Dear Sisters and Elders –
Recently, one of you described an experience your father had with the missionaries in your home ward:
“My dad introduced the missionaries in his ward to my brother's friend who came with them to church… After introducing the friend to the missionaries, they just talked with her about music and high school. They did not testify or invite her to do anything! He was disappointed. He also has a friend at work but has decided to wait to introduce the missionaries to him until some new ones come. He did not want those same missionaries teaching his friend. It made me really think about the things I'm doing to keep the trust of the members and the Spirit I carry with me. I hope to always keep the member's trust by the way I teach and invite.”
As you know, our very purpose is to INVITE and HELP others come closer to Christ (see PMG, 1). We INVITE people to do things (e.g., to learn more about the gospel, to come to church, to read the Book of Mormon, etc.). When they accept an invitation, we then HELP them keep the commitments they made. To be effective, we must INVITE and HELP others every chance we get.
We can also evaluate how effectively we use our time by asking: “Did I INVITE or HELP someone come closer to Christ?” If the answer is “yes,” then we have been effective with our time. If the answer is “no,” then we could have done something more purposeful.
Let’s take advantage of every opportunity we have to INVITE and HELP others come closer to Christ. That’s what we do! In companion study, review times where you were effective at inviting people over the past week, and then identify situations where you could improve. Pray every day to recognize opportunities to INVITE people and then exercise the faith to do it. As you do, I promise that you will HELP more people come to Christ and qualify for exaltation.
Moreover, when we consistently INVITE people, we feel greater power in our calling. One of you recently explained to me how you felt when striving to invite at least 25 people a day to learn about the gospel.
“This week was awesome! We found and invited at least 25 people a day to come unto Christ! The cool thing about it is that, when I just decided to rely on the Lord, and not worry about my own weakness, people were put into our path, and sharing the Gospel was super natural. I really felt like a missionary!”
Let’s give the Lord our best to INVITE and HELP as many people as possible to do things that will bring them closer to the Savior.
With love and admiration,
President Pingree