Will You? That is a familiar question in my life. As a young missionary I regularly said to investigators: âWe have a
WILL YOU? IMPLEMENTING THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH Will You? That is a familiar question in my life. As a young missionary I regularly said to investigators: “We have a baptism scheduled this Saturday. Will you come and be baptized?” I think that it was not my nature to be pushy or manipulative. It has always felt better to invite someone to do something rather than to manipulate them or to leave them uninvited. My doctoral dissertation focused on how to effectively get people to act, to introduce change, to train people to get real behavioral results. So, when a new missionary guide was introduced in 1986 and we in the SLC mission were asked to pilot the publication and process of conversion with investigators, it all seemed familiar and powerful. It worked well with us and our missionaries and members. The SLC South mission was the top baptizing mission in the church among English speaking missions when we arrived to preside, but in the next three years the baptisms rose by 300 percent per missionary. That growth was a real blessing to us and the membership of the area. When I was assigned as a General Authority to the South Pacific Area in 1993 we focused on this approach to working with members and in the missions with those who were being taught. We found growth in all programs and missions. One of the significant changes through inviting was in the growth of wards and stakes. We had 58 stakes when we arrived, one new stake in the prior 3 ½ years, and shortly after leaving that area three years later the Church News announced that the South Pacific Area had its 100th stake formed. CES talk assigned by First Presidency. In the fall of 1996 I received a letter from the First Presidency inviting me to speak at the Church Education Symposium in August 1997 at BYU. I didn’t give that assignment much attention until Stan Peterson, the CES Administrator, called me in January 1997 to ask me about my preferred music for the occasion. I learned then that this was a significant assignment, an annual address to all Seminary and Institute faculty and staff and typically attended by many priesthood leaders, and the talk being broadcast via television satellite world-wide. Speakers were always a member of the Twelve Apostles as assigned by the President of the Twelve. It was a major opportunity for one of these Brethren because of being able to speak for “as long as desired”, according to Peterson, and being the solo speaker for that occasion. The addresses occurred at BYU at the conclusion of several days of classes and training for the year-long course of study that attracted around ten thousand individuals to the Provo campus during the week. The entire evening program was to be taped, broadcast, and distributed to all CES personnel and others throughout the world. I eventually got serious about this assignment, wrote the speech, asked the Church Correlation staff to review what I prepared (although CES said that I was not required to
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do that) because I wanted my efforts to be strictly in order, and asked CES to review my remarks beforehand to ensure that it was fully relevant to their perceived needs. (“Don’t change one thing,” I was told.) I felt inspired in all of my preparations. I sought and received Karen’s best judgment and suggestions, and then felt that it needed a proper title so that, if it was a worthwhile subject matter, that people could remember and access their thoughts on the contents of the talk. I felt the inspiration to call it “Will You?” and it has been called that ever since, many people noting “. . . You’re Will You? talk.” Now, I would like to speak of one other dimension of this assignment. As I said, the speaker at these CES symposia has always been a member of the Twelve. That is what was normally to happen. I think that President Packer had assigned another person to give that talk in 1997. This was the first time the First Presidency ever made the assignment, and it was the last time, according to my information. I am humbly confident that the Savior wanted me to give this particular talk, and I am assured in my mind and heart that he inspired President Hinckley, the Lord’s prophet and president of His church, to assign the talk to me. I was a Seventy—a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy—due to be released from that calling the very next day after the date of the CES Symposium. I was recovering from a devastating stroke at the time the assignment was made and untested at the podium in that type of setting. (Shortly before that assignment came I spoke in our ward at our son’s missionary farewell and could hardly speak, it being minutes into my remarks before my words and thoughts were intelligible to me and the congregation.) There was no earthly reason for me to be assigned this talk and especially to come from the First Presidency as a departure from custom and past practice for this to remain an assignment from the President of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles. This was an assignment from the Lord through his presidency, a wonderful testimony of the power of revelation and a wonder to me. Since giving that talk I have found it published as the cover story in the Ensign magazine, distributed as a video cassette, CD, DVD, audio cassette, and a pamphlet. I have heard of it being copied and stake presidencies passing out stacks of copies to all coming into stake conferences; being distributed and quoted by members of the Twelve in regional training for stake and ward leaders; printed by Area Presidencies by the hundreds of thousands for distribution to members and leaders through their areas; combined with a talk by President Gordon B. Hinckley for stake training; and printed and published by mission presidents as required repeated reading by all missionaries. All this is information that has come to me unofficially; I have never been told anything about it officially, perhaps because I was indeed released the next day and officially not involved with any follow-up or reporting. I have had calls come to me from around the world from mission presidents, Area Seventies, stake presidents, CES leaders unofficially telling me about the talk being used for CES training for years, the instrument for regional training, its impact in raising convert baptisms, re-activations, youth programs, priesthood training, and more. I know the source of the talk, and while I was an active participant, I am not the author.
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A few years later I was invited to speak to students, faculty, and staff at Brigham Young University-Idaho at their weekly devotional. It happened to be the very first devotional for the newly arrived president, Kim Clark. I turned the “Will You?” talk to a specific application focused on leadership, and called it “Will You Lead?” Dr. Clark, who had just come from being Dean of the Harvard School of Business, told several individuals, and eventually told me, that the talk was an answer to prayer, inspired, and it defined his mission as president of the university. Later I was invited to speak to the missionaries at the Provo Missionary Training Center. Again, I built that talk from these earlier talks, focusing on the subject, “Called to Lead,” but the center piece of each of those addresses was the CES Symposium talk, “Will You?”
