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Visiting Teaching Message
Missionary
Work
Latter-day Saints are sent forth “to labor in [the Lord’s]
vineyard for the salvation of the souls of men” (D&C
138:56), which includes missionary
work. We don’t need a formal mission call to share the gospel. Others whose
lives will be blessed by the gospel surround us, and as we prepare ourselves,
the Lord will use us. Visiting teachers can embrace their spiritual
responsibilities and help “bring to pass the immortality and
eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39).
When the Prophet Joseph
Smith organized the Relief Society in 1842, he said that the women were not
only to look after the poor but also to save souls.1 This is
still our purpose.
“The Lord … entrusts a testimony of the truth to those who will
share it with others,” said President Dieter F.
Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency. “Even more, the Lord
expects the members of His Church to ‘open [their mouths] at all times,
declaring [His] gospel with the sound of rejoicing’ (D&C
28:16). … Sometimes a single phrase of testimony can set events in motion
that affect someone’s life for eternity.”2
From
the Scriptures
From
Our History
The story of Olga Kovářová of the former Czechoslovakia is an
example of member missionary work from our Relief Society history. In the
1970s, Olga was a doctoral student and hungry for a deeper spiritual life. She
noticed 75-year-old Otakar Vojkůvka, a Latter-day Saint. “He appeared to me
seventy-five in his age but in his heart nearer to eighteen and full of joy,”
she said. “This was so unusual in Czechoslovakia at that time of cynicism.”
Olga asked Otakar and his family how they found joy. They introduced her
to other Church members and gave her a Book of Mormon. She read it eagerly and was
soon baptized and confirmed. Since that time Olga has been an influence for
good in a world of political oppression and religious persecution. She served
as Relief Society president in her little branch and helped save the souls of
others by bringing them to Christ.3
What
Can I Do?
2.
How am I helping the sisters I watch over to learn the gospel?
1.
See Teachings of
Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2007), 453.
2.
Dieter F. Uchtdorf,
“Waiting on the Road to Damascus,” Liahona and Ensign, May 2011,
76–77.
“Gleaning
the Wheat”
cji
1/1/13
The
trashing floor is full
workers found
at hand
calling
forth the winds
thrashing
the wheat
the
chaff to fly away
sisters
being obedient
gleaning
the wheat!
Copyright © 2012 – cji
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