Learning How to Invite

We are trained to give the Sunday School answers. They are learned, innate, and rote, and we can provide them at the drop of a hat. When asked, "how do we invite the Spirit in our lives?" we invariably respond, "pray, read the scriptures, and attend our church meetings." How many times have you heard that? I reckon countless times...we've known them since Sunday School, for cryin' out loud!

There's a like response that occurs in the face of the Lord's ever-important admonition:

For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
--Moses 1:39

In Stake Conference this weekend we were pleased to have Elder Lowell M. Snow as our visiting General Authority. He spoke to us about many things, but something that impacted me revolved around the above scripture. Assuming that God's work and glory is also our work and glory, we can see that we are to bring about the immortality and eternal life of man. Well, with the Resurrection of the Savior we know that all will live again, which means that all we have to do is bring about the eternal life of man, or helping man live like God does.

This is done as we fulfill our purpose, which is the same for everyone, but published in Preach My Gospel:

Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in
Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and
enduring to the end. (PMG, p. 1)

When we visit those within our stewardship, is this what we invite them to do? All too often, home and visiting teaching turns into the same rote performance that all 12 year-olds in the Church know how to recite. We share a message from the Ensign, ask if there's anything we can do for them, and when they respond there isn't, we assume that all is well, and that are tally mark is more meaningful. Or, if we are in reactivation efforts, we visit the family, invite them back to church, and when they don't return, chock it up to their agency (which is still true), or that it just "isn't their time yet."

It will always be their time! Although Heavenly Father does not force blessings upon anyone, he is always willing to grant them, as long as we ask for them. And if those we teach have become unfamiliar with this doctrine, it is ever more our responsibility to invite them to come unto Christ.

So how do we invite? In Elder Snow's words, "we stop worrying about doing, and start becoming." I believe that in the hustle and bustle of life, we often neglect the spirit of our service, and turn it into a list that we must check off. Inviting others to come unto to Christ may still take the form of its constituents (e.g., inviting a less-active member to come to church), but it carries more meaning as pound-for-pound there is more Christlike love driving it home. The Lord said, "when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." (Luke 22:32) So, when we invite those within our stewardship to make commitments, we are inviting them to be converted as we are. When we are converted, we keep commitments or covenants not because it is socially desirable to do so, but because we know that blessings will come as we do so. We know that they lead us toward living as God is, even eternal life.

I know that these things are true. I am ever grateful for the knowledge that I have regarding the love that the Savior has for me personally, and pray that we may all feel of this love, even unto the strengthening of our brothers and sisters as we invite them to come unto Christ.

Have a great week!