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The Twenty-First Annual Church Educational System Religious Educators Symposium
GENERAL AUTHORITY ADDRESS BOOK OF MORMON SYMPOSIUM 1997
Will You? Implementing the Mission of the Church by
Elder V. Dallas Merrell Quorum of the Seventy Delivered at a symposium on 12 August 1997 Brigham Young University Published and Copyrighted by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Salt Lake City, Utah All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America
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I am glad you’re all personal friends or else I might be nervous. I am grateful for those with whom I have crossed paths in the past and whom I have come to love. I know I would feel that way about each one of you if we had a chance to visit and I could feel your spirit. I hope those of you who are far away will feel close by and that together we can enjoy the Spirit and learn better how to serve our Heavenly Father. A lot of you have paper and pencils. I’d like to suggest that you put them away and that for this hour we just talk together. I think you then will be able to better understand and to feel the message that we have tonight. I appreciate the help of many from CES who have been helpful in preparing for tonight. I’m grateful for Karen, my wife, whom I met on this campus. I’d also like to thank Stephanie Colquitt, my secretary and others who have offered suggestions. I come to you tonight by assignment from the First Presidency. I am very, very grateful to be a part of this night. I taught institute in California and Washington, D. C. Karen taught seminary. When we were called to serve a mission, she asked President Packer, “What will I do about my seminary class?” He said, “Well take care of that some other way if you go on a mission with your husband.” I have strong feelings for you. We didn’t have seminary when I went to high school in Moses Lake, Washington. My mother later taught seminary there for many years. I’m grateful for CES’s influence on me and my family. Based on this assignment from the First Presidency, I am going to talk to you about what President Gordon B. Hinckley has expressed as his deepest concern for the Church today. President Hinckley’s Deepest Concern In October 1996 the prophet said to the Church: “There are those who were once warm in the faith, but whose faith has grown cold. Many of them wish to come back but do not know quite how to do it. They need friendly hands reaching out to them. With a little effort, many of them can be brought back to feast again at the table of the Lord.” (Conference Report, Oct. 1996, 118; or Ensign, Nov. 1996, Nov. 1996. 86). The Scriptures Teach How to Respond Tonight I wish to share with you what the Book of Mormon teaches us about reaching out and coming back. We will consider what you as teachers and leaders in the Church Educational System can do to help resolve the prophet’s concern. And if we follow him, we will indeed dedicate ourselves to resolving that concern.
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The Book of Mormon teaches us how to respond to President’s Hinckley’s call for action. A vital part of the Father’s work is to draw each of his children, one by one, back into his presence. This is not exclusively a Book of Mormon theme, for in a very real sense, all of the scriptures, and all of the teachings of the living prophets, and all of our Church history are one seamless and timeless message of hope and salvation. The scriptures teach us both about how to conduct our lives and also how to conduct the Church in order to invite and support each child of God to come unto Christ and to come back to the Father. When I was younger, I suppose that like some of you, I thought that the Book of Mormon was all about Lehi, the Nephites, and the Lamanites. I used to think that the Old Testament was stories of Adam and Eve, the Flood, the parting of the Red Sea, and wandering people. In my mind the New Testament told of Jesus, parables, and Apostles. The Doctrine and Covenants to me was about duties, calls, and Joseph Smith. I thought the Church was about meetings, singing, prayers, the sacrament, and basketball, of course, I have come to learn, however, that these scriptures and the Church are about the love of the Father and about Jesus Christ. I have learned that Jesus Christ is the central figure of the Book of Mormon and of all of the other scriptures. As Heavenly Father invited us to enter mortality, he made a covenant with those of us who accepted his plan. The covenant of the Father is that he would send a Savior and provide a way for us to return to him. We were comforted, I’m sure, that we would not be stranded here on earth (see Moroni 7:21). The Book of Mormon Message The great message from the Book of Mormon is threefold: first is in its title: Jesus is the Christ; second, all are invited to come unto Christ—all; and third, it tells us how to come unto Christ and back to the Father. The Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants are joined in our day to most clearly present the doctrine of Christ and the mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Our mission, that is the mission of the Church, was given at the time of the organization of the Church when the Lord said we are to “invite all to come unto Christ” (D&C 20:59). By implementing this mission, we assist in the accomplishing the Savior’s explicit mission: “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Mosses 1:39). Much has happened since the Church’s beginnings in 1830. We have grown to a membership of approximately 10 million members 160 countries, with curriculum materials now in 145 languages. Members are gathered in over 2,400 stakes, and fulltime missionaries serve in over 300 missions. Why do we have all this organization, including the brick and mortar and all these missionaries, programs, officers, teachers,
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and CES? It is because of our purpose—or mission—to invite all to come unto Christ. Now what we need to understand and what I hope you will have sink deep into your souls tonight is that this mission is not a slogan. It is the Savior’s very reason for his Church. It must be the gauge of all our success. In CES this is your mission as well. These youth and young adults come to you to be taught and to be shown how to come to Christ. Heavenly Father’s instructions about how to come back to him are clear and uncomplicated. The focus of the Lord’s mission for his Church might be illustrated by an experience that President Wolfgramm and I had in 1995 in the island nation of Fiji where he presided over the mission. We had just finished a stake conference, and as we were leaving, some missionaries pointed to a woman who wanted us to meet her nonmember husband of thirty years, a Fijian high chief. I shook his hand and after greetings asked if he had heard the missionaries. “Yes,” he said. “How do you feel about the Church?” I asked. He said he felt good about it. I then asked, “Will you be baptized today?” He looked into my eyes, then