Today I read Doctrine and Covenants section 100, a revelation given to Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon about their missionary service. Most Latter-day Saints who have served a mission will recognize this section as containing one of the classic missionary scriptures. In verse 6 the Lord comforts Joseph and Sidney by telling them that He will tell them what to preach and tell them in the very moment what they should say to those they are preaching to.
My whole life I was taught that the Lord will indeed help missionaries and teach them what to say, but it was contingent upon the person already knowing the thing somewhere in their mind. For example, I'm sure for those of you that grew up in the church, you , like me, were told as a child and teenager that the Lord can help me when I take a test in school by reminding me of the things I have studied. And it is true, He did in fact help me in exactly that fashion growing up.
And there are those who would have you believe that as a missionary, it is the same thing. That when you are in the moment and need His help to reach an earnest seeker of truth, He will only remind you of things that you have studied in the past. First of all, the scriptures do not say that. The exact verse says: "For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say." Nowhere in that sentence does it say "as long as you knew it before hand". As far as I am aware, the only requirement to take advantage of this blessing is the same requirement that all revelation has, living the commandments and an earnest desire to do that which is right in the sight of God.
Now, I think the reason people get confused about this, is because most of the time, what the Lord will prompt people to say, are things they already know. Or He will prompt them to recite a scripture they might have learned in seminary that is appropriate. Because that is how the Lord works. Think about the Savior and His earthly ministry. Most of the time He came up against someone who was trying to trick Him, or when he rebuffed Satan, He quoted scripture to them. That is the pattern. So if you knew it before hand, sure, He will tell you the best scripture to quote to the person you are talking with if that is what is going to be most effective.
However, again I say it is not a prerequisite for receiving this promise from the Lord. I'm sure you could find countless examples of people who when they served a mission could tell you instances where they had this promise fulfilled, but the Lord taught them something new when He put in their mind what they should say. Something that they did not know before. I myself could cite at least 3 examples from my own mission without even pausing to reflect if there are more. The Lord means exactly what He says there, He will tell us in the very moment what we should say.
This promise is also not just for missionaries. I have had this promise fulfilled as a regular old member of the church when talking to someone about the Gospel. Now, I will say that most of the time this has happened, the Lord HAS called to mind scriptures I could turn to with the individual or things I recalled reading from the scriptures in an earlier setting. In fact those examples are far more numerous than the other examples I could give where the Lord taught me something new in the moment. So it would definitely behoove you to learn the scriptures and the doctrine since that is what is going to tough the hearts of most people anyway. But as I was saying, this promise is not just for missionaries, it can happen to a father teaching his child, to a wife speaking with a husband, a friend talking to a friend, and any other relationship you care to think of. The Lord will not leave us alone when we fulfill our covenants.
We made a promise when we were baptized that we would stand as a witness for Christ at all times and in all places. When we live up to that covenant, the Lord will bless us by standing with us. It's also an incredible experience to feel the Spirit that strongly and have an idea pop in your head that you absolutely know did not come from you. Hopefully each of you will get to experience that at some point if you have not already. Until tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment