PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY

A COMMITMENT OF SAINTHOOD

          When a person accepts membership in the Church of Jesus Christ, he accepts more than the mere responsibility of living a life according to the personal standards of Christ. He accepts, along with this, the responsibility of sharing the good news he has received with every other person within the circle of his influence that has not yet heard the gospel. The faith of Christ is a world faith, and there are no boundaries for its establishment. Thus every member has the dual responsibility of witnessing for Christ in his life and of inviting men to become members of the church.

A SAINT SHOULD TAKE INITIATIVE

          A Saint is one charged with delivering a message to men. If one is convinced of the vital nature of the message, his sense of urgency will not allow him to wait until others come to him to inquire. Because he realizes the importance of the warning message, he goes out towards those who need the gospel.

NOT ONLY A CHARGE TO ORDAINED MINISTERS

          Although certain men ordained to ministerial office have special responsibilities toward evangelism, every person that has accepted the gospel and has become a member of Christ's church is charged with the task of making known the faith. "It becometh every man who hath been warned, to warn his neighbor"- "in mildness and meekness."-Doctrine and Covenants 85:22; 38:9.

FIELDS OF PERSONAL EVANGELISM

          One of the great advantages of personal missionary endeavor is the wide and immediate field that is immediately open to those with the passionate urge to tell the good news. Other forms of missionary endeavor contemplate sending missionary specialists into specially selected places, where by sacrifice and devotion, they may convert people to Christ. The ordinary member of the church, however, has a particular opportunity right where he is.

IN THE HOME

          Most Latter Day Saint homes will have a good spiritual atmosphere, but in far too many is it taken for granted that the members will make their decisions for Christ and the church in due course. This should be regarded as the first definite responsibility of a member, that is to complete, by conversion, the family circle.

          To first win members of Latter Day Saint homes is the natural way in the field of missionary endeavor. Children, young people, husband or wife of a member of the church should be regarded as the first responsibility of the converted person. Many thousands of potential workers for Christ are missed by failure of members to realize the urgency of this field.

IN THE SCHOOL

          Leaders in student life exercise a great influence upon their companions. Where a young student is endeavoring to witness for Christ by maintaining the personal standards of the gospel, he is assisting to fulfill the missionary injunction. Young people should ever be ready to bear witness of the Christ and his message among their fellows. There are many instances of the devout life of a student being the focus around which much teaching of the gospel message has centered. Too many students in advanced fields of education today are reticent about speaking of the gospel to their fellows. There is urgent need for the Christian message in schools, colleges, and universities.

IN THE REALM OF BUSINESS

          Most adult members of the church spend the major portion of their waking hours with their business associates. The Latter Day Saint evangel should penetrate into every relationship. The business and industrial contacts of a fully converted Saint are full of spiritual Opportunities for one who is alert to take advantage of them. In the early Christian church many of the first disciples came directly from the business and community contacts of the Master himself. Peter, Andrew, and John were no doubt so contacted.

          In the early days of the church, it was impossible for a member to keep hidden his identity with the church. To be a Saint meant a vital experience of saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Similar intimacy with Christ will inspire men to a similar spiritual vitality, and this must be evidenced both in action and by word in the daily contacts of office, shop, and factory.

IN THE SOCIAL WORLD

          Unlimited opportunity and challenge is offered to men and women in the spheres of social life. All members should take advantage of their membership in social groups to win men and women of high principle and conviction to the larger vision of the gospel. One should not be diffident about witnessing for Christ in whatever social strata one may be placed. Jesus went into all circles, both high and low.

QUALIFICATIONS OF THE MISSIONARY MEMBER

          The prerequisites in the character of a member for this first and greatest task of the church is beautifully set out in Doctrine and Covenants 4: "If ye have desires to serve God, ye are called to the work, for, behold, the field is white already to harvest, and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that he perish not, but bringeth salvation to his soul; and faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualifies him for the work."

SOUND PERSONAL CONVICTION

          It is important that the member who would do this work of winning men for Christ and the church should have a sound personal conviction. The missionary worker must have a sound conviction as to the Sonship of Jesus Christ and of the divine nature of the church. He must have a conviction beyond doubt of the love of God for men. Mere opinion is not sufficient but a passionate conviction of the need of God in the lives of men and women. If this conviction is present, then the compulsion will be to share this divine knowledge with all.

LOVE FOR MEN

          With the conviction of God's love for men must he a sense of oneness with all God's children, which reaches out to them in very truth. If one has this earnest desire for the well-being of others, it is naturally expressed in service to mankind. With this vision the missionary member sees men, not so much as they are but as they can be with the love of God shared out to them, and so he seeks with energy to bring all within that influence. This often demands sacrifices, but such sacrifices automatically bring salvation to the giver.

THE PRAYERFUL LIFE

          Vital to the missionary activity is a disposition and ability to pray. One who is working in the stead of the Saviour must keep close to the source of power and of love. This prayer function will be fruitful in the dedication of life to the great cause, and make possible the expression of the Master's character before all men.

KNOWLEDGE OF THE CHURCH AND ITS DOCTRINE

          One cannot tell others of the message if one does not have a certain degree of sound understanding of the message and the way that it should function through the church. Therefore the Saints have been enjoined to study to show themselves approved before God. It is essential that the fundamental truths be understood so that the work of Christ may be held to no ridicule and the name of the Saviour glorified. Familiarity with the Three Standard Books of the church is important in this regard. Many texts are available for the help of members in this respect.

METHODS

PERSONAL CONTACT IS VITAL

          All members should have a sense of the value of their own personal witness. In this as in other things, each individual member counts. What you can do another may not and vice versa. Most of the members of the church have been won to the gospel by personal contact in one way or another, and in the large percentage, this personal contact has been demonstrated to be the primary contact. By this personal contact and witness, men are brought into contact with the services and meetings of the church, particularly preaching and church school activities. In the days of Christ there were no means of communication as we have them today, yet the news was heralded throughout the known world. It was by personal contact that this was done with remarkable speed. There is no better method today.

OTHER METHODS

          While technical detail of method is outside of the scope of these paragraphs, it should be the aim of every member to become acquainted with the best methods of making approaches to people who are not yet interested in the church. One should become familiar with the literature of the church, knowing what tracts and texts are available to personal work. A successful missionary person will discover and develop skills in human relationships, and will know when to invite prospects into suitable groups and meetings. He will be anxious to make his home available for cottage and fireside talks with representative men of the ministry.

          There is no more successful way of knowing the value of Christ and the church than for each member to become missionary minded and inculcate in himself a passion for the welfare of souls. Thus the members become grounded, the church is built up, the financial means for the establishment of Zion becomes available to a larger extent, in short the entire mission of Christ is brought nearer to fruition.

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