away—up at the sky, down at the ground, and from side to side. Eternity pressed on this moment. Then came his answer, “Why not?” I asked, “Is that a yes or “no?” “Yes!” he exclaimed. His wife and all the missionaries and the stake leaders had been standing in suspense as they awaited his answer. His wife burst into tears of joy. We had a jubilant baptism. The mission of the Church had been put into action in that very incident. This brother was invited and he then took an essential step in coming unto Christ. The Church’s Mission Statement The mission statement of any organization defines the ends and the reasons for the organization’s being. The Church’s mission statement not only defines our purpose to come unto Christ; it also contains the instruction for its implementation: invite all (see Melchizedek Priesthood Leadership Handbook [1992], v). The Church’s mission statement is immensely profound. It contains both ends and means. Now, while you’re relaxed out there and I’m relaxed here, I’d like us to think together about this mission to see it we can learn just what it means for each of us. Let us think about how to magnify our callings as workers in the Lord’s kingdom, particularly for you who labor in the Church Educational System. This mission also applies to missionaries, it applies to those of you who are stake presidents, those of you have callings anywhere
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in the Church. This is your charge, this is your mission, this is your mandate. This is it: to invite all to come unto Christ. Come unto Christ To invite people to come unto Christ is the ultimate purpose of all that is related to the Church. This divine invitation is clearly stated by Moroni in the Book of Mormon: “Come unto Christ, and be perfected in him” (Moroni 10z;32). The Book of Mormon is the great divine “handbook” on how to do this. Many specific references instruct us to “come unto Christ” (see Jacob 1:7; Omni 1:26; Moroni 10:32). In addition, the whole thrust of the Book of Mormon is to show us how to come unto him. This is why Joseph Smith said that we can get nearer to god by abiding by its percepts than by any other book. A great discourse focusing on Christ as the center of Heavenly Father’s marvelous plan of happiness is found in 2 Nephi 31:20-21: “Ye must press forward with steadfastness in Christ. . . . “There is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” Or, as another example, note the words of King Benjamin: “And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent” (Mosiah 3:17; see also Mosiah 5:413). The Lord reaffirmed that message in our day: “Behold, Jesus Christ is the name which is given of the Father, and there is none other name given whereby man can be saved; “Wherefore, all men must take upon them the name which is given of the Father, for in that name shall they be called at the last day; “Wherefore, if they know not the name by which they are called, they cannot have place in the kingdom of my Father (D&C 18:23-25).
How do we come unto Christ? I want you to think about that. How do we come unto Christ? How do we become perfected in him? How do we take upon us the name of Christ?
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Learn the Doctrine of Christ Clearly coming unto Christ involves some steps or processes. I’d just like to mention a few of these. The first is that we must learn the doctrine of Christ. The doctrine of Christ is one of the central themes of the Book of Mormon. The phrase is used over a dozen times (see Nephi 31: 2, 21; 32:6: Jacob 7:2,6; 3 Nephi 2:2; 11:30-39). The Prophet Joseph Smith summarized this doctrine in the first three articles of faith. He learned that doctrine by revelation and from translating the Book of Mormon. These articles of faith cover the questions about who God is, what man’s accountability is, and how we are to be rescued. Let’s just make sure that we’re clear. These are things we learned in Primary: “We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in his Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. “We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression. “We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel” (Articles of Faith 1:1-3). This is the only church that teaches the fullness and the purity of the doctrine of Christ. As seminary and institute teachers, you are in a unique position to help people learn and understand the doctrine of Christ. This year as you teach the Book of Mormon, be sure you focus on this important area of doctrine. Teach the doctrine of Christ simply, clearly, and with the power of your testimony. Live by Correct Principles Once we have learned the truth of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we must do something about it. This is the second important aspect of coming unto Christ: doing by living by correct principles. The thing we must do is apply the principles of the gospel, as explained in the fourth article of faith: “We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance” (Articles of Faith 1:4). It is essential that we have faith in Christ—that is, we must align our hearts and souls with Christ. Then, as we surely falter and fail, we keep working on that alignment by repentance, always keeping our eyes and hearts on coming unto him. Now answer me this: Are faith and repentance enough? No. We must continue to press forward with steadfastness in Christ. Let’s finish the fourth article of faith: “third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
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Receive Priesthood Ordinances and Make Covenants The third part of coming unto Christ involves priesthood ordinances and covenants. Through priesthood ordinances we bind ourselves to Christ by covenant. We maintain our alliance with Christ by being faithful and keeping the covenants we made as we receive those ordinances. President Howard W. Hunter said: “We are leaning toward one objective for each individual member of the Church. That is for all to receive the ordinances of the gospel and make covenants with our Heavenly Father so they may return to his presence. That is our grand objective. The ordinances and covenants are the means to achieving that diving nature that will return us into His presence again” (closing remarks at Regional Representatives Seminar, 3 Apr. 1987). No soul will enter the highest degree in the celestial kingdom without obtaining essential priesthood ordinances. Now to be very clear, let’s list those. Think about them: · · · ·
Baptism and confirmation Ordination of males to the Melchizedek Priesthood Temple endowment Temple sealing
Those are the essential priesthood ordinances required for entering the highest degree of the celestial kingdom. Receiving each of these ordinances and faithfully keeping the sacred covenants associated with them are necessary to come unto Christ. Keep the Covenants Made The fourth step in coming unto Christ is to keep the covenants that are made. Ordinances and covenants are required of all people who would take part in the mission of the Church, and this church is the only place where they can be obtained. In the case of our newly-baptized brother in Fiji, that meant that not only was baptism the gate (see 2 Nephi 31:17), but that he was to press forward after baptism. I returned to Fiji a few months later and found that our new member was already an elder in the Melchizedek Priesthood. A year after his baptism, he and his wife were endowed and sealed. Although exaltation requires the temple sealing of couples and families, we each will be judged one by one. Ideally we will have lived within families with extended family support, but in real life we are often without ideal situations and may struggle with tough opposition. Another important dimension of coming unto Christ is the process of what we might refer to as individual spiritual progress, that is, we do not all begin at the same place. We
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come with differing strides and paces. We come with customized baggage and handicaps and a diversity of gifts, time, and talents. Your work in CES is an important part of this process. You are helping individuals come unto Christ. By divine revelation we are commanded to form and nurture our families. But we are also directed to establish communities of Saints and sociality is quorums, wards, stakes, seminaries, and institutes. Furthermore, we are directed to join with others to build a public environment supportive of our families and of our communities of Saints to help us make and keep our sacred covenants (see D&C 82:22-23). We are supported in keeping covenants as we receive the sacrament weekly in sacrament meeting. Participating in this continuing ordinance refreshes and renews us and is part of the process of strengthening our faith in Christ. The sacrament is a vital part of the ongoing process of repenting (see D&C 20:75-79). Repenting is the continuous, lifelong process of aligning, correcting, and tying ourselves with the Father and his desire to bring us back into his presence and to help us become even as he is. Thus, we come unto Christ. Invite All Now, let’s go back to the mission statement: invite all to come unto Christ. What does it mean to invite all—with the emphasis on all? Let’s think about that for a minute. Now that we know how to come, what about all? Indeed every accountable soul must be invited to come unto Christ, one by one, without exception: “For verily the voice of the Lord is unto all men, and there is none to escape; and there is no eye that shall not see, neither ear that shall not hear, neither heart that shall not be penetrated” (D&C 1:2). Alma and the sons of Mosiah are great examples of this vision of inviting all. They weren’t content to work only with those who were the traditional target of missionaries, but they reached out in a marvelous way to others. I have seen that happen in our day. While assigned to the Pacific Area Presidency and living in Sydney, Australia, I made a long trip across the continent to Perth in Western Australia. Perth had two small stakes, the last organized seventeen years earlier. For years the local leaders had been hoping for a third stake, although as we met they were barely qualified for the two. We know that the growth of the Church required considerable individual spiritual progress. We discovered that many members were lost and their addressed were unknown. Others had requested that the Church not contact them. Others were part-member families. Too many families were headed by prospective elders without the Melchizedek Priesthood.
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The two stake presidents and the mission president in Perth, President Dan Jones, who is one of our own and here tonight, committed to find and invite all of the lost or wavering souls, including those just mentioned, to come and receive essential priesthood ordinances. Since the full-time missionaries, as elsewhere in the world, were in need of people to teach, they joined together with the members to find, teach, and invite those who required special care and attention. Then they correlated their work weekly with the ward priesthood executive committees. After just a few months, many families had been found and invited to come and complete all priesthood ordinances. A large majority of those newly contacted families were taught the missionary discussions again, and more than half of those families came back to the Church. Miracles were evident. In just five months they were amply qualified for the third stake. Mind you, after seventeen years of little progress, in five months they were qualified for the third stake. After two years there were four stakes in Perth, and they are now preparing for the fifth. There were many “golden contacts” among the “all” that live with existing members, those who President Hinckley has pleaded with us to reach out to and invite back. My experiences in Perth remind me of the book of Helaman where we have the account of Nephi and Lehi, who were missionaries first to the Nephites and then to the Lamanites: “And it came to pass that they did preach with great power, insomuch that they did confound many of those dissenters who had gone over from the Nephites, insomuch that they came forth and did confess their sins and were baptized unto repentance, and immediately returned to the Nephites to endeavor to repair unto them the wrongs which they had done” (Helaman 5:17). Nephi and Lehi then converted eight thousand Lamanites. They were imprisoned by the unbelieving Lamanites who were going to kill them. The Lord intervened, encircled the missionaries with fire, and an earthquake shook the ground. A dark mist covered the area and a voice spoke: “Repent ye, repent ye for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’ (Helaman 5:32). Now there was one among them who was a Nephite by birth, who had once belonged to the church of God but had dissented from them” (Helaman 5:35: emphasis added). The dissenter was Aminidab, a man whose faith had grown cold and who was perhaps hostile to the Church. The record says: “He saw through the cloud of darkness the faces of Nephi and Lehi; and behold, they did shine exceedingly, even as the faces of angels” (Helaman 5:36). Aminidab told the Lamanites who were there to look and they too saw the faces of the missionaries. They asked Aminidab (not Nephi or Lehi) what they should do. They probably asked Aminidab what to do because he was their friend and they knew that he
