The one thing which kept me firmly grounded and was the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Church, early morning seminary, church sponsored activities and school rounded out my life. I loved the Gospel and shared it at every turn. I invited my school friends to church dances, dinners, shows and other activities. It was a lot of fun and eventually some of them joined the Church.

And yes, I loved Donny and Marie, as well as the Osmond Brothers. It was rare that I wore t-shirts with pictures on them, but there was one day I decided to wear my brand new Donny and Marie t-shirt to school. I was walking down the hall, from one class to the next when my arm was grabbed and I was spun around. There, standing in front of me was the new girl in school, Linda Wells. It was her first day, but she was an avid Osmond fan and my shirt caught her attention. It was the beginning of a friendship that has lasted 30 plus years.

I followed my usual routine of inviting her to church activities and she eventually began attending Church. Shortly thereafter the missionaries began teaching her the discussions. Every day at lunch we left the high school and went to my home where the missionaries met us, and my mother, for Linda’s lessons in the Gospel. She literally devoured every word they offered. She read the scriptures, she prayed, she wrote in her journal and she peppered the missionaries, and me, with question after question. Every day she had new questions.

And then she prayed. And she knew. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was true. That’s when things became difficult. Her parents hit the roof and forbade her from being baptized. She was subjected to beatings, tormentings and verbal abuse in order to keep her from attending Church. And so Linda simply bided her time. When she was allowed, she came to Church with me and when she wasn’t allowed we talked for long hours on the phone about the Gospel, school and life in general.

It was a long two years, but Linda was finally baptized. She is now sealed to a wonderful man and their first son is going into the MTC in a few short weeks. She has a powerful testimony which has never wavered and is utterly and completely devoted to Jesus Christ and His restored Gospel.

I often look back and wonder what particular point started the whole thing. I know that Linda had often wondered what that “something” was that made the Osmonds so different from the rest of the entertainment industry. I know that I happen to wear that shirt that day and it was something familiar to Linda on a day when everything was so new. I know that I loved the scriptures and poured over them, memorizing scripture verses, listening intently in seminary and Church and because I did that, I knew quite a bit about the Gospel, even as a teenager. I know that the Lord answered Linda’s prayers because she was attending one Church after another looking for that “something”, which eventually turned out to be the Gospel.

Linda prayed and Heavenly Father chose to answer her prayers with me. I thank Him every day that I was prepared to share my testimony, knowledge of Jesus Christ and His Gospel. I do not pretend that I was a major portion of her conversion, but I know whatever small part I did play I will be eternally grateful that Heavenly Father is willing to inspire those willing to listen.

“A person may profit by noticing the first intimation of the spirit of revelation; for instance, when you feel pure intelligence flowing into you, it may give you sudden strokes of ideas, so that by noticing it, you may find it fulfilled the same day or soon; (i.e.) those things that were presented unto your minds by the Spirit of God, will come to pass; and thus by learning the Spirit of God and understanding it, you may grow into the principle of revelation, until you become perfect in Christ Jesus.” (History of the Church 3:381)

Sharing the Gospel is a wonderful thing when it is received with interest and joy, and rather painful when rejected. But I think the wonder far outweighs the pain. At least, I have found that to be the case in my own life.

One key principle separates The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from the rest of the Christian sects. We believe, wholly and completely in personal revelation. Our seventh Article of Faith says:

We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.

The type of revelation Joseph Smith, Jr. mentioned above. In locating those who might be interested in learning more about Jesus Christ and His restored Gospel, one of the greatest gifts, and tools, we’ve been given is personal revelation. Through the inspiration of the Spirit of God we can know who to share with the Gospel and who will dismiss it out of hand.

There are those who are kneeling in prayer every day asking for God to send His representatives to them. They might be begging for surcease from the drag of daily living without His light in their lives. They could possibly be asking for someone to show them the way. That someone could be you.

And how might one know who to approach?

Wilford Woodruff offers sweet advice:

“. . . when the heart is sufficiently contrite, then the voice of inspiration steals along and whispers.” (History of the Church 3:293)

It is, quite simply, as painless as that. We ask in humility, having prepared ourselves with the knowledge of the Gospel, that we might be of service to Him and to those seeking Jesus Christ. We can ask that these people be put in our path and that we might know who they might be as they cross our path.

