At a time when the world is rapidly changing, the second edition of “Preach My Gospel” will help people become converted to Jesus Christ and become His lifelong disciples, President Russell M. Nelson declared.
“Our charge is much more than just inviting people to join the Church. We want each one to become a fully truly converted disciple of Jesus Christ and to follow Him, now and forever,” he said.
In an eight-minute video shown during the 2023 Seminar for New Mission Leaders on June 22, President Nelson explained the purpose and objective of the new “Preach My Gospel” edition issued by the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. A shorter version of the video was released to the public.
“Each and every time we share the gospel with others, we are fulfilling our condition as disciples of the Lord. His light is needed now more than ever. In our spiritually darkening world, the need is even greater for you and your missionaries to go into all the world to preach His gospel,” President Nelson told new mission leaders.
President Nelson’s ‘Preach My Gospel’ promise
President Nelson referenced the Savior’s call to “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19).
“That commandment is still in force,” President Nelson said, “made vital again by the Savior’s coming to the earth under the direction of God the Father to the Prophet Joseph Smith, to restore the gospel of Jesus Christ in its fullness and to reestablish His Church.”
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have a covenant responsibility to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and bless the lives of all God’s children. To facilitate that charge, the manual “Preach My Gospel” was published in 2004. It has had “a profoundly positive effect on our missionary efforts,” President Nelson said.
“For two decades, it has served as our missionary guidebook and has dramatically improved the way we teach the gospel. It has helped us to share the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to do so in a way that those with inquiring minds can receive confirmation from the Holy Ghost that the gospel is true.”
The second edition of “Preach My Gospel” is an enhanced resource for all members and carries the new subtitle “A Guide to Sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
President Nelson promised specific blessings to those who use this resource: “My dear mission leaders, missionaries and members of the Church everywhere, I invite you to enjoy the enrichment to your own testimony that the updated ‘Preach My Gospel’ manual can provide.
“You will sense the privilege it is to assist our Father in Heaven in His holy work. As you study and apply the teachings from ‘Preach My Gospel,’ second edition, from the scriptures, and from living prophets, you will be blessed. Your own testimony will be enriched. Your capacity to share the Savior’s gospel will increase.”
President Nelson’s message for new mission leaders
At the end of his video message, President Nelson offered counsel and encouragement to mission leaders, whose work “is an integral part in preparing the world for the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
“I have traveled the world as an Apostle for almost 40 years and have seen firsthand the dramatic impact of mission leaders,” President Nelson said. “You are our boots on the ground. Your active service is unlike any other assignment or calling in the Church.”
Mission leaders focus the energy and devotion of tens of thousands of young men and young women as well as senior missionaries. Their work and leadership “are at the very heart of the gathering of Israel.”
The most important convert each missionary gains, President Nelson said, is himself or herself.
“If a missionary does not participate in the conversion of even one other person but comes home with a personal testimony of his or her own that cannot be shaken, that missionary will have been a complete success.
“The reason for this is obvious,” he continued. “The gathering of Israel includes the strengthening of our own people — and especially the rising generation. This new edition of ‘Preach My Gospel’ will first and foremost help our missionaries gain a testimony that will anchor and guide them throughout their lives.
“I know that God lives. Jesus is the Christ. This is His Church. We are His covenant people called to assist with His work.”
