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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.
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"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.
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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 |
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