Preaching The Gospel Through Service

I recently read the First Presidency Message for this Month that was given by President  Uchtdorf. In his message President Uchtdorf talks about things that we can do as members of the church to follow the commission of the Savior to preach the gospel unto every creature. One of the ways that President Uchtdorf say’s we can preach the gospel unto every creature is by radiating the light of the gospel by having intergrity and live consistently by our standards.  President Uchtdorf say’s “Everyone wants to be happy. When we members of the church radiate the light of the gospel, people can see our happiness and sense of love for God filling and overflowing in our lives. They want to know why. They want to understand the secret. That leads them to ask question such as “why are you so happy?” or “Why do you always have such a positive attitude?”The answers to these questions of course, lead perfectly unto converstions about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ." (First Presidency Message)

These and many other questions like these are some of the great questions that we as missionaries are able to help people with every day. There are many reasons of why we are so happy and why we as members of the church always have such a positive attitude that we can share with people. And like President Uchtdorf say’s these questions lead perfectly into the Restoration of the Gospel.
One of the reasons I think we are so happy is because of the plan of Salvation that was restored to us in these days. The Plan of Salvation helps us understand where we came from. That we lived with our Heavenly Father before we came to this earth and that He loves us. It also answers the question of why we are here. What is our Purpose here on this earth? And where are we going after this life? All of these great questions can be answered because of the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through His Prophet Joseph Smith.

There are many different ways that we can share that light and knowledge that we have from God with others around us. Someone that I know that is a great example of sharing the message of the restoration and the happiness that it brings to her shares it by posting small messages on Facebook of the joy’s of going to the temple brings to her or sharing words from the prophets. Elder Ballard of the quorum of the twelve apostles said “Now, may I ask that you join the conversation by participation on the internet to share the Gospel and to explain in simple and clear terms the message of the Restoration.”

One of the greatest ways that we can be a light to everyone around us is to give service. Jesus Christ is the greatest example of someone who gives service to all those around Him. In King Benjamin’s address to his people he say’s “Behold, ye have called me your king; and if I, whom ye call your king, do labor to serve you, then ought not ye to labor to serve one another? And behold also. If I whom ye call your king, who has spent his days in your service, and yet has been in the service of God, do merit any thanks from you. O how you ought to thank your heavenly King!" The same question is given to us from our King who is Jesus Christ. He has spent all of his days in our service to bless us and to help us in our lives. And if He being our King has served us we thank him by following his teachings and example. King Benjamin goes on to say “And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.” (Mosiah 2:17) I know that the times where I have found most joy in my life are the times when I have been serving someone else. The best way that we can share the message of the Restored Gospel is through our service and example.  

The greatest and most memorable experiences that I have had have been when I have been serving someone else. Of those experiences one of the ones I remember the most is giving service to a neighbor that was older and not able to get around to do work outside. During the winter when it was snowing my brothers and I would always go out to shovel the snow off of her drive way. It was something so simple and easy for us. But to her it was something big and something that helped her a lot. And it isn’t the rewards that we get or the recognition that we get from others that brings us happiness as we serve others but it is the feeling you have knowing that you have helped someone else in need and you stood in the saviors place to do what He himself would do if He were there.  That is how I have been able to follow Jesus Christ and His example to help others. And I know that if we do that it can bless the lives of others and ours.