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had been involved with the Church in his youth. Aminidab told his friends to repent and call upon the Lord. With the help of the reactivated and newly-ordained dissenters, the missionaries were able to teach the people and converted “the more part of the Lamanites” (Helaman 5:50). It is a wonderful story of what we are talking about tonight recorded in the fifth chapter of Helaman. When leaders and missionaries in Perth, Australia, looked for the many “Aminidabs,” they found them and taught them, their families, and their friends with great power. Convert baptisms in Perth doubled and more. The Church grew and stakes multiplied. Aminidab and his family and friends are a multitude of what we commonly call “golden contacts.” We learned the power of the stakes and the missions working together, joining forces, becoming one Church, and inviting all to come unto Christ! We learned in Perth something of the joy the Savior expressed about reclaiming the lost coin, finding the lost sheep, and the return of the prodigal son (see Luke 15). All Means All Teachers are critical to the Lord’s plan for finding and recovering dissenters, misplaced coins, lost sheep, and prodigal sons and daughters. Some of those who are lost or in the process of getting lost are even sitting in our classes. The evidence of the importance of proclaiming the gospel to the world is in our thousands of full-time missionaries doing just that. As in Perth and other places, however, the all who must be invited includes those who have already started but have not continued to progress in the Church. We must invite all prospective elders, all unbaptized family members. All includes the unendowed; those unsealed, young men not ordained at the appropriate age; those without current temple recommends; those who have not enrolled in seminary and institute. The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles recently told us that all includes families, adults, young men, young women, children, all members and nonmembers now living, and all who have lived or who will yet be born into mortality in this earth. All means just that. It means all (see Leadership Training Emphasis, 29 Sept. 1995). All includes many who are near and dear to us. I asked faithful sisters at a conference in the East Montana District to give us the names of those they loved that lacked essential priesthood ordinances and for whom they had been praying—including their husbands, fathers, sons, and brothers. The priesthood leaders and full-time missionaries then focused their combined service on inviting each of the 104 men who were identified by
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those sisters. Within six months, fifty-two of those brethren had been ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood and the district soon became a stake of Zion. What would happen if the teachers throughout the Church took a similar attitude? Would not their students follow their example and perhaps the whole Church respond to President Hinckley’s concern, which I know we would like to repeat. To quote him once again: “There are those who were once warm in the faith, but whose faith has grown cold. Many of them wish to come back but do not know quite how to do it. They need friendly hands reaching out to them. With a little effort, many of them can be brought back to feast again at the table of the Lord.” Every new convert and less-active member needs to progress. Each must be blessed with a calling. Within a calling they’re going to get a friend. Each needs to be nurtured with the doctrine of Christ and helped to live correct principles. With an expansive perspective of all, President Howard W. Hunter declared prophetically that this “is a global faith. . . . Its message is for all the world. . . . This is a message of life and love that strikes squarely against all stifling traditions based on race . . . or cultural background, for we are all of the same spiritual descent . . . Every person is a spiritual child of God. . . No one is to be denied. . . . “Mormonism, so-called, is a world religion, not simply because its members are now found throughout the world, but chiefly because it has a comprehensive and inclusive message. . . . “. . . It is not the peculiar property of any one people or any one age” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1991, 22-24; or Ensign, Nov. 1991, 18-19). Literally all are invited, all must be invited, and nurtured to come unto Christ. Will You? Let’s go back once again to the mission statement: invite all to come unto Christ. Is “invite” as essential as is “all” and “come unto Christ”? Is “invite” simply a matter of technique or skill? Does “invite” have any doctrinal significance? The answer is that invite is fundamental to the doctrine of Christ and the teachings of the Church We invite by asking a person “Will you…? Will you what? Will you come unto Christ and receive each essential priesthood ordinance, whatever is missing? To invite with “will you” evokes a yes or no answer. Remember, in Fiji the brother answered, “Why not?” and I felt it necessary to clarify if that was a yes or no. And then he answered, “Yes.” To answer to “will you” is an exercise of individual moral agency. Individual moral agency is at the heart of Heavenly Father’s plan. The War in Heaven was fought
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over the principle of agency. A third part of the sons and daughters of Heavenly Father made a different decision than our Father would have preferred. Is the phrase “you should…” acceptable as an invitation, such as “You should go to the temple”? No. “You should” is assertive, telling—maybe even pushy or demanding—and therefore often arouses passive or active resistance. “You should” is a challenge, not an invitation. Another option, “Would you…?” is tentative or contingent. Asking “Would you be baptized?” may elicit a yes, but it might be with a condition—if you paid me enough, or if I believed. If we say, “I would like to invite you to (do something),” it may seem like an invitation but could receive the response “That’s nice, thank you.” The person remains uninvited. Satan’s “You will…!” demands compliance. It is coercive, and we are back to the principles of the heavenly war. Every parent has learned it doesn’t work. In fact, we are instructed that the powers of heaven can be handled only upon the principles of righteousness and that our influence will be ineffective and unacceptable if it is exercised in unrighteous dominion. To invite with a loving “will you” meets the standards for power and influence in the Lord’s service (see D&C 121:36-44). Ammon’s approach to King Lamoni is a great example of inviting. “Now Ammon being wise, yet harmless, he said unto Lamoni: Wilt thou [will you?] hearken unto my words, if I tell thee by what power I do these things?... “And the king answered him, and said: Yea [yes] I will believe all thy words” (Alma 18:22-23; italics added). The question, “Will you…?” triggers moral agency and promotes genuine spiritual progress by the one responding yes. If the one invited answers no, then a witness is established of that response. “Will you” lays spiritual matters on the table. It defers properly to the person’s agency. “Will you” respects intelligence. In fact, it is possible that the very nature of intelligence with which we were formed and born as spiritual children of Heavenly Father is most fundamentally “free to choose” (see D&C 93:29-30). I remember being scheduled to speak at Church in Wellington, New Zealand. When I shook one man’s hand, I voiced an impression: “You’re not a member, are you?” “That’s right,” he answered. I then asked, “If your concerns are resolved tonight, will you be baptized after the meeting?” “Yes,” he said.
