Missionary Work and the Atonement - Jeffrey R. Holland

I am deeply deeply honored to speak to you tonight on the most sacred and challenging topic that I know it stems from the love of which I've spoken the love of God for you it is of the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ there is no subject literally no subject about which I have deeper feelings nor any subject about which I feel less adequate to teach tonight I have prayerfully approached this subject with a specific eye to missionary work and missionary application in that sense what I want to say is doctrinal but doctrine in the

context of applications that a missionary may have cause to understand and to use now I pray that by mixing theology with missionary daily activity that it will not in any way do a disservice to this most sacred of all doctrines the Prophet Joseph once declared that all things which pertain to our religion our only appendages to the atonement of Jesus Christ in like manner and for the same reasons every truth that a missionary teaches is only an appendage to the central message of all time that Jesus is the Christ the only begotten Son of God

the Holy Messiah the Promised One the savior and Redeemer of the world that he alone bursts the bands of death and triumphed over the captivity of hell that no one of us could ever have those same blessings without his intervention in our behalf and that there never shall be any other name given and any other way nor means whereby salvation can come under the children of men except in and through the name of Christ the Lord omnipotent the missionaries basic message is that with a complete offering of his body his blood and the anguish of

his spirit Christ atoned for the initial transgression of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and also for the personal sins of everyone else who would ever live in this world from Adam to the end of time some of those blessings are unconditional such as the gift of the Resurrection other of the blessings at least the full realization of them are very conditional requiring the keeping of Commandments the performance of ordinances and living the life of a disciple of Christ either way the essential message of the gospel the starting point for all other truths

is this from the Masters own lips I am the way the truth and the life no man cometh unto the father but by me thus the atonement of Christ which makes that return to the Father possible is rightfully seen as the central fact the crucial foundation the chief doctrine of the great and eternal plan of salvation which you missionaries are called to teach little wonder then that the greatest missionary the world has ever known wrote the preaching of the Cross is to them that perish foolishness but unto us which are saved it is the power

of God for the Jews require a sign and the Greeks seek after wisdom but we preach Christ crucified now inherent in all of this is a rather simple definition of the gospel at least when considered in its essence the word gospel as we use it in English comes down to us through early scriptural language language which meant literally good news or sometimes glad tidings the good news was that death and hell could be escaped that mistakes and sins could be overcome that there was hope that there was help that the insoluble was solvable that the

enemy had been conquered the good news which culminated in the atonement and the resurrection was that everyone's tomb could one day be empty that everyone's soul could be pure again that every child of God could return to the Father who gave them life this is the essence of the message delivered by every prophet who has ever lived and every apostle ever called to the work it is the message you mission presidents and your missionaries are called to declare it is the message of the angel who came to those unsuspecting Judy and Shepherds we usually think

of it as a Christmas story it's not a Christmas story at all it's the essence of the gospel lo the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory was upon them and the glory of the Lord shone round about them and they were sore afraid and the angel said unto them fear not for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy or in other words I bring you the gospel personified which shall be to all people for unto you Is Born This Day in the City of David a savior which is Christ

the Lord I suppose there is not a man or woman in this room who does not already know the centrality of this doctrine and probably their view mission very few missionaries if any who do not know it also either those present or those already serving in the field but I've been surprised as you may be to regularly be with the missionaries and discover that this is not something that always readily comes forward in a discussion of missionary work for example in zone conferences which are some of the greatest teaching moments that we ever personally have

with you elders and sisters I've sometimes asked the missionaries what it is they want investigators to do as a result of their discussions with them be baptized is shouted in an absolute chorus yes yes I say we do want them to be baptized but what has to precede that now they're just a little leery they think it's a test read the book of Mormon someone shouts pray an elder roars from the back of the room attend church one of the sisters on the front row declares receive all the all the lessons someone else offers well

you've pretty much covered the first set of commitments I say but what else do you want your investigators to do be baptized the chorus comes a second time elders I remind them you've already said that well now they are stumped it must be that he wants commitments from the other lessons so live the word of wisdom someone says pay tithing and other shouts and so it goes it's fun I don't always run through this little exercise in his own conference but sometimes I do and I have to say that until recently when we've tried to

