- the invitation to set a date for your family to introduce a friend to the missionaries, and
- the invitation to, even without setting a date, continually ask yourself “who can I invite” to church, to hear the missionaries, to attend a branch activity, or to receive a copy of the Book of Mormon.
"None of this goes unnoticed or is unappreciated. It doesn’t surprise me, then, that your branch presidency asked me to refer today to Elder Holland’s recent general conference talk, Because of Your Faith. In that talk, Elder Holland shared his deep appreciation for the ways in which members of the Church serve one another and the Church. I think the appreciation Elder Holland shared generally, is felt specifically for each of you by your branch presidency."
So often, we look at those who are engaged in what we call “leadership” roles in the branch, or stake or the Church generally, and attribute to them the successes of the Church and its programs; but Elder Holland notes it is not so much the leaders but those who are in the roles of ‘helpers’ who constitute a powerful manifestation of the grace & goodness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I don’t think that Elder Holland’s words were insincere or just for effect or to make the ‘help’ feel good. I think that that Elder Holland sincerely recognized the need to express the thanks that our leaders generally feel; and I think he was trying to teach a principle.
That principle might be described as the breadth of the gospel reach.
In The Book of Moses, there is one of my favorite scenes in scripture. This book describes visions had by the ancient patriarch, Enoch, who saw the suffering and wickedness of the world. Over this, he saw heaven weep, and Enoch himself wept and the scripture says, “his heart swelled wide as eternity”.
For many of us, just loving our neighbour as ourselves is challenging enough. Imagine your heart swelling wide enough to take in all those who ever were, who are and who ever will be – an eternity of the human family.
This was the breadth to which the heart of Enoch stretched because of his communion with God; because that is the degree to which God’s heart is extended – to embrace every one in every place and time and circumstance.
You are in God’s heart now, just as you were before coming to church today, and while you were at work, home or school during the week, and as you will be after these meetings and always.
God loves you.
Your Saviour, Jesus Christ, loves you.
They think of you continually, and the Saviour pleads to our Father for your
blessing,
support,
salvation and
sanctification always.
This is the breadth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is why Elder Holland can say with certainty that, “the personal value, the sacred splendor of every one of you, is the very reason there is a plan for salvation and exaltation. …this is about you.”
And that,
“no one of you is insignificant” ...
“you are cherished.”
This broad, loving gospel, doesn’t only mean that whatever capacity you serve in is a pleasure to the Lord, although that is true; it also means that you are never beyond God’s reach or excluded from His consideration and concern.
A song I have recently come to know and appreciate was written by Tom Waits, called “Down There by the Train”. It goes in part like this:
My favourite version of the song, by Johnny Cash. | There's a place I know where the train goes slow |
So are we who desire to know and love Him too far from His grace to be saved from our sins?
Each of us can make our way down there to the train, taking hold of the iron rod, following in the footsteps of our Saviour, and being cleansed by Him of all our sins and errors and wickedness.
This invitation is for all people.
In volume 2 of the Church handbook, it says,
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized by God to assist in His work to bring to pass the salvation and exaltation of His children. The Church invites all to “come unto Christ and be perfected in him”. [This] invitation ...pertains to all who have lived, or will ever live, on the earth. |
an invitation to “Come Unto Christ”
to be cleansed, purified and perfected in Him.
May we each embrace that invitation daily, and then express our gratitude to our Heavenly Father by extending that invitation to others.
I have complete faith that God loves each one of us. Though I sometimes also feel uncertainty about my standing before Him, I know that that those feelings comes from me and not Him, and that
He wants only the best for me;
not my self-criticism, but my commitment;
not my self-doubt, but my diligence
in following the example of His holy and righteous Son.
I know He wants the same for you, and I invite each of you who read this now to consider and
come unto Christ,
allow Him to make you perfect,
to help you be rid of sins,
cleansed of your crimes, and
full of the peace and hope that only the most
willing embrace of the gospel can bring.
He means what He says when he extends that invitation to every person.
We can trust Him
that each of us,
as well as every friend,
neighbour
and family member,
is someone He wants to invite to His gospel and church,
His salvation and happiness;
and under the direction of the Holy Spirit, we can find the way to make His invitation known.