PROVO, Utah — Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end blesses all of God’s children. As missionaries study and prepare to teach this doctrine, they will find their own conversion deepen, taught President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“That deepening will increase their ability to teach by the Spirit and to testify with greater power,” he said. “They can then help those they teach increase their conversion. The doctrine of Christ is how the deep spiritual transformation comes.”
Speaking to new mission leaders on June 24, President Eyring said “Preach My Gospel: A Guide to Sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ” is a tool to help missionaries develop faith. Studying lesson three in Chapter 3 — titled “The Gospel of Jesus Christ” — will help missionaries teach by the Spirit and lead those they teach to conversion.
These words from the chapter describe how the Savior’s Atonement and His ministry mark the way to deep and lasting conversion, said President Eyring.
“Heavenly Father sent His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to earth to make it possible for all of us to experience joy in this world and eternal life in the world to come. ‘And this is the gospel, the glad tidings, ... that [Jesus Christ] came into the world … to bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the world, and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness; that through him all might be saved’ (Doctrine and Covenants 76:40–42).
“Jesus lived a sinless life. At the end of His mortal ministry, He took upon Himself our sins by His suffering in Gethsemane and when He was crucified. Jesus’ suffering was so great that it caused Him ‘to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore’ (Doctrine and Covenants 19:18). After His Crucifixion, Jesus was resurrected, gaining victory over death. Together, these events are the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
“Our sins make us spiritually unclean, and ‘no unclean thing can dwell with God’ (1 Nephi 10:21)” (“Preach My Gospel,” page 64).
President Eyring said the gospel is simple. Because of the Savior’s atoning sacrifice, all can be cleansed and changed.
“This begins with faith in Jesus Christ. We believe in Christ, trust Him and depend on Him. That faith leads us to repentance,” he said.
Then, people will want to show their love for Him by keeping the commandments. Jesus taught by example as He Himself was baptized — and baptism is one of His commandments.
After baptism, He promises to give the gift of the Holy Ghost — which guides, comforts and teaches the truth.
“We will feel the Holy Ghost is with us,” President Eyring said. “We will have feelings of peace, love and joy, and we will have the desire to serve others. We will strive throughout our lives to please the Lord.”
Lasting conversion
The process of lasting conversion begins in missionaries and those being taught as they increase in their love and worship of Jesus Christ, said President Eyring.
He read the following from “Preach My Gospel” Chapter 3:
“Jesus’s atoning sacrifice provides the way for us to become cleansed of sin and sanctified as we repent. It also provides the way to satisfy the demands of justice (see Alma 42:15, 23–24). The Savior said, ‘I ... have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; but if they would not repent they must suffer even as I’ (Doctrine and Covenants 19:16– 17). If not for Jesus Christ, sin would end all hope for a future existence with Heavenly Father” (“Preach My Gospel” page 65).
He explained that as missionaries believe in Jesus Christ, trust Him and depend on Him — and do it more frequently — they will feel the comfort of the companionship of the Holy Ghost.
Then they will keep the commandments because of love and without compulsion. They will be guided by the Holy Ghost when they plan and when they teach. Companions’ hearts will be turned to serve each other.
Satan will attempt to hinder these effects, said President Eyring, but the doctrine of Christ also gives direction and comfort when “inevitable opposition” comes to mission leaders, missionaries and those they teach.
Hope comes through faith in Jesus Christ, relying on Him, pressing forward with a “perfect brightness of hope,” feasting upon the word of Christ and enduring to the end, as outlined in 2 Nephi 31:19-21.
President Eyring told the mission leaders to refer to the promise in Alma 37:36-37: As they cry unto the Lord and counsel with Him in all their doings, He will direct them for good.
“This will help you and your missionaries find confidence and feel more optimistic during hard times,” President Eyring said. “Heavenly Father loves you. He loves His servants individually. He hears your prayers. This is His work. He promises to give you the gift of the Holy Ghost to guide you and comfort you.”
The Holy Ghost
President Joseph F. Smith said that “the Spirit of the Holy Ghost is the greatest guarantor of inward peace in our unstable world.”
It will calm nerves, breathe peace, be more mind-expanding and give a better sense of well-being than any chemical or other earthly substance, taught President Smith.
It can function as a source of revelation and help people to see more clearly, hear more keenly and remember what they should remember. “It is a way of maximizing our happiness” (quoted by President James E. Faust, “The Gift of the Holy Ghost — a Sure Compass” from April 1989 general conference).
President Eyring then read from Chapter 3 of “Preach My Gospel”: “Because of the Savior’s intercession, Heavenly Father forgives us, relieving us of the burden and guilt of our sins (see Mosiah 15:7–9). We are spiritually cleansed and can ultimately be welcomed into God’s presence” (“Preach My Gospel,” page 65).
That comforting promise is part of the doctrine of Christ, President Eyring said. “The Holy Ghost will help you, your missionaries, and their converts to keep courage and to keep smiling.”
In addition, the influence of the Holy Ghost is multiplied when it is shared, he said. When missionaries bring the Holy Ghost with them in meetings and into homes, it changes the love in a branch or a ward. The effects of the Holy Ghost can permeate a mission.
Enduring to the end
President Eyring said it must be emphasized to those being taught that enduring to the end is required in the doctrine of Christ for the Savior’s Atonement to have its lasting effect.
Jesus Christ described His gospel in 3 Nephi 27:21 as doing “the works which ye have seen me do” — meaning following His example. Enduring to the end is following His example, said President Eyring.
“Just as following His doctrine begins with faith in Him as our Savior and Redeemer, it extends to following His example as our Guide and Exemplar,” President Eyring said.
Jesus Christ showed how to live, how to teach, how to love unselfishly, how to pray and how to serve. “We can honor covenants as He did.”
President Eyring said as missionaries live and teach the doctrine of Jesus Christ, their capacity to endure cheerfully will be increased.
Some missionaries will come to their mission and be a powerful example of faith, repentance, obedience and love. Others will need help. All will face opposition, President Eyring said.
Satan seems to create tests for those who are about to make and keep covenants.
“You can best help by testifying again of the simple doctrine of Christ in words that even a child can understand,” President Eyring told the mission leaders.
They can remind those facing opposition that the Savior was sent to earth for them. Through faith in Jesus Christ, they can be forgiven as they choose to keep His commandments.
“We have been called to help the Savior by inviting the Spirit for all who will come unto Him and so be saved,” President Eyring said. “We are honored to be called and set apart to issue the invitation to as many of Heavenly Father’s children as we can.”
