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Proclaiming the Gospel

If the Restoration is a voice of warning, it is also a voice of gladness (D&C 128:19). The word "gospel" literally means "good news" or "glad tidings." The good news that Latter-day Saints call "the restored gospel" has two grand themes. We bear witness of God's all-encompassing, transforming love made manifest in Christ's life, death, and resurrection (D&C 76:40-42). And we testify that God's plan for creation still moves forward today, as signified by the visions of Joseph Smith and the experiences of the Latter-day Saints (D&C 128:19-23).

While the Saints have a vigorous missionary tradition, proclaiming the gospel is not the work of full-time missionaries alone. All the baptized commit to stand as constant, lifelong witnesses of God (Mosiah 18:8-10). We fulfill that commitment by leading day-to-day lives that show divine love and power in action. We proclaim the gospel whenever we stand up for truth, oppose evil, or bless others' lives.

Sharing the gospel should be a process of mutual edification, not contending or tearing down other faith traditions (D&C 10:52; 50:13-24). When we missionize, our call is to identify those individuals whom the Spirit has prepared to find in the LDS faith tradition a transforming encounter with God. Beyond promoting our particular tradition, though, proclaiming Christ's good news means promoting hope, healing, and harmony through Christ-like words and actions.


 I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go  (Hymns 270)

Franklin D. Richards: Contemplate the immense army, I may say of Seventies and Elders we have among us, and what a work are they doing in the nations, and what a work are they doing and ought they to do at home in preaching the Gospel to each other, in encouraging and strengthening those whose hands sometimes hang down, and whose knees tremble; speaking comforting words to the Saints, saying, "Dear brother, thy God reigneth, trust in him."
Journal of Discourses 26:100-101

George Albert Smith: When the call was given, the missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints went out into the world—not to criticize others, not to find fault, but to say to our Father's other children: "Keep all the good that you have received, keep all the truth that you have learned, all that has come to you in your homes, in your institutions of learning, under your many facilities for education, keep it all; and then let us divide with you additional truths that have been revealed by our Heavenly Father in our day."
The Teachings of George Albert Smith (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1996), 158

Theodore A. Tuttle: May the Lord inspire us with a desire to share the Gospel, build lives and bring blessings to others.
BYU Speeches of the Year, 1964, 8

Thomas S. Monson: When we share the gospel with others, we unavoidably get outside of ourselves: we think and pray and work for the blessing of others.

"Status Report on Missionary Work," Ensign, October 1977, 11

Howard W. Hunter: Any time we experience the blessing of the Atonement in our lives, we cannot help but have a concern for the welfare of others. . . . The call to share the gospel with others represents our great love for our Heavenly Father's children as well as for the Savior and what He did for us.

LDS Church News, June 30, 1990

Gordon B. Hinckley: Let us do our part in sharing the gospel with those around us, by example first and then by inspired precept.

Faith: The Essence of True Religion (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1989), 57

Donald W. and Jay A. Parry: As long as time lasts and as long as the Lord allows it, we are to continue to share the gospel message, seeking to build up our neighbors, our communities, and our nations, seeking to somehow stem the tide of evil that surges around us.

Understanding the Signs of the Times (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999), 238


This website is an independent effort to discern the Spirit's voice in LDS teaching. The site is not sponsored by the LDS Church. Quotations from the teachings of any individual should not be taken to imply that the individual does or would endorse this website or other statements made here.