Chapter 41: "Every Member a Missionary" (Part 2)

So, sharing the Gospel is part of our responsibility to lift others up toward Christ. Why, then, are we sometimes hesitant to do it? I asked the class what kinds of things kept them from talking to others about the Gospel, and I got a variety of answers: fear of seeming pushy, fear of seeming weird, fear of awkwardness, fear of losing a friendship, fear of not knowing what to say, and fear of not knowing how to explain difficult doctrines. I think we have all experienced these fears.

One thing that has helped me overcome some of these fears is to think of all of Heavenly Father's children on a big ladder. At the top is Eternal Life (being with God and like God), and at the bottom is Eternal Death (being eternally separated from God). Somewhere on the ladder, one of the rungs is baptism, and somewhere above that is a rung for temple ordinances. Somewhere below those is gaining a testimony of the Book of Mormon, somewhere else is knowing that God exists, and another is feeling his love. There are an infinite number of rungs with different steps toward Eternal Life, and all of us are on a rung somewhere.

This model gives me a better perspective on sharing the Gospel, because the point is to always be lifting each other up a rung. Instead of being intimidated by the pressure to invite our non-member neighbors to be baptized, we can focus on finding out where they are on the "ladder" and how we can help them move "up". Perhaps even more importantly, this idea helps me see that it is not only non-members that need our love and encouragement! We should always be concentrating on lifting everyone up a rung--our children, our spouses, our parents, our friends and neighbors, members of our ward, ancestors who have passed away . . . everyone! If we just make it the habit of our lives to get to know people well enough to find out where they are on the ladder and help them up a rung, will it be so difficult to share the Gospel?

When I was serving as a missionary, the Primary children from my home ward wrote letters to the missionaries. The Primary presidency photocopied the letters and sent them to all the missionaries serving from our ward. What a joy it was to read those letters! One of them stood out to me above the others, though, and I will never forget it. At the end of one line, a young boy wrote, "How many people have you . . . ". In the instant before my eyes moved to the beginning of the next line, my mind had already filled in the word "baptized". I was surprised, however, to find out what he had really written: "How many people have you served?" This is, I believe, the essence of what the Lord would have us do. If we are loving and serving everyone around us, lifting each other up toward Christ--including sharing the Gospel--will naturally follow. In fact, if we had to express the Plan of Salvation in just one word, I believe that word would be "love".

President Henry B. Eyring shared a beautiful example of the effects of this kind of love and service toward others. He told the story of participating with other ward members to help a new neighbor put in a lawn and landscaping. The man expressed appreciation, but assured them that he was satisfied with his own beliefs. Over the years, they continued to extend friendship and love toward this family. Later, President Eyring had this experience:

In all that time, the acts of kindness extended to him and his family never ceased, because the neighbors really came to love them. One evening I came home to see a truck in their driveway. I had been told they were moving to another state. I approached to see if I could help. I didn’t recognize the man I saw loading household things into the truck. He said quietly as I drew near, “Hello, Brother Eyring.” I hadn’t recognized him because he was the son, now grown older, who had lived there, married, and moved away. And because of the love of many for him, he was now a baptized member of the Church. I don’t know the end of that story because it will have no end. But I know that it began with love (“Let Us Raise Our Voice of Warning,” Ensign, Jan 2009, 4–9).

It always begins with love, doesn't it?