focus the missionaries on their true purpose as introduced on page one of preach my gospel by the way almost never did the missionaries get around to identifying the two most fundamental things we want investigators to do prior to baptism have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and repent of their sins may I quote we believe that the first principles and ordinances of the gospel are first faith in the Lord Jesus Christ second repentance then third baptism by immersion for the remission of sins fourth laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost you

will hear echoes of that purpose drawn from this fourth article of faith now in wanting more baptisms and striving for mapped isms and no one is more anxious in this church to get more baptisms than I am we must be careful not to even inadvertently slight the Savior's gift of the atonement and the meaning of baptism a converts new life is to be built upon faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and his redeeming sacrifice conviction conviction that he really is the Son of God that he lives this very moment that he really is the door

of the sheepfold that he alone holds the key to our salvation and exaltation that belief is to be followed by true repentance repentance which shows our desire to be clean and renewed and whole repentance that allows us to lay claim to the full blessings of the atonement then comes baptism for the remission of sins yes baptism is also for membership in the church but that isn't what the Prophet Joseph chose to stress in that article of faith he stressed that it was baptism for the remission of sins focusing you and focusing me the missionary and

the investigator again and again and again on the atonement on salvation on the gift that only Christ can give this points that new convert toward the blessings of the good news announced by the Angels since time began now if we can get first principles deeply in the hearts of our new members the other principals will take care of themselves retention will cease to be an issue if investigators are spiritually converted to the restored doctrine of Christ and His atonement now in an effort to keep missionary work closely linked to the Savior's ministry let me suggest

a few practical things you might do to keep Christ and His atonement in the forefront of your missionaries and your investigators consciousness in addition to the missionaries themselves teaching the atonement powerfully and reverently encourage in every way possible more spiritual church meetings especially sacrament meetings in your wards and branches one of the great fears missionaries have at least in some locations is taking their investigators to church and indeed the investigators deserve to feel essentially the same spirit in sacrament meeting that they feel when the missionaries are teaching them now if your mission is largely in

organized stakes and wards you won't have as much direct influence over such matters as presidents when you have mission districts and branches nevertheless as you cultivate a close working relationship with those state presidents and bishops you can encourage them and offer any assistance you can toward a spiritual Christ centered experience in sacrament meeting it will also help orient those investigators if the missionaries will take a moment to explain the ordinance of the sacrament they will be witnessing probably for the first time we sometimes forget how new all of this is to those who are seeing

the church and coming to an LDS Ward for the first time missionaries reverently help this investigating family know why sacrament meeting is so important after all part of any retention problem is that new converts somehow sometimes haven't realized that and casually cease attending well before that first sacrament meeting explain briefly that the members will be renewing their covenants that the emblems of the sacrament represent the very Savior's body and blood the teachings of the atonement that you've grown up understanding but which they haven't ever known you could read to the investigators the sacramental prayers as

found in the scriptures you could share some of the words of your favorite sacrament hymn or any number of other things that would help these new visitors and prospective members have a powerful learning experience when they visit a sacrament meeting in like manner do all that you can to make your baptismal services a spiritual christ-centered experience a new convert deserves to have this be a sacred carefully planned and spiritually uplifting moment the prayers the hymns surely the talks that are given everything ought to be focused on first principles on the significance of the Baptism and

Confirmation ordinances and the atonement of Christ which makes them so precious probably no other meeting we hold in the church has the high referral and future baptismal harvest that a baptismal service does something like 80% of the investigators who attend a baptismal service that is they are attending the service of someone else who's been baptized will then go on to his or her own baptism but I think the only way that statistic will hold up is if this service is a spiritual strong teaching moment in which it's clear to participants and visitors alike that this

is a sacred act an act of faith centered on the Lord Jesus Christ that it's an act of repentance claiming the cleansing power of Christ that through his majesty and atonement it brings a remission of sins as well as with confirmation the gift of the Holy Ghost and membership in the church please presidents don't let the missionaries get so excited with the opportunity to record a baptism that they themselves forget what this baptism represents and what it must mean in the life of every new member throughout the teaching experience encouraged the missionary to bear testimony

