Ballard - Put Your Trust in the Lord - October 2013

Elder Ballard speaks about the need to be engaged in doing missionary work.

• Today I want to speak to all members of the Church, because there is an urgency for each one of us to be engaged in sharing the gospel.

Elder Ballard talks about what recent research has said about sharing the gospel.  People have to barriers to sharing the gospel.

• We know from our research that most active members of the Church want the blessings of the gospel to be part of the lives of others whom they love, even those whom they have never met. But we also know that many members hesitate to do missionary work and share the gospel for two basic reasons.
  • The first one is fear. Many members do not even pray for opportunities to share the gospel, fearing that they might receive divine promptings to do something they think they are not capable of doing.
  • The second reason is misunderstanding of what missionary work is.

Elder Ballard gives a series of remarks that talk about these two issues.  I list several things he says can help us get over our fear and to gain a better understanding of missionary work.

• Fear will be replaced with faith and confidence when members and the full-time missionaries kneel in prayer and ask the Lord to bless them with missionary opportunities.
• We must demonstrate our faith and watch for opportunities to introduce the gospel of Jesus Christ to our Heavenly Father’s children, and surely those opportunities will come.
  
• Just be positive, and those whom you speak with will feel your love. They will never forget that feeling, though the timing may not be right for them to embrace the gospel. That too may change in the future when their circumstances change.
  
• It is impossible for us to fail when we do our best when we are on the Lord’s errand. While the outcome is a result of the exercise of one’s agency, sharing the gospel is our responsibility.
  

Elder Ballard talks about the key to missionary work is praying for missionary opportunities to come our way.

• The principles are pretty simple—pray, personally and in your family, for missionary opportunities.
  

He speaks to those that might be socially concerned with talking with others.  He shares what the Lord has promised each of us.

• You don’t have to be an outgoing person or an eloquent, persuasive teacher. If you have an abiding love and hope within you, the Lord has promised if you “lift up your voices unto this people [and] speak the thoughts that [He] shall put into your hearts, … you shall not be confounded before men; “[And] it shall be given you … in the very moment, what ye shall say.”
  

Elder Ballard shares that our greatest joy in life can come from service to the Lord.

• There is no greater joy in life than being anxiously engaged in the service of the Lord.

We need to remember that we are not alone in this cause.  That is why prayer is so important.  We become partners with the Lord when we include Him in our efforts.

• When members view the work of salvation as their responsibility alone, it can be intimidating. When they view it as an invitation to follow the Lord in bringing souls unto Him to be taught by the full-time elders and sisters, it is inspiring, invigorating, and uplifting.

Elder Ballard encourages us to set a goal to reach out to one person before Christmas.  If we do, millions will be effected by our collective efforts.

• We are simply asking all members to pray, knowing that if every member, young and old, will reach out to just “one” between now and Christmas, millions will feel the love of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I have thought a lot of missionary work lately.  I need to spend more time praying for opportunities to come to me instead of me having to create those opportunities.  I have no fear of starting a gospel conversation with someone but it would be nice if someone made those conversations with me too.  I am grateful for Elder Ballard's simplistic view of the share gospel.  I believe it really can be as simple as he says when we partner with the Lord.