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When I spoke, I couldn’t seem to get a unified theme. I rambled from topic to topic. After I finished speaking, the one conducting announced a baptism that night for this brother. His wife who was a member later told us that when I got up to speak, she prayed fervently that I would say those things that would resolve her husband’s concerns, which I was inspired to do one by one. When this brother answered yes to my invitation to be baptized, the Spirit then acted to resolve his concerns and this family was completed in its membership in the Church. Do we do that as teachers? Do we listen to those quiet promptings and follow them? Judges in Israel The Church and its teachers and leaders are to “warn, expound, exhort, and teach” (D&C 20:59) so that all may learn and understand the pure doctrine of Christ and then to invite all to come unto Christ: Will you come and be baptized? Will you come for an interview to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood? Will you come for an interview for a temple recommend? Will you enroll in seminary? Will you come to our institute class? For the all who are invited, the Lord has appointed judges in Israel to give approval and to recommend. Anyone of us may invite, but only those with priesthood keys may recommend or authorize one to receive a priesthood ordinance. We are all to reach, prepare, and open the door. The one who interviews determines readiness to enter. But no priesthood leader interviewing as a judge would ever slam the door or discourage one invited. An interview is as much to prepare for one’s worthiness as it is to determine worthiness, and it is certainly not to exclude. The interviewer assesses worthiness and helps every desirous soul prepare to be worthy. We were training priesthood leaders in Cairns, Australia, and I stated that one must be worthy but is not required to be perfect to enter the temple. A brother interrupted the meeting and asked, “You mean that I don’t have to be perfect to go to the temple?” “Correct,” I said. “You must be worthy, but none of us is perfect. The Church is for perfecting the Saints, not for perfect Saints.” The brother continued on, “I’ve been a member of this Church for forty years. I thought I had to be perfect to go to the temple. I want to go to the temple.” He, his wife, and his daughter had temple recommends that very day. They just needed to be invited, interviewed, and admitted. The Church is not an exclusive club or a fraternity. We want all to come. We want all to stay. We want all to enter the temple. We must have an attitude of welcoming and standing with all who will come. The question is, are you reaching out to those who don’t feel welcome in your classes? The entire program of the Church is to support “coming.” In our classes, sacrament meetings, home and visiting teaching, we are to
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prepare members to answer yes to invitations. Teachers and leaders are to help us feel and recognize the Spirit and to invite all to come and qualify for each ordinance. We want all to qualify. We have worked with many priesthood leaders and full-time missionaries who have visited the homes of prospective elders with a simple direct question: “Will you come for an interview with the bishop for the Melchizedek Priesthood?” They have also gone to less-active sisters with the question: “Will you come for an interview with the bishop for a temple recommend?” To both questions, most have answered yes. These were completely inactive folks. I am convinced that those who honestly answers yes intend to qualify. We have also learned that many, if not most, of those invited have never before been invited to come for an interview for the priesthood or for a temple recommend. They must be invited. That is our commission. Many who need to be invited are walking around in our chapels and are in our meetings. I went to Sunday meetings recently with our daughter and her family in St. Charles, Missouri. During those few hours inside the chapel, walking around as a member of the Church and shaking a few hands as we typically do, several opportunities came to contribute to the mission of the Church. For instance, I met a young couple who had been welcomed to the ward during sacrament meeting. As I shook his hand I asked, “Are you a member?” You would think somebody welcomed to the ward might be a member of the Church. Well, it was true, he said, “Yes.” Then I asked, “Do you hold the Melchizedek Priesthood?” He said, “No.” I asked him about his wife since she was talking with someone else. “Is your wife a member?” “No.” “Has she had the missionary discussions?” “Yes.” “Did she feel good about them?” “Yes.” Now she looked over at us. I reached out to shake her hand and asked her, “Will you come and be baptized next Sunday?” “Yes,” she answered
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I asked him, “Will you come for an interview with the bishop for the Melchizedek Priesthood?” He said, “When?” I said, “Right now.” I’d just been down the hall by the bishop’s office and I could see he was in there. So I guided the sister to the mission president who was with me, and I took the brother to the bishop’s office and said, “This brother needs an interview for the Melchizedek Priesthood. Will you interview him now?” He said, “Yes.” Before we left the chapel, she had her recommend for baptism. He had his interviews with the bishop and a member of the stake presidency. He baptized and confirmed his wife the next Sunday. From that very same hour, as a result of having been asked “will you” questions, not only was this young sister baptized the following Sunday and her husband ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood, but in addition, I met a six-month convert who received her recommend for the temple to do baptisms for the dead as a result of “Will you come for an interview for a temple recommend to do baptisms?” I asked her husband, “Are you a member of the Church?” “Yes.” “Do you hold the Melchizedek Priesthood?” “Yes.” “Do you hold a temple recommend?” He said, “No, I haven’t had one for fifteen years. So I asked, “Will you come for an interview with the bishop to receive your temple recommend?” Within the hour, both had their temple recommends. These individuals were walking in our chapel, attending our meetings, and in need of essential priesthood ordinances. In less than an hour’s time several individuals responded yes to simple “will you” questions. This is the mission and program the Lord has assigned for his only true and living Church and for us as members. What could happen in our classes and in our buildings if we asked “will you” questions? Satan doesn’t want us to ask, he doesn’t want us to invite, and he wants those who are invited to say no to the invitation to come unto Christ. Satan tries to keep us from
