlyFatherrespondedtomyprayers. WhenI was little, Ialwaysprayedmy waybecauseI did not knowhowtopray, butone daymymom mettwomissionaries on the streetfromtheChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She invitedthemissionariesto come toourhome. I was only13years oldat the time. The missionariesalsotaught mehowtopray and communicate withHeavenlyFather. The missionaries invited me to pray to my Heavenly Father about the Book of Mormon, whether it was true or not and also to find out about the truth of their message.
At that momentI was thinkinghow can Heavenly Fatheranswerthisquestion,.Is he going to come in front of me and say, "Yes Jona itistrueI" ..:):)I was a littleconfused because at that time we had a hard time understanding what was true as there were many churches who claimed to be true. Butone daywhileI was readingthe Book of Mormon, I found this: (Mormonchapter 10:3-6.)
3 Behold,
I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be
wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful
the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam
even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and bponder it in your chearts.
4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would aask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not btrue; and if ye shall ask with a csincere heart, with dreal intent, having efaith in Christ, he will fmanifest the gtruth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may aknow the btruth of all things.
6 And whatsoever thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he
Whilereadingthispartof thebookofMormon, I decided totalk to my Heavenly Fatherinprayer. I prayedevery day toknowif theBook of Mormon istrue. In my heart I had the feeling that it is true. Also I cannotdescribewith words what wasinmy mindandin my heart.when I received the response that yes itis the truechurch.
Alsoasstated inthe Book of Mormon "throughthe power ofthe Holy Ghostyemayknowthetruthof all things"whichis a goodsensation as everygood thingcomesfrom Heavenly Father. We canknow that ifwereallytrust Lord andopen mindhearttoour Heavenly Father, Hewillhelpusto findthe truth.
I would like to invite everyonewhoreadsmyblog to pray to Heavenly Fatherthatyou may beguided by Himin His way,alsopraytoknowthattheBook of Mormonistrue. If you do nothave a Book of Mormon, you can receive one as we will send you one upon request for free. I wouldalsoliketoinviteyou tolookat theadvertsthat you can watch on www.lds.org and mormon.org.
The Church of Jesus Christ Of latter day saints. is the fulfillment of the gospel, the message makes sense of all that is explained in the book of Mormon. It had all the answers the questions that people have at this time.
.1-Such as why I'm here on earth?
What is the purpose of life?
Do you have life after this life?
Where will we go?
A heavenly father continues to talk with his children at this time?
Even a prophet we really need at this time?
For these, and many other questions have answers Book of Mormon.
So what is this book?
The Book of Mormon is the word of God, like the Bible. It is Holy Scripture, with form and content similar to that of the Bible. Both books contain God's guidance as revealed to prophets as well as religious histories of different civilizations. While the Bible is written by and about the people in the land of Israel and surrounding areas, and takes place from the creation of the world until shortly after the death of Jesus Christ, the Book of Mormon contains the history and God’s dealings with the people who lived in the Americas between approximately 600 BC and 400 AD. The prophets in the Book of Mormon recorded God's dealings with His people, which were compiled by a prophet named Mormon onto gold plates.
Before these faithful Christians perished, their record was safely hidden away. Joseph Smith obtained these ancient records in 1827, and with the gift and power of God Joseph was able to translate the ancient writings into what we have today. The Book of Mormon, along with the Bible, testifies that Jesus Christ is our divine Redeemer and that by living according to His gospel we can find peace in this life and eternal happiness in the life to come.
Missionaries are handing out copies of the Book of Mormon all over the world, even as you read this. If it’s given out for free,
why do so many members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints count their Book of Mormon as one of their most valuable possessions? What kind of book can cause so many readers to change their lives, their minds and their hearts?
What kind of book can answer life's seemingly unanswerable questions?
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