Good morning Brothers and Sisters, my name is Aidan Baller and I was asked to give a talk on How We Can Each Hasten the Work of the Lord. When Bishop gave me this assignment he also gave me a talk to reference, the talk is from Elder Edward Dube of the Seventy, the talk is titled Look Ahead and Believe from the October 2013 General Conference.
Elder Dube starts his talk by telling a story of when he and his mother were working in the fields. He felt like they had been working for a long time, so he looked back to see what they had done, and said to his mother, “Look at all we have done.” She didn’t respond so he repeated himself a little louder. Again she didn’t respond and again he raised his voice a little more and repeated himself. Then his mother turned to him and said, “Edward, never look back. Look ahead at what we still have to do.”
He then continues, “My dear brothers and sisters, the covenant we made with the Lord when we were baptized, “to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that [we] may be in” (Mosiah 18:9), is a lifelong commitment. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf counseled, “Those who have entered the waters of baptism and received the gift of the Holy Ghost have set their feet on the path of discipleship and are charged to follow steadily and fully in the footsteps of our Savior” (“Saints for All Seasons,” Ensign or Liahona, Sept. 2013, 5). The Lord through His servants calls us to serve in various callings, which we accept with total commitment.” The Lord’s work is hastening and he will provide ways for us to assist in that hastening.
Later in his talk he relates a story told by President Boyd K. Packer, where at an ox pulling contest, all the larger, stronger teams of oxen were beat out by a smaller team. He determined that although it seemed the bigger oxen would easily be able to pull the sledge, they lacked the teamwork and coordination of the smaller team. One of the biggests parts of hastening the work of the Lord is teamwork. Individually we can all make a difference but we are not able to achieve our full potential unless we work together and combine our efforts.
Another talk I found titled Put Your Trust in the Lord by Elder M. Russell Ballard from October 2013. Elder Ballard gave this talk about missionary work and how it is a large part of hastening the work of the Lord. He says, “My message this afternoon is that the Lord is hastening His work. In our day this can be done only when every member of the Church reaches out with love to share the truths of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. We need to work together in partnership with our 80,000 missionaries now serving.” Although missionaries serving in the field are hastening His work, that is not the only missionary work. President David O. Mckay said “Every Member a Missionary” and this is very important for hastening the work of the Lord. Members can make a difference at home, whether it be reaching out to inactive members, teaching non-members, or just simply providing service, there are many ways to hasten the work.
Elder Ballard sites two reasons why members and missionaries are hesitant to share the gospel. The first is fear, he says, “Many members do not even pray for opportunities to share the gospel, fearing that they might receive divine promptings to do something they think they are not capable of doing.” I know that I am guilty of this, as I would imagine most people are, but I know that the Lord will be with you. As stated several times in the scriptures but specifically in D&C 30:11 “...yea, you shall ever open your mouth in my cause, not fearing what man can do, for I am with you.” If you open your mouth and you are worthy to have the spirit with you, the Lord will fill your mouth and you will know what to say. I know that to be true and I want to share an experience where it happened.
I had a non-member friend in junior high and there were occasions where he would ask me questions about the gospel. I would often get nervous about these occasions because, like Elder Ballard said, I was scared that I couldn’t answer his questions. One time, we started talking really heavily about the gospel and he was asking me questions, I wasn’t sure what to say at first, but I, like the scriptures say, opened my mouth and it was filled. I answered his questions as best I could and bore my testimony to him.
The second reason Elder Ballard says we are hesitant to share the gospel is that we don’t really understand what missionary work is. Many people feel that what they have been asked to do is unrealistic, the Savior has promised us, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
Elder Ballard says, “...fear will be replaced with faith and confidence when members and the full-time missionaries kneel in prayer and ask the Lord to bless them with missionary opportunities. Then, we must demonstrate our faith and watch for opportunities to introduce the gospel of Jesus Christ to our Heavenly Father’s children, and surely those opportunities will come. These opportunities will never require a forced or a contrived response. They will flow as a natural result of our love for our brothers and sisters. Just be positive, and those whom you speak with will feel your love. They will never forget that feeling, though the timing may not be right for them to embrace the gospel. That too may change in the future when their circumstances change.” I can testify that when you pray for opportunities to share the gospel, they will come. I had an experience with this fairly recently, I had been praying for opportunities to share the gospel and share my testimony and was receiving them without even realizing it. I had a kind of testimony meeting with two of my friends where I was able to share my testimony and talk about the gospel, then the next day, I was camping with my family and my uncle asked me to bear my testimony in front of the family. The Lord was blessing me with opportunities to share the gospel, I know it.
One of my favorite things that Elder Ballard says in his talk is, “It is impossible for us to fail when we do our best when we are on the Lord’s errand.” As long as you do the best you can do while serving the Lord, there is absolutely no way that you can fail. The Lord will bless you for doing all that you can do. Trust in Him, He knows his children, He knows what they need to hear, and He will speak to his children.
I know that this church is the true church. I know that Heavenly Father and His Son appeared to Joseph Smith and that he restored the gospel to this earth. I know that the Book of Mormon is the Word of God. I know that Christ lives. I know that He gave his life for us, the atonement is real. I know that we can return to live with Him again through the atonement.
