Today I read Doctrine and Covenants section 73. It is a very short section wherein Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon are asked to continue to preach the gospel, but also to resume the work of translation on the Bible. Oddly enough, the thing that struck me the most about this section was the section heading.
In the section heading it says that due to the preaching of the brethren they were able to diminish the unfavorable feelings in the local area. That got me to thinking about our duty, those of you reading who are members of the LDS church, as members and it really got me to thinking about the phrase, every member a missionary.
I grew up as a member of the church and my whole life I have been taught that one of the most important things I can do as a member of the church is to be a good member and to live my life so that I can be an example to those around me. Last Sunday in fast and testimony meeting a sister bore her testimony about a friend of hers that was serving a mission and he got on a bus and the bus driver forgot to ask him for the fare. It was only 25 cents. The elder had a moment of self doubt where he actually contemplated not paying the fare but as he was leaving he handed the bus driver a quarter and mentioned that the bus driver had forgotten to ask for it. The bus driver replied that he had not forgotten, rather he had noticed him as a missionary for the LDS church and he wanted to see what kind of a person the LDS missionaries were.
That is a small, though extreme example of the fact that we are always being watched and we never know the consequences of not living the gospel. One of my all time favorite scriptures is Alma 39:11 where Alma chastises his son, Corianton, saying that when the Zoramites saw him forsake the mission and go to the harlot, Isabel, they would not believe on his words. Even if you don't announce it, people will really quickly pick up on the fact that you are different and are LDS and they will watch you. It is not fare that a person can live the gospel their entire life, screw up once, and the people will remember the screw up, but that is the way it is.
We owe it to ourselves to be the best we can be so that we can be a good example to those around us. Sometimes the only reason a person will listen to a missionary when they knock on the person's door is because the person has known a good, faithful Latter-day Saint. I remember when I was a missionary, I served in Arcadia California, Mandarin Chinese speaking. As a service, and also a great way to meet new people, we taught a free English class to the local population. I remember on one occasion, three students that had been attending for several months came up to me after the class was over with a newspaper in their hands. They showed it to me and asked me why the local Chinese paper stated that Mormons practiced polygamy and if it were true. I had the opportunity to respond and teach those three people about the LDS church and clear up a misconception they had and I never would have had the opportunity if I had not been living the life of a faithful missionary because they never would have trusted me enough to ask.
We all have the opportunity as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all places. We owe it to those who are seeking for the truth to be the best members of the church that we can possibly be. I do believe that we will be held accountable by God for those we might have saved or helped gain a testimony had we been living the gospel as we should have been. None of us want to be in that position. I know I don't so do yourself a favor and always live the gospel, even when you THINK you are all alone. You never know who you might bump into that will recognize you at the most inconvenient of times. Be the best member of the LDS church, or whatever church you belong to, you can be. Until tomorrow.
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