Public speaking

I was asked to give a talk on Missionary Work in church for this past Sunday and I gave this one. A couple people asked for copies of it so I thought I'd put it up here in case anyone else likes/liked it. (I'm pretty flattered that anyone asked for a copy, let alone a couple people). It only took me about an hour to write and then a little tweaking and I read it pretty close to how I wrote it. I would call it inspiration if it did some good for those who heard it.

Missionary work   
(Christian Lassen, 3/8/09)

When asked by the “scriptural masters” of the time, the scribes and lead Pharisees, which of all the commandments was greatest, Christ reiterated what had been told to Moses and the Israelites and recorded in Deuteronomy 6:5, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with All thine heart.” He then took advantage of the moment (and the challenge) to compound on top of that by adding the second greatest commandment (also given to Moses and the Israelites hundreds of years before) from Leviticus 19:18, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Later when asked who could fall under the definition of “neighbor” the Lord gave a story of a man fallen victim to robbers, ignored by a priest and a Levite (those who should have cared for the man) but instead saved by an enemy, a Samaritan. The Lord asks, “who was neighbor unto him that fell among thieves?” and is answered “He that shewed mercy on him.” To whom the Lord responds “Go and do thou likewise.”

Our spiritual and emotional neighbors are all around us. We must make friends. We must show kindness and mercy to the people presented to us. We must show love to them. When we love others we improve their situation.

We must be social with our neighbors. The Lord gave us a strong ability to communicate in one fashion or another, and unless we communicate what we have learned we are being selfish, we are hoarding knowledge to ourselves the way a miser hoards money  to himself. Those of us in this room have learned something to spark our interest for more, or we wouldn’t have the patience to come and listen. What is it we have learned? Why on earth do we spend so much time in this building each week listening to talks on these topics over and over? The answer is that we have been given some amount of light. For whatever reason, the Lord has been merciful to us (often by means of some neighbor of our own) to teach us a better and happier way to live. A manner of life that can perpetuate itself throughout generations, not through indulgence but through charity. I will be bold now and say after giving it much thought, that the gospel and manner of living taught within the walls of our church buildings and in our scriptures will allow mankind to live and perpetuate itself as a species better than any other philosophy or ideology on this earth. And the actions and faith we practice will perpetuate our lives throughout eternity and allow us to bestow this gift to others throughout the eternities. What is truly remarkable is that there is no way mankind could have come up with this set of beliefs on its own. It is a gift that has been given to us, these few of us in this large city have a light, a candle, that even if not acknowledged openly by the world is still overtly appreciated by the society we live in.

How can our light shine for others if no one ever sees us? We must stand out-- as holders of this light-- not in loud, obnoxious, or attention-grabbing flashes of color and noise, but in the same way that tones of music are carried to our ear despite the instrument. The way that ocean swells can pronounce themselves to the observer despite the random ripples and movements around them. The same way that bubbles always rise back to the surface when waves and splashing keep pushing the air downward.

People are observant. Even if they’re not always vigilant, they will notice peculiarities even if they themselves are not aware of it. The amazing thing about the human mind and our ability to “be intelligent” is our ability to recognize patterns and trends and apply them forward to new situations. Our friends will notice our peculiarities and once alerted to the status of our membership in this church they will begin to credit the church with everything unusual about us. (It’s not always fair, or to the church’s credit, but that’s their attempt to understand this observed trend they see in us). This can be a wonderful tool for everyone’s advantage. As we better ourselves, we will stand out further, influencing society around us to improve themselves further and perpetuating a cycle, but it does take brave leaders: Courageous members of the human race to do it despite what is going on around them.

We are the salt of the earth, and just as it takes comparatively little salt to flavor and preserve a meal, it only requires a few good people doing what’s right to make a tremendous difference. Often it does not even take much courage.

My most memorable experiences in relating my knowledge of the gospel to others have usually been in low-pressure social situations where others knew of my task as a missionary or knew of my membership in this “odd” church and felt the need to discuss their beliefs or ask about my own. One man who was strongly opposed to his step-daughter’s membership in this church approached me at her birthday party and said he could never belong to an organized religion because he felt that being out in nature was such a valuable thing for him to get in touch with his spiritual self. I was able to agree and told him that I had many, many experiences out in the forest or on mountains or oceans that were incredibly spiritual and that our church buildings and meetings allow us to organize ourselves more efficiently as groups to help each other. He then stated that the idea of heaven was odd to him and that he saw us more as returning to a tremendous cosmic energy that we originally came from. I thought that exciting and let him know that I too felt like that but I saw it more as an eternal family that I left and hope to return to. He was impressed and would have liked to talk with me further but we didn’t have the opportunity.

