Coming Unto Christ

A few years ago, while taking a course on "Preach My Gospel,  Sister Ure was called upon to answer the question, “What is the gospel of Jesus Christ?”  She had talked about this question with her family, and provided an answer she had gotten from her daughter, Caroline.  The gospel of Jesus Christ is to “Come unto Jesus.”

Perhaps we hear the invitation of the Savior, “Come unto me, all you who are heavy laden, and I will give thee rest; Take of my fruit and you will be blessed.”

And so we ask ourselves, what are the blessings of coming unto Christ.  Page 1 of the Preach My Gospel Manuel refers to the people in our day.  "They want 'peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come' (D&C 59:23), but they are 'kept from the truth because they know not where to find it' (D&C 123:12)."  (PMG p 1)

The Savior defined His gospel to include some very vital and basic doctrines. He came into the world to do His Father’s will, and His Father sent Him into the world to be lifted up on the cross. By His Atonement and Resurrection, all men will be lifted up to stand before Christ to be judged of their works, whether they be good or evil. Those who exercise faith in Christ, repent of their sins, and are baptized in Christ’s name can be sanctified by the Holy Ghost. If they endure to the end, they will stand spotless before Christ at the last day and will enter into the rest of the Lord. (Preach My Gospel pg 5)

 

Through the atonement we can find peace.  However we can also find peace in our family units, eternally.  "The message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ makes it possible for families to be united now and in eternity. By living the principles of the gospel, families can experience peace, joy, and a sense of belonging and identity in this life. Through the light of the gospel, families can resolve misunderstandings, contentions, and challenges. Families torn by discord can be healed through repentance, forgiveness, and faith in the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. 'Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities' (Ensign, Nov. 1995, 102)."(PMG p 3)

"Obedience to Jesus Christ is a lifelong commitment. Through exercising faith, repenting, being baptized and committing to serve Christ, and then receiving the Holy Ghost, we can experience healing, forgiveness of sins, and complete conversion to the Savior and His gospel. (PMG pg 6)"

Member Missionary Work: Notes from Caleb

I don't know where this is from, Caleb sent it home.

I guess I better leave you with a spiritual thought before I go.  I love chapter 6 of PMG (Preach My Gospel) a ton!  It's my favorite.  And I've found that the reason for that is that Chapter 6 is the missionary purpose literally directed towards yourself.  On pg 123 in the "Remember This" box it says, "Changing to become Christlike requires faith, repenting, keeping covenants, receiving an increased measure of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end!"  I think that's so great.  It's the missionary purpose and this time we get to invite ourselves to do something; and that is being more Christlike.  I challenge you all to study that section.  It will literally change you into a new person; a new creature in Christ.  And you will feel happier than you ever have as you diligently strive to develop attributes of Christ.

Member Missionary Work 9: Ure Missionary Farewell and Homecoming; and Other MIssionary Ideas

We bounced over the hill to Cupertino for church in our old ward.  Caroline Ure was presenting her homecoming speech, and Adam Ure his farewell.  They are brother and sister, and they shared a week home together.  Both talked on the theme of missionary work, and both quoted preach my gospel, first page: Your Purpose: Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.
Caroline focused on the atonement as part of the duties of a missionary; inviting others to take of the atonement of Jesus Christ.  (Preach my Gospel p 1)  It gives you something to think about, to keep the gospel simple.  People must be invited to come to Christ.
It was also good to see people we know, and also see how the ward has changed.  Charity, Anthony and Camberly Rose were there.  It is fun to see Camberly and Tony interact.  She loves to smile at him.  We didn't stay long after the meetin, I still needed to teach my class.
The Sunday school class theme was the covenant of Abraham.  I was surprised to learn that this covenant applies to us as much as Abraham.  We are promised in this life, a land, a large posterity, the Gospel and the priesthood.  Eternally we are promised Celestial life, eternal marriage and posterity, and exaltation and eternal life.  However our responsibilities are to Help all God's children receive the gospel, and obey the commandments.  We need to invite all to the feast of the gospel.

The final place where I was taught about missionary work was priesthood.  The theme was a talk by M. Russel Ballard: "Put Your Trust in the Lord."  He quoted a letter he had received "Dear Elder Ballard, 30 minutes after the worldwide broadcast on hastening the work of salvation, we held our family missionary council. We were thrilled to find that our teenage grandchildren wanted to be included. We’re happy to report that since our council meeting, we have expanded our family teaching pool by 200 percent.

“We have had grandchildren bring friends to church, have enjoyed sacrament meetings with some of our less-active friends, and have had some of our new contacts commit to take the missionary discussions. One of our less-active sisters has not only returned to church but has brought new investigators with her.

“No one has turned down the invitation to take the missionary discussions. What an exciting time to be a member of this Church" (personal letter, Aug. 15, 2013).  Our ward mission leader indicated we have been challenged to have a similar family meeting, and to establish a family missionary plan.  This is my next step, that and to get the book by Clayton Christensen on being a member missionary.