Dear Sisters and Elders –
“Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:27).
Certainly, God has the power and capacity to help us bring souls to Him. Recently, one of you shared the following:
“This week we have asked God for specific help (necessary details that we have no control over) and He has responded almost immediately. For example, we are teaching two teenagers right now who love the gospel and want to be baptized. We prayed that God would arrange an opportunity for us to talk with their mom because she is NEVER around and she is the only thing holding them from baptism. She works all week, all day. I promised God that if He would just give us the perfect opportunity, I would do all I could to follow the Spirit and take advantage of the opportunity. On Saturday, one of our appointments fell through. We felt impressed to visit this family. The thought came to me that this might be the only window of time that their mom would be home this week. When we walked into their house, their mom was mopping the kitchen. The son asked if we were going to read the Book of Mormon together but I hesitantly said, ‘Well...actually we were hoping to talk to ALL of you today,’ looking towards his mom in the kitchen. He made a face like, ‘Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you!’ I started to feel nervous and was really unsure of how to accomplish this conversation with her. But the promise I had made to God came back to my mind, and I was able to recognize that God had done His part, and he would help me do mine. I prayed for courage and I took a deep breath and said, ‘We're actually really glad you're here because we've wanted to ask you some things. We have been teaching your kids, but we really don't know how you feel about it.’ Which launched her into the best discussion about how her kids have always been really spiritual and have sought this out really on their own, and even though she is strong in another faith, she will support their decisions. If they want to join the Church that is fine, but they have to be sure about it. She said her children really look up to us and she sees it as a blessing. Our conversation ended very well. We are friends now and we understand one another's hearts. How grateful I was that we had asked the Lord for His help and had the faith to do our part and follow His promptings.”
This experience is a great example of relying on God to help others come to Christ. It illustrates the steps we discussed at our most recent conference:
1. Qualify for God’s help (see Alma 26:22)
2. Identify what He wants us to do
3. Do all we can to achieve it
4. Pray for the specific help we need
5. Thank Him for His help
As a companionship, I invite each of you to review the above steps for involving God more effectively in your missionary labors. Review Alma 26:22 together and discuss what God requires from us to qualify for His help. Are there things you can do to qualify more fully? Determine obstacles you now face in your area to move the work forward. What can you do and what specific help do you need from the Lord? As the blessings come, thank Him for the miracles. I promise that we will bring more souls to Christ as we strive to rely more upon God in this work.
Thank you for striving to rely more upon God in your missionary efforts.
Love,
President Pingree