of the Savior and his gift of salvation to us obviously the missionary should bear testimony regularly of all the principles that he or she is teaching but it's especially important that the missionary bear testimony of this central doctrine in the plan of our Heavenly Father there are several reasons for varying testimony of Christ one is that when a mission at missionary declares that truth it will bring an echo a memory even if it's an unconscious memory to that investigator they will think whether they recognize it or not or say it or not I have heard

this truth before and of course they have a missionaries testimony invokes a great legacy of testimony dating back to the council's in heaven before this world was there in an earlier place these same people heard this same plan outlined and heard the role that Jesus Christ would play in their salvation John recorded and I heard a loud voice saying in heaven now is come salvation and strength and the Kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ this was from the pre mortal counsel for the accuser of our brethren is cast down which accused

them before our God day and night and they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony and they loved not their lives unto death so the fact of the matter is that these investigators are not only hearing the missionaries testimony of Christ but they're hearing echoes of their own testimony earlier testimonies testimonies of him for they were on the side of the faithful once they kept their first estate and they earned the privilege of this second opportunity we must always remember that those of this entire human family every

man woman and child walking the streets of your missions were among the valiant who once overcame Satan by the power of their testimony of Christ don't be discouraged you've got hopeful contacts everywhere so when they hear the elders and sisters bear that witness of Christ's saving mission and of its restoration they have not been and if they haven't been entirely jaded by the world that testimony will have a familiar feeling it will bring an echo of truth that they themselves already know this furthermore when the missionaries bear witness of Christ and him crucified to use

Paul's phrase they also invoked the power of God the Father and the Holy Ghost the Savior himself taught that before any other doctrine when he visited the Nephites he himself said after this manner shall ye baptized in my name for behold verily I say unto you that the father and the Son and the Holy Ghost are one and this is my doctrine and it is the doctrine which the father hath given unto me whoso believeth in me believeth in the father also and unto Him the investigator will the father bear record of me and he

will visit him the investigator with fire and with the Holy Ghost and thus will the father bear record of me and the Holy Ghost will bear record unto Him the investigator of the father and me for the father and I and the whole our one this is my doctrine and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them so why do we want the missionary to bear testimony of Christ as Savior as Redeemer as a Tony Lamb of God because that invites and taps into literally becomes

part of the divine power of testimony borne by God the Father himself by Jesus himself and by the Holy Ghost that is very good company to keep elders and sisters that's the fire of missionary Kindles when he or she bears testimony of Jesus a flame of truth reinforced by the members of the Godhead themselves what a magnificent circle into which a missionary can step such a divine testimony of Jesus is the rock upon which every new convert must build so said the Son of God himself before any other teaching to that eager and ready and

available Nephi congregation only this testimony of the atoning anointed the victorious one will prevail against the gates of hell now presidents encourage your missionaries to study the Scriptures conscientiously and become familiar with those passages that teach and testify of Christ's redeeming mission I've said to missionaries all over this planet that they make or break their mission from 6:30 to 9:30 in the morning there are lots of reasons for that not the least of which is simple obedience to mission rules but one of the great reasons is that this is when they get to study the

gospel and nothing will so touch their hearts and stir their souls like the truths of which we have been speaking in their companionship study an individual study they become God's investigators in those morning hours it's the studious prayerful missionary who receives the father's record of the son born with fire and the Holy Ghost to the heart of the missionary later in the day then it can be to the heart of the investigator that's why we want them up on time it's no more complicated or mysterious than that we want them to be able to prepare

to receive the Spirit of the Lord to receive a new their witness of the work of salvation in which they are engaged to renew that every single morning of their mission their to seek salvation every morning the salvation that is in Christ Jesus so if they don't get up and don't study Jeremiah records the Lord's own disappointment he said I spake unto you rising up early and speaking but ye heard not I called you but you answered not I would particularly ask you to have your missionaries study from and teach the atonement of Christ out

