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Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Elder David A. Bednar, and Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles pose following the taping of the Sharing the Gospel broadcast.This story appears here courtesy of TheChurchNews.com. It is not for use by other media.
By Sarah Jane Weaver, Church News
All the Lord requires of those wanting to share the message of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a willing heart and mind, said Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf during a special broadcast on missionary work.
Quoting Doctrine and Covenants 64:34, Elder Uchtdorf promised, “God will take your willingness and work His miracles.”
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Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles speaks during the 2022 Sharing the Gospel: A Broadcast for Leaders on Saturday, June 25, 2022. Photo is a screenshot from the broadcast.2022 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Elder Uchtdorf's message was part of the Church’s 2022 Sharing the Gospel: A Broadcast for Leaders. Elder Uchtdorf — along with Elder David A. Bednar and Elder Quentin L. Cook, all of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles — discussed ways to help Latter-day Saints continue to share the gospel of Jesus Christ by following spiritual promptings to love, share and invite.
As members and leaders testify of Jesus Christ, they are helping individuals bind themselves to Him through covenants and ordinances, testified the three Apostles.
The broadcast was shown Saturday, June 25, during the Church’s seminar for new mission leaders, held at the Provo Missionary Training Center. Under the direction of area presidencies, local leaders also watched the broadcast about sharing the gospel in anticipation of fifth-Sunday discussions to be held July 31 in wards and branches across the world. Area presidencies supplemented area-specific versions of the general broadcast with local examples and direction.
Technology
This is a time when technology has made it easier than ever to love, share and invite others, said Elder Uchtdorf. “Text messages, emails, messaging apps and social media allow us to shine the Savior’s light farther than ever before in normal and natural ways.
“As you share and invite others to do the same, just be yourself,” he said. “Be authentic and sincere about how your faith in Jesus Christ blesses your life.”
He encouraged Latter-day Saints to talk openly about experiences that help them feel God’s love and support in their personal lives, like the birth of a baby, a marriage, the passing of a loved one, or getting through a difficult part of your life.
“Share a verse you read in the scriptures recently that touched you in a special way. Describe how prayer helps you feel closer to God and to your family. Mention the talk you heard in sacrament meeting. Mention the love you felt while serving alongside your fellow ward members. Share what is in your heart. Share you — your life, your love, your faith. Sharing what is in your heart can open a window that lets the Savior’s light into others’ lives.”
Elder Uchtdorf assured members they don’t have to be technology wizards to share the gospel online. “All the Lord requires is ‘the heart and a willing mind’ (Doctrine and Covenants 64:34). God will take your willingness and work His miracles.”
He invited members to visit share.ChurchofJesusChrist.org to find resources and ideas about how to invite others to come and see for themselves what the Church is all about.
Bound to the Savior
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Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles speaks during the 2022 Sharing the Gospel: A Broadcast for Leaders on Saturday, June 25, 2022. Photo is a screenshot from the broadcast.2022 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.During the broadcast, Elder Bednar taught that the ultimate aim in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ is to help Heavenly Father’s children bind themselves to the Savior by receiving ordinances and making and keeping covenants so they may inherit eternal life, said Elder Bednar.
“Our love, our sharing and our invitations create opportunities for God’s children to enter into and progress along the covenant path, to experience increased joy, and to have access to the Savior’s power and protection,” said Elder Bednar.
Baptism is the first step on the covenant path and is the foundational covenant for disciples of Christ, he said.
“When a person is baptized by immersion for the remission of sins and receives the gift of the Holy Ghost, he or she is born again and begins a lifelong journey of making and keeping covenants, including the sacred covenants of the temple,” he said.
“Importantly, when you are baptized, you do not just become a covenant person; you also become one of the covenant people of the Lord. In other words, even though covenants are made individually, no one walks the covenant path alone. Moroni taught that those who are ‘received unto baptism’ are ‘remembered and nourished by the good word of God, to keep them in the right way’ (Moroni 6:4). As a covenant people, we help each other along the covenant path.”
A Blessing, a Responsibility
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Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles speaks during the 2022 Sharing the Gospel: A Broadcast for Leaders on Saturday, June 25, 2022. 2022 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Elder Cook, chairman of the Church’s Missionary Executive Council, expressed gratitude for the many ways local leaders are inviting Heavenly Father’s children to come unto Jesus Christ. “Since we introduced love, share and invite as the guiding principles for sharing the gospel, more and more members of the Church are acting upon these principles in beautiful and inspiring ways. Nephi’s prophecy is being fulfilled: ‘the power of the Lamb of God [is descending] upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who [are] scattered upon all the face of the earth’ (1 Nephi 14:14).”
Coordinating missionary efforts at the ward or branch level is vital to helping others get a strong start on the covenant path, a progressing path of joy and heaven’s power, he said.
“As we love, share and invite, we are doing what Jesus Christ did when He was on the earth,” Elder Cook said. “He shared His life and His love. He invited all to come to Him. When we love, share and invite, we can truly be His emissaries.”
Sharing the gospel is both a blessing and a responsibility, Elder Cook said.
He asked leaders to counsel together as presidencies and quorums about how to reach out in love to people in their communities and neighborhoods, and then coordinate the work of sharing the gospel. “When ward leaders, including youth leaders, counsel together in presidency meetings and participate in weekly missionary coordination meetings, our efforts to share the gospel and strengthen new and returning members are blessed and magnified,” he said.
Sharing the Gospel
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Elder Quentin L. Cook and Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles participate in the 2022 Sharing the Gospel: A Broadcast for Leaders on Saturday, June 25, 2022. Photo is a screenshot from the broadcast.© 2022 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Testimonies
The broadcast concludes with Elder Uchtdorf, Elder Bednar and Elder Cook sharing their testimonies.
Elder Cook noted that when the Savior sent His apostles into every nation to share the message of His glorious gospel, He gave them this promise: “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20).
“This promise applies today, and it applies to you,” said Elder Cook. “When you share the gospel or strengthen new and returning members by loving them, sharing your life with them and inviting them to join with you in following Christ, you are doing the Lord’s work. He labors with you. He will teach you how to express His love, how to hold up His light and how to invite all to come unto Him.
“I know the Lord gives joy, power and protection to those who engage in His service. These perilous times are also joyful times for those who put their trust in Jesus Christ. He is a God of miracles, and this is a day of miracles.”
Elder Bednar testified that something important is happening among God’s people and in His work. “As the world around us becomes darker, the Savior’s light shines brighter,” he said. “As the world around us becomes more unstable, the need to bind ourselves to Him, the Rock of our Salvation, becomes ever more necessary. Jesus Christ is ‘a sure foundation’ (Helaman 5:12).
“What an exciting time to be engaged in His holy work! I joyfully bear my witness that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, chosen from the foundation of the world to be our Savior. Binding ourselves to Him, through the covenants and ordinances of His gospel, is the one and only way to peace in this world and eternal life in the world to come.”
Elder Uchtdorf reminded members of the examples shared in the broadcast, featuring members and leaders seeking the Lord’s will to share the gospel in a unified way. “And He honored their righteous desires with inspiration and revelation suited to their unique circumstances and abilities,” said Elder Uchtdorf.
“This is Jesus Christ’s work and His Church. He is with us. He will lead us in every area, mission, stake, ward, branch, family and individual life. He invites all to come unto Him, embrace His gospel and follow the covenant path that leads to eternal joy with Him and our heavenly parents.
“As you turn to Jesus Christ — in your councils, in your presidencies and in your personal lives — and ask Him how He would have you move forward in sharing the gospel, He will show you the way. Your path will become clear, and your joy will be full.”
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