Week 12

Well it has been over a week since teaching this lesson but I still feel the spirit as it witnesses to me of the truth found in the lesson. With last week being spring break i didn't have a moments time to sit down and write out my thoughts regarding "The field is white and already to harvest." Now I have heard this quote/scripture myriad of times throughout my life and I know what I would answer when I hear it. "missionary work" but as I taught this lesson I was directed in another direction along the same lines. When I hear missionary work I think about telling others about the gospel. Often times we forget how important it is for us to be missionaries to ourselves and by doing that we will be missionaries to others just in our example. How can we tell people to pray to our Heavenly Father if we aren't doing it ourselves? How can we tell people to have faith when in the most crucial of times in our own lives we are lacking? How can we tell others to study the words of the prophets in the scriptures when we aren't following our own counsel? I have a friend right now who has found her testimony of the Savior and the truthfulness of the gospel and as i watch the joy that radiates from her as she discovers more truth and makes the changes necessary to enter the waters of baptism I am in awe. I also watch her read and study the scriptures, ensign, and books- not getting enough and always wanting more- when i have had these same resources throughout my life and I read "when i get the chance" don't get me wrong- i read from the scriptures almost every day but I must admit I do it out of habit or to prepare a lesson for the most part- she does it because she is partaking of the bread of life and by doing so she is getting fuller and fuller. She is doing it because she feels so far behind and wishes she had had this information all her life and now she feels she needs to catch up and doesn't want to put it down. What an example she is to me of the priorities that i should have in my life and how grateful I should be for what I have had my entire life.
So back to the lesson...how can i be ready to be a missionary? the answer is simple but not always easy. Do those things that we have been taught since primary. "Everything you need to know (for eternal life) you learned in primary." there is a reason you have "primary answers" it is because if you are doing those things on a daily basis- thy mysteries of the kingdom of God will be unfolded. Pray, Read your scriptures, pay your tithing, go to church, serve god, be baptized (for those already baptized- partake of the sacrament), prepare for and attend the temple. If we do these things the truthfulness of all things can be revealed unto us. These are all things we have been taught since primary. In D & C 18 it speaks of the worth of souls "and if it so be you bring one soul unto me how great shall be your joy" Have you ever thought that the one soul is yourself? I had this question posed to me several years ago and I have never forgotten it. Each one of us is a convert, whether you have been raised in the church or not. At some point we each have to recieve our own testimonies and as we plant the seed and let it grow we have to continue to nourish it and take care of it and share it. Have you ever planted a seed and watched it grow and found joy in the life that was being shaped before you. At that point would you have stopped watering it and feeding it? My guess is No. After all the effort you put into it you want to do what you can to keep it thriving. Sometimes the plant gets sick, leaves turn brown, little bugs get in it- do you just throw it away and give up on it...no--you do what you can to keep it thriving. The same is with our testimonies--as we keep them thriving even in the midst of trying times-we not only bless our lives but others are blessed and want to know more about how we are thriving when the world says we should be down trodden. So for the lesson this week I focused, because the spirit guided me, on preparing ourselves- converting ourselves- so that when the opportunity presents itself for us to be able to share the gospel with others we will be ready and the spirit can guide us- help us to open our mouths and tell us the things he would have us say. This gospel is not just for me or you. It is for everyone- it is not a religion- it is a way of life, of truth, of happiness. You can't deny it! yes, it is not always easy in a world of chaos and wickedness, you will have to sacrifice the pleasures of the world but in the end when all is said and done--it is the only way to eternal happiness.