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doctrinal truths. Satan would lead us away from essential priesthood ordinances and from keeping our sacred covenants. He wants us in his control. He entices us to submit our will and our agency to him, just as he proposed in the heavenly councils. Spiritual Support The Book of Mormon helps us understand that great spiritual support is available for those who come unto Christ. Moroni quotes his father, Mormon, in the seventh chapter of Moroni. He asks the question: “Have miracles ceased?” (v. 29). And then he answers: “Behold I say unto you, Nay: neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men. … “And the office of their [the angels’] ministry is to call men unto repentance, and to fulfill and to do the work of the covenants of the Father, which he hath made unto the children of men. … “And by so doing, the Lord God prepareth the way that the residue of men may have faith in Christ, that the Holy Ghost may have place in their hearts, according to the power thereof; and after this manner bringeth to pass the Father, the covenants which he hath made unto the children of men” (Moroni 7:29, 31-32). Moroni tells of angels being organized “to fulfill and to do the work of the covenants of the Father.” Remember, the covenant of the Father is that he will not leave us stranded here on earth without hope. The Father promises that every soul born here will be taught the doctrines of Christ and have the opportunity to receive the priesthood ordinances that are essential for returning to his presence once again. Therefore, the Lord has assured us much help: “And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up” (D&C 84:88). We have the promise of angels to support us as we open our mouths to share the gospel and as we invite. Angels encourage all to say yes to obtaining the essential priesthood ordinances that they already decided before birth to accept here in mortality. The invitation is for every soul to say yes to that which each person born into this world has already decided. We prepare for the Holy Spirit and our inviting and influencing others as we read the scriptures, learn the doctrine, bear testimony, and participate in classes, quorums, sacrament meetings, and conferences and as we receive the words of the living prophets. The Book of Mormon has accounts of individuals and peoples being prepared to come unto Christ. That is still happening. I was attending a political convention near
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Washington D.C. when a stranger, Winston Wilkerson, asked what church I belonged to. I told him, and he left. He later returned and asked if I would teach him and his family about the Church. We invited them to our home, and they received the missionary discussions and were soon baptized. I asked Winston why he came to me. He said that a voice of an angel spoke to him: “Go ask that man what church he belongs to.” And then when he was obedient, “Go ask that man to teach you about his church.” We are promised that as we open our mouths to reach out and to invite, the one speaking and the one hearing will be impressed in testimony that what is said is of the Lord (see D&C 100:5-8). We also have an added promise. “And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance [inviting and nurturing] unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father! “And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!” (D&C 18:15-16; see also Alma 26 for a description of the joy that comes from sharing the gospel). That promise of joy applies to any officer, any teacher, or any disciple of the Savior who will befriend, invite, and support someone else in coming unto Christ. Our Father in Heaven wants each one of us back with him. President J. Reuben Clark has said: “I believe that our Heavenly Father wants to save every one of his children. I do not think he intends to shut any of us off…. “….I believe that in his justice and mercy he will give us the maximum reward for our acts, give us all that he can give, and in the reverse, I believe that he will impose upon us the minimum penalty which it is possible for him to impose” (in Conference Report, 3 Oct. 1953, 84). Teaching in the Church CES must contribute to accomplishing the mission of the Church. Teachers perform a vital role in the Church. The Book of Mormon provides many wonderful models of effective teaching. Teachers contribute mightily to the mission of the Church. In CES we teach the pure doctrine of the Christ and its correct principles. We must never teach our own doctrine or theories. We are not in the entertainment business, though we must unfold and reveal the wonder and beauty of the gospel truths. We must love all of our students as sons and daughters of God. We are not their judges. We are to tap into their joys and their concerns. We are to teach them of their Father, their loving Father, and the Savior, their merciful Savior, and show them how to obtain
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the greatest of all gifts, which is eternal life (D&C 14:7). We are responsible for helping our students learn how to come unto Christ and how to receive exaltation in the celestial kingdom. We teachers must work on the all. We must find, enroll, retain, visit, teach, and inspire all. Teachers are an essential part of the mission of the Church. We must be especially vigilant with those who are as wandering sheep, those from troubled homes, those with single parents, less-active members, children of prospective elders and less-active mothers, nonmembers. We must be concerned and watch out for those with the image of the world on their bodies and in their minds, the disabled, the haughty and proud, the lonely, the depressed, the reticent, the poor, and the needy. These are among the all whom we must love and whom we must nurture. I was recently assigned to a stake conference in Canada. They had identified fifty youth who were less active and exhibited the worldly attributes just described. The stake president agreed during our priesthood meeting that the leaders would personally invite every one of those inactive youth to conference the next day by asking this question: “Will you come to stake conference tomorrow?” With the little notice, thirty-three of the fifty came for the two-hour conference meeting and then met with us afterward. While all are not yet reclaimed, within two weeks over one-third had met with their bishops, several had received patriarchal blessings, and each one was invited to come back. Further miracles will follow. We must invite. Will you? Responsibility for inviting is shared directly in the Church by leaders, teachers, home and visiting teachers, parents, and others. We are to invite: Will you join us for family prayer? Will you come to seminary tomorrow? Will you come to institute? Will you come to Sacrament meeting with me? Will you come to Young Women? Will you come for the missionary discussions? Will you come to your bishop for an interview for the Melchizedek Priesthood? Will you be baptized today? I asked that question of a girl in Tonga. She said, “Oh, too quick.” I said, “Will you come and be baptized tomorrow?” She said, “That’s better. Yes.” We had a wonderful baptism before our stake conference. Will you come to the bishop for an interview for a temple recommend? For young men, will you come to the bishop for an interview to serve a mission? The ward priesthood executive committee and the ward council are places where all this inviting, teaching, and interviewing are correlated.