Do not hesitate. Do not judge. Do not tremble. For your God is with you and as you go about His work you will be blessed to

You and I can do this. It take missionaries an average of over 10 visits to obtain one member referral. As Elder Bednar has reminded us, it’s our job to find them. The future of finding is on the Internet.

I think of the apostles of old, leaving their nets behind, to become disciples and fishers of men. Today, I believe the equivalent of the gospel net is the Internet. It is the tool for the gathering of the Lord’s people from all over the globe.

You-Tube and Facebook are taking over the world as venues for communicating with others everywhere. Are you aware that every time you comment on a positive You-Tube video, you are having an influence for good? Those You-Tube videos then move up in the search engine and are more accessible to those googling “Mormon Beliefs.”

A recent video posted on You-Tube, “Mormon Beliefs: Mormons Believe God Speaks” received 2500 comments after one month–one of the most highly commented-on videos of You-Tube.

Another recently posted video on the “Mormon conspiracy” has had 25,000 views in one week.

That means that by commenting on positive LDS videos, those who are looking for information about Mormons have a greater likelihood of finding something positive on You-Tube. Your comment and your friends’ can make a real difference.

Why not pass this information along to your friends and begin commenting today. For instructions on how to rate and comment on You-Tube videos,.please visit add link …..

• If you’d like to post your own conversion story, please visit mormonbeliefs.org and follow the instructions there.
• If you’d like to add a scripture to your Facebook page, download the LDS Facebook application.

We need your voice!

There’s been a wave of prophetic feeling about the need to expedite the sharing of our story with the world. You may have heard Elder Ballard’s signature talks on using the New Media to enter the gospel conversation. (link). Even before that, President Hinckley opened the door to conversations with the media about our beliefs and history. And President Kimball spoke often about his vision of missionary work. I often think he saw our day. I’m impressed with these words of President Kimball:

What is the significance of the phrase “uttermost part of the earth”? Jesus had already covered the area known to the apostles. Was it the people in Judea? Or those in Samaria? Or the few millions in what is now America? Did he include the hundreds of thousands, or even millions, in Greece, Italy, around the Mediterranean, the inhabitants of central Europe? What did he mean? Or did he mean all the living people of all the world and those spirits assigned to this world to come in centuries ahead? Have we underestimated his language or its meaning? How can we be satisfied with 100,000 converts out of nearly four billion people in the world who need the gospel?

The way seems obvious now, but was it then? It’s the Internet. We’re a few keystrokes away from the rest of the world as we sit at our desks or text on our cell phones. Now is the time when our communities are literally without fences, and we can engage with others in real-time conversations. We just have to open the virtual doors. More Good Foundation provides a one-stop online tool for any faithful member of the Church: LDS.net. Join today. Please feel free to visit our other sites and to let us know if you’d like to join our team of bloggers or otherwise contribute to this amazing effort.

Help fulfill prophecy and our covenants to be a witness to all the world.

One day, as I was driving on the freeway with my EZ-Pass, a thought arose:

“Take your Books of Mormon in the car, drive through the lanes where the attendants are present. Don’t use your Pass. Offer them a Book of Mormon.”

I thought the idea was an interesting one, but wondered how I’d do that in such a short amount of time. The next time I drove on the freeway, I did as I felt inclined to do. I drove through the slower lane, and as I reached over to hand my change to the attendant, I asked if he or she might be interested in receiving a free copy of the Book of Mormon, a book that changed my life and that I thought they might enjoy. I was amazed at the responses. Almost everyone cheerfully accepted. My testimony was recorded within the cover of the book. I felt that the Lord had literally placed those people in my path.

Sometimes it helps me to slow down, “to get off the river” as the Lord told those early Saints on their missionary journey, and to take another route, where our eyes and ears are open to those right in our midst.

There are other ways to share the Book of Mormon electronically. Why not link to the online version of the Book of Mormon from your blog or send the link to those with whom you’d like to share a principle of the gospel?

As President Benson remarked,

“The time is long overdue for a massive flooding of the earth with the Book of Mormon for the many reasons which the Lord has given.

In this age of electronic media and mass distribution of the printed word, God will hold us accountable if we do not now move the Book of Mormon in a monumental way” (Ensign October 2005, “Flooding the Earth with the Book of Mormon“).

Please share your ideas with us about how to move the Book of Mormon across the world.