I lost touch with him very shortly afterwards but kept in moderate contact with his step-daughter for the past 6 years. A few months ago she told me that he’d been a baptized member of the church for about a year and recently attended the temple. I know that I played a very small part in the Lord’s mercy to give him the knowledge he desired, but I was happy to hear that he found it all the same.

If it helps, remember to emphasize that our beliefs truly are personal. They are our own beliefs regardless of the source. We are taught them by others, but we internalize them and make them our own. It is okay to say “I believe” and not have to use the phrase “we believe” in every instance. It is even very good to differentiate and discriminate between personal beliefs and church beliefs on certain occasions.

We must also take into account the reason that someone may be asking about a particular belief, especially if it is something unrelated to the basic principles and ordinances of the church. Not long ago I was asked if “Mormons believe they will all get their own planet.” I assumed that he had been told this by someone else trying to encourage him into distancing himself from our organization that teaches such ridiculous doctrines. I explained to him that it is what some Mormons believe heaven might be like and referred to the scripture that says “Everything the Father hath will be given to us” which he was familiar with. I told him that this is the accepted doctrine of the church and some of us apply that to mean we will be able to create planets-- as God has-- and that we have an enjoyable time fantasizing about the green skies and orange oceans that our planets might someday have. He seemed quite satisfied with that explanation and pointed out to me that the Bible described heaven as mansions (John 14:12) and cities of gold (Revelations) which was easy for me to agree with.

Remember to be sensitive to the values of the person asking the question. Some may want simple principle-based answers, some may want more practical real-life answers. Those who are academically minded will want an academically verbose answer and those who are more emotionally minded will want an emotionally based answer, and switching the two will often put-off the asker. The Lord himself preaches in the language of the receiver and we must make an effort to do the same. There are multiple ways to speak any language due to societal and economic status as well as background and fundamental values of life. Those we share the gospel with will and should expect to hear the gospel in their own understanding. My mom is very emotional and describes the gospel with feelings and emotional words. I think I tend to be more intellectually inclined and try to describe everything in a step-wise logical fashion.

Truthfully, everyone will have to accept both to fully embrace the gospel because it does arouse our faculties emotionally and intellectually. The emotions are the engine and the intellect is the steering wheel. Many describe their spiritual experiences as instances when their heart and their head are perfectly aligned with each other. But to start, everyone approaches spirituality first with one a little more than the other.

Try not to be awkward. Often when we are asked about our beliefs it’s like when you’re dating or interested in someone and they ask you for something normal and mundane but you get so excited that they’re talking to you that you fall-apart and get excited and don’t think straight. Expect that people will ask about your beliefs, and you must realize that they will proceed when they’re ready. We must prepare ourselves to be ready when the opportunity arises and sometimes leave it at that, trusting the Lord to watch after our neighbor when they are beyond our reach. I’ve seen situations where direct invitations have worked (“You should seriously consider joining this church”) but only after a great deal of preparation on the part of the listener. We should always do our best to present the gospel to our ability and hope that the spirit carries it to the receiver. The Lord taught Joseph Smith that “the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness” and then says those powers are maintained not by coercion but by “persuasion, by long suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned, by kindness and pure knowledge.” (D&C 121). Persuasion is first and quickly followed by long-suffering, implying that those we teach may require time and experience before they may be ready to accept what they’ve heard.

In the end, what convinces anyone of the truthfulness of the gospel are their own spiritual experiences and the knowledge the spirit teaches or confirms during those experiences. I have been convinced of the perfect wonderfulness of the teachings taught by our amazing organization because the spirit has made that knowledge more real than anything my senses have ever taught me. Among the gems of knowledge the Lord has gracefully bestowed is a knowledge that he lives and loves us; that Jesus Christ is the messiah and our savior and has atoned for our sins; that the Book of Mormon is absolutely and undoubtedly true; and that I hold the priesthood of God as given to me through His organization of this church and its leaders.

 

Often, we forget what the spirit has taught us, or we cover it up with the mud and dirt and clutter of daily life in this troublesome world. Our leaders have challenged us to contact, visit, and meet the fellow members of our congregation, our ward, our family, in the hopes of reminding them what they once learned. We have a chance to show mercy on them, to love our neighbors. I hope we all participate in whatever manner is available to us.