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When teachers present a doctrine or a historical event, they should teach a related principle-- that is something hearers should do, something they should apply in their lives. After you’ve taught the doctrine and you’ve taught the related principles, what do you do? You invite! Will you live according to this principle? Will you pray? Will you live revealed moral standards? Will you tithe your income? Will you show by your smile and friendliness the joy of the gospel? Again, you of CES must be focused on accomplishing the mission of the Church in everything you do.
Heavenly Father wants every one of his precious sons and daughters to be invited: Will you come unto Christ, to receive each essential priesthood ordinance? (Baptism, ordination, temple blessings). Will you press forward, keep the associated covenants, and receive eternal life, which is life with God and as God? Promise and Testimony I promise you that although our personalities, gifts, and calling differ, your inviting will not fall on neutral ears, especially when prompted by the Spirit. For when we invite with “will you,” the Spirit of Christ, even the Holy Ghost, will testify of our invitation and encourage others to say yes. Everyone who has come to earth has already responded positively to the Father’s plan in the premortal world. We must give all the opportunity to respond positively--again. As you teach these precious young people, remember this: The Savior has promised that his Spirit will go before your face. His Spirit will be in your heart. His words will come forth from your mouth. Angels will be round about you to bear you up. The veil of heaven will be penetrated tenderly, and the Holy Spirit will whisper to the one invited to remember from heaven’s days the truths you speak. Heavenly Father will help the person feel the earlier heavenly decision and encourage him or her to say yes to your invitation. We are not alone in this work. This is God’s work. We are his servants: he is our Master. This is something we learn over and over in the Book of Mormon. While teaching the Book of Mormon this year, we can teach with this guidance from the Spirit and help the students to feel and understand that Spirit. I had an experience since preparing most of this talk for tonight. I’d like to relate it to you to show how Heavenly Father can work through you and how his Spirit will help in this work. In our priesthood leadership meeting at a stake conference, I learned that there were about 100 prospective elders in that stake. We must have had 150 bearers of the Melchizedek Priesthood in the meeting. I asked the stake president, President Leavitt,
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“How would you feel about making assignments so that every one of those prospective elders would be invited to come tomorrow to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood?” He thought about it, and then said, “We’ll go and do it and ask ‘Will you come for an interview with the bishop to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood tomorrow?’” That night in our Saturday adult session of conference we had a young mother speak. She had been through the temple just a month or two before, and she spoke of what a wonderful spiritual experience it was for her to be able to go to the temple for the first time. Then as she finished she said, “The greatest desire of my heart is that my husband would come and go with me to the temple.” We were all touched by that. Little did we know that in that very hour, two brethren were inviting him to come for an interview with the bishop for the Melchizedek Priesthood. The next morning, her husband was approved to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood. President Leavitt called on him to bear his testimony and on her to speak again a second time. She spoke first and said, “I told you all last night how wonderful I feel about the temple and the greatest desire of my heart is that my husband would come with me.” She said, “Thank you for inviting him. Thank you for interviewing him.” Then the husband stepped up to the microphone. He said, “I’ve been running from the Church for ten years.” He said, “Thank you for your patience. Thank you, brethren, for coming last night and inviting me and all of you approving me to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood. I’m going with my wife to the temple.” It wasn’t a matter of weeks or months. It was a matter of inviting him. Those spiritual forces of heaven, his earlier premortal decisions, his nurturing in his home, and the Holy Spirit came to bear on that moment when he was invited: Will you come for an interview with the bishop tonight to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood? So he went with his quorum brethren and the next day was approved for ordination. They had six who received the Melchizedek Priesthood who were invited that day, and the stake president said they had eighteen more who were invited that they would be able to approve soon. President Leavitt said that this experience brought about a fundamental change in that stake. They are more committed to the mission of the Church: inviting all to come unto Christ and receive each essential priesthood ordinance. I bear witness to you that God the Father is our Heavenly Parent, that he is aware of each of us as his children. When we see God, we will know him (see 1 John 3:2-3). He will be very familiar to us. We already know him. He is our kind, loving Father. He knows us better than we know ourselves.
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Jesus is the Christ. He has paid the price. He is the only hope for our souls. He is the only way back to the Father. I bear you my witness that Jesus and the Father visited the young Prophet Joseph Smith. He is the great prophet of this dispensation. He is the Lord’s instrument for gathering all who will come. Thank God for the Prophet Joseph Smith. Through him has come our understanding of the mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the mission for this generation: Invite all to come unto Christ and unto eternal life. President Gordon B. Hinckley has focused us squarely on the mission of the Church: “My brethren and sisters, I would hope, I would pray that each of us…would resolve to seek those who need help, who are in desperate and difficult circumstances, and lift them in the spirit of love into the embrace of the Church, where strong hands and loving hearts will warm them, comfort them, sustain them, and put them on the way of happy and productive lives” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1996, 118; or Ensign, Nov. 1996, 86). Will you follow the prophet? Will you assist in accomplishing the mission of the Church? Will you “invite all to come unto Christ”? Will you ask “will you” questions? Answer me, yes or no? President Hinckley is the magnificent, prepared, and effective prophet of this day whom we must follow. He is calling us to do the work of inviting, nurturing, welcoming, retaining, rescuing, and serving those within and without the Church. The greatest joy I have as a General Authority has come by being a member of the Church, inviting brothers and sisters, asking along the way “Will you come and be baptized?” “Will you come for an interview for the Melchizedek Priesthood?” “Will you come to the temple?” Of these truths and this indescribable joy that has been promised I testify as a special witness. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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