Lorenzo Snow #19, Missionary Work: "To Reach Every Human Heart"

On Sunday, we will be discussing Lorenzo Snow lesson #19, Missionary Work: "To Reach Every Human Heart".  Our discussion of missionary work will be broadly construed to include lifting others to higher spiritual ground -- both those who are covenant members of the Restored Church and those individuals who have not yet been baptized.

For example, for the first category, covenant members, I recently read an article in the Ensign magazine written by a female member of the Church who had been married in the temple for more than twenty years. After more than two decades of what she thought was a happy marriage that included raising children in the covenant, this woman's husband told her that he no longer wanted to attend church meetings, pay tithing or attend the temple because he did not believe in the doctrine taught by the general authorities. This was shocking to her at first and then devastating because the person she loved the most no longer had a testimony and their eternal sealing was in jeopardy. She sought priesthood blessings in which she was told simply to continue loving him and to keep living the commandments, regardless of what he did or thought. In other words, she was told to be a missionary for her husband.

For those who have not yet been baptized, we will discuss "seeking to understand before being understood" as a way to approach others. In my experience, the foundation of successful missionary work is a love and interest in others coupled with a love of Christ and what He taught. On Sunday, we will discuss missionary work as both a "lens to view the world" and as "attempts to persuade others to 'Come unto Christ' for healing and spiritual growth."

Kari Stouffer