There are few things in life that bring as much joy as the joy that comes from assisting another improve his or her life. That joy is increased when those efforts help someone understand the teachings of the Savior and that person decides to obey them, is converted, and joins His Church. There follows great happiness as that new convert is strengthened during the transition to a new life, is solidly grounded in truth, and obtains all of the ordinances of the temple with the promise of all the blessings of eternal life. President McKay showed us how to obtain such joy with his profound clarification of our responsibility to share the gospel: “Every member a missionary.” 1 I know many more would follow that charge were they to realize that there are many different ways to fulfill that responsibility. I will describe some of them. But first, why has each of us been asked to be a missionary? (Why Every Member a Missionary? Elder Richard G. Scott)

As I spoke at my nephew’s baptism, such love and joy poured through my heart. To know that he was on the path to eternal salvation infused with such happiness I, a published author, can scarcely gather the words together to convey my emotions. This is one of the greatest privileges we as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will ever have, to find those seeking further knowledge of Jesus Christ and provide the answers.

Elder Scott speaks of different ways in which we can share the gospel.

• As mentioned in the previous blog, our actions speak louder than our words. So live up to the covenants you have made with God.
• Pray daily that you might know who might be receptive to the Gospel message, as well as that you might be aware when the time is appropriate to speak to them.
• Know the Articles of Faith. I like to carry a little laminated card with all 13 on it so that I have it handy at all times.
• Share your statements of faith on LDS.net. Create a profile, find friends, create your statements of faith, which is your testimony on different gospel subjects.
• Share your testimony on MormonTestimonies.org. Using the camera on your computer, record your testimony and follow the steps listed on MormonTestimonies.org to upload it for the world.
• Begin a blog, as mentioned in Blogging for the Lord, and use the tips mentioned in that post.
• Study the gospel, at minimum, an hour or so a week, although daily study brings you closer to the Lord and increases your knowledge. Pray daily that this information remain easy to retrieve from your mind.
• Invite the individual or family to social settings, whether it be dinner in your home,  a BBQ in the park, game night with friends . . . we have the privilege and joy sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a joyous thing and a huge part of who we are, as Latter-day Saints, this social circle we belong to.
• Pay special attention to the image we might be presenting as a restricted circle. We are possessors of the “Good News” of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and He has asked us to share it with all who will listen.

I know this can be a scary thing. But as I have watched my nephew share the Gospel, he has inspired me to remember what I have to share as well. Reach out my friends, for it is a precious knowledge you hold. Choose the methods which you are most comfortable with and begin sharing the Gospel.

What was it that drew my nephew to the Gospel of Jesus Christ? He was a good member of his previous church, as were his family members. He had aunts and uncles, my husband and I included, who were members of the Church, but it wasn’t until he came to Brigham Young University, and was surrounded by members of the Church at all times, that he began to notice a difference.

His roommates, all return missionaries, lived the gospel they professed to believe. This impressed him. To this day he has a great love for each of them and considers them his brothers. When he has needed a blessing they have rushed to his side, exercising their priesthood. When his heart has been heavy, these young men have crowded into our home and listened to our nephew, providing support and brotherly love. They are wonderful support system to him, and worthy of the trust he has in them.

The first time he felt the Spirit of God testify to him of truthfulness he knew something was different.

The different feel to the Brigham Young University campus made itself felt and he began to take notice.

He began a journey of learning and study, attending church, reading his scriptures and weekly conversations with us in our home. We answered his questions, as did his roommates, and he met with the missionaries.

As he began to change his life, a tangible difference became noticeable. A light began to shine from within him, and the handsome young man who came to BYU began to walk with his shoulders straight, his head high because of the recognition and understanding of who he was, a child of God.

He emphatically declared that he was not pressured or influenced in any way. When this young man bears his testimony it is one of power because it was gained with a sincere, humble, broken heart. He made the decision to be baptized but put it off, month after month until he attended President Hinckley’s last general conference with his roommates. That Sunday evening he came straight to our house, sat at our kitchen table and talked of the power he felt as a living prophet and apostles testified of Jesus Christ and the truthfulness of His Gospel. He said it seemed as if every talk was directed toward him and he knew it was time to stop procrastinating his baptism.

The day this young man first bore his testimony to me I knew that he was amazing. And I asked him, “Just what made the difference for you? What made you want to take a closer look?”

