by David A. Bednar
"My message is directed specifically to individuals who are not members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."
Elder Bednar addressed why Latter-day saints are so eager to share what they believe and why we are always inviting others to learn more about The Church.
He says, "The Church of Jesus Christ always has been and always will be a missionary church."
"A missionary is a follower of Christ who testifies of Him as the Redeemer and proclaims the truth of His gospel."
In this talk, Elder Bednar share a personal story about his two sons. The younger of the two was slightly injured while playing. His older brother consoled him and then brought him into the kitchen of their house where he scrubbed the wound clean, rubbed ointment on it, and lastly applied a clean bandage. Once all better, the injured brother gathered up the remaining bandages and ointment and went outside seeking his friends, where he then proceeded to put ointment and bandages on their arms.
"Why did that little boy do what he did? Please note that he immediately and intuitively wanted to give to his friends the very thing that had helped him when he was hurt. . . "
"Many of us as adults behave in precisely the same way when we find a treatment or medication that alleviates pain with which we have long suffered, or we receive counsel that enables us to face challenges with courage and perplexities with patience. Sharing with other people things that are most meaningful to us or have helped us is not unusual at all."
This is why Latter-day Saints are so eager to share their faith and beliefs with others. When we discover something awesome, something that works for us, or something that makes our life better - maybe a recipe, a good book, a product we love, a diet that worked, etc- we yell it from the rooftop and share it with others. Social Media is full of of people sharing messages like this. Why shouldn't we do the same with the gospel? We have found something that changes lives, alleviates pain, and is totally awesome! We want everyone to have and experience what we have. That is why we share.
When I think of missionary work in this context, it no longer frightens or overwhelms me, but excites me!
"Our desire to share the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. . .is a reflection of how important these truths are to us."