He answered, “When I first arrived at BYU I wasn’t interested in the Church and had no intention of ever joining it. But the people around me lived the Gospel and I noticed. I never did drink, smoke or do drugs so that wasn’t hard. Being chaste was something I’d always been, so that wasn’t a problem either. I had to gain my own testimony of Joseph Smith, Jr. as the prophet of the restoration and the Book of Mormon as a second witness of Jesus Christ. I had to accept a living prophet and apostles and that families literally could be forever. I prayed, Auntie. I prayed a lot, and I prayed hard. I read the scriptures and I watched the members of the Church around me. That’s what made the difference. I knew it was something I had to do.”

Our actions speak far louder than our words. If we live our lives according to the practices, precepts and principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, share our testimonies when the Spirit prompts us and study the Gospel so that we have answers when questions are asked . . . this is a great way to be a Member Missionary.

A great way to begin gathering that knowledge is to drop by and check out the Mormon online encyclopedia at www.mormonwiki.com.

Recommended reading: “The Plan of Salvation” by Matthew B. Brown

In the Bible Dictionary we find the description of the Abrahamic Covenant and our sacred calling as descendants of Abraham:

Being an heir to the Abrahamic covenant does not make one a “chosen person” per se, but does signify that such are chosen to responsibly carry the gospel to all the peoples of the earth. Abraham’s seed have carried out the missionary activity in all the nations since Abraham’s day. (Matt. 3: 9; Abr. 2: 9-11). (Bible Dictionary, Covenant of Abraham)

What a wonderful calling we have been given, what a phenomenal privilege. To be those called to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ across the world, through every medium available to mankind.

Although it is a great privilege there are many, if not most, who hesitate to share their testimonies of the Gospel, of Jesus Christ and all the principles, practices and precepts of His Gospel. And yet, with the advent of the internet a unique opportunity has been presented to Mormons all over the world.

On December 15, 2007 Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles sent the call out to Mormons:

“The emergence of New Media is facilitating a world-wide conversation on almost every subject including religion, and nearly everyone can participate. …

“Conversations will continue whether or not we choose to participate in them. But we cannot stand on the sidelines while others, including our critics, attempt to define what the Church teaches. …

“The challenge is that there are too many people participating in conversation about the Church for our Church personnel to converse with and respond to individually. We cannot answer every question, satisfy every inquiry, and respond to every inaccuracy that exists. …some who seek answers want them to come directly from a member of the Church, like each one of you. …

“May I ask that you join the conversation by participating on the Internet, particularly the New Media, to share the gospel and to explain in simple and clear terms the message of the Restoration. Most of you already know that if you have access to the Internet you can start a blog in minutes and begin sharing what you know to be true. You can download videos from Church and other appropriate sites, including Newsroom at LDS.org, and send them to your friends. You can write to media sites on the Internet that report on the Church, and voice your views as to the accuracy of the reports. …

“Others have recorded and posted their testimonies of the Restoration, the teachings of the Book of Mormon, and other gospel subjects on popular video-sharing sites. You, too, can tell your story to nonmembers in this way. …

“Use stories and words that they will understand.” (Elder M. Russell Ballard, Devotional Talk at BYU-Hawaii, 15 December, 2007)

This is a simple way in which you can begin to share the Gospel. It has been said that the missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spend 90% of their time correcting misperceptions about the Church and it’s members and 10% of their time actually teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

This is where we, as Member Missionaries, can step in and help our full-time missionaries. We can begin blogging to share the Gospel and give the world an accurate view of Mormons and our every day lives. You would be startled to know the misconceptions, myths and outright fairy tales that still exist in this day of easy access information.

This blog will be dedicated to helping Mormons worldwide learn many varied and effective ways to share the our Lord and Savior’s Gospel. We believe in the Jesus Christ of the New Testament. The one who is Jehovah of the Old Testament and the Messiah of the New. Let us spread His word to every corner of the world. There are those in every country seeking Him, join our full-time missionaries and let’s share the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Check back often for new ideas on how to spread the Gospel.

Online Missionary Tool: Begin your own blog by going to www.blogger.com or www.wordpress.com, just to name two options. It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3. If you run into trouble, simply drop back by this blog and I’ll be happy to answer any questions or walk you through the process. In doing this you will be combatting the host of anti-Mormon rhetoric which proliferates across the internet. Be a part of the Lord’s online army and raise that standard to the world, standing for truth and righteousness in all ways and in all things.

Some useful sites to begin building your religious knowledge are:

http://lds.org

http://mormon.org

http://jesuschrist.lds.org

http://askgramps.org

http://lds.net

http://mormontestimonies.org

http://ldsblogs.com

http://mormonwiki.com

Just to name a few.