of the Book of Mormon I say that in a very biased way because it was on my mission that I came to love the Lord Jesus Christ through the agency of the Book of Mormon it was in that text that I found the majesty of the son of God for my life and for my future I want that for you in its unparalleled focus on the Messianic message of the Savior the Book of Mormon is literally a new testament or to avoid confusion another testament of Jesus Christ as such the book centers upon that which

scriptural Testaments have always centered since the days of Adam and Eve the declaration to all that through the atonement of the Son of God quote as thou hast fallen thou may us be redeemed and all mankind even as many as well well everybody's fallen there's no time here to convey the wonder and breadth of these Book of Mormon sermons but consider this from Earth Nephi early in his ministry president I'm gonna call on some helpers here president Thompson president Wes Thompson going to Germany Hamburg do you have a microphone would you read this scripture on

the screen and the world shall judge him to be a thing of not wherefore they scourge him and he suffereth it and they smite him and he suffereth it yea they spit upon him and he suffers it because of his loving-kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men if you'd keep reading and he yieldeth himself as a man into the hands of wicked men to be lifted up according to the words of zenok and to be crucified according to the words of Niall and to be buried in a Sepulchre according to the words of

Zeena's and the rocks of the earth must Rand and because of the groanings of the earth many of the Kings of the Isle of the c-shell exclaim the god of nature suffers thank you or this from Nephi at the end of his life on how to retain converts and how to retain a returned missionary sister Becky Thompson would you eat and now baby my beloved brethren after ye have gotten into this straight and narrow path I would ask if all is done behold I say unto you nay for ye have not come thus far save

it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in Him relying wholly upon the merits of him who was mighty to save wherefore he must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ having a perfect brightness of hope and a love of God and of all men wherefore if he shall press forward feasting upon the word of Christ and endure to the end behold thus saith the father ye shall have eternal life and now behold this is the doctrine of Christ and the only true doctrine of the Father and of the Son and of the

Holy Ghost thank you very much or this from Nephi's remarkable brother Jacob who gave a two-day sermon on the fall and the atonement president Terry Wade going to Paraguay asunción north president white would you read I know that in the body he shall show himself unto those at Jerusalem for he suffereth himself to become subject unto man in the flesh and die for all men that all men might become subject unto him for as death have passed upon all men there must need to be a power of Resurrection and the resurrection must needs come unto

man by reason of the fall and he cometh into the world that he may save all men if they will hearken unto his voice for behold he suffereth the pains of all men yea the pains of every living creature both men women and children who belong to the family of Adam thank you sister Wade would you read this from King Ben and his great sermon the Lord omnipotent shall come down from heaven among the children of men and shalt dwell in a tabernacle of clay and shall go forth amongst man working mighty miracles such as

healing the sick raising the dead causing the lame to walk the blind to receive their sight and the Deaf to hear and curing all manner of diseases and he shall cast out devils or the evil spirits which shall dwell in the hearts of the children of man and lo he shall suffer temptations and pain a body hunger thirst and fatigue even more than man can suffer except it be unto death for behold blood cometh from every pore so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominate abominations of his people and even after

all this they shall consider him a man and shall say that he hath a devil and shall scourge him and shall crucify him and he shall rise the third day from the dead or as a last example at least for tonight this from the great patriarch Lehi a message to missionaries if ever there was one President Alan parrot n'gou into Korea Dijon would you read it Alan please wherefore how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in

the presence of God save it be through the merits and mercy and grace of the Holy Messiah who layeth down his life according to the flesh and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the Dead being the first that should rise wherefore he is the firstfruits unto God inasmuch as he shall make intercession for all the children of men and they that believed in him shall be saved thank you obviously we can't go on just reading scriptures tonight but idly enjoy that even if you

didn't I wanted to make a point you will have recognized that these passages were all taken from the first 75 pages of the Book of Mormon what an introduction of all that is to follow including and obviously the entire miracle of the Messianic visit recorded in 30 need 30 by which we didn't even come close to touching does this help you sense the urgent rich impressive theme of Christ that runs through this sacred record with its declared title page purpose of testifying that Jesus is the Christ little wonder that the Book of Mormon was the

first and is still the greatest of all the missionary tracks of this dispensation as Lehi says to you and to me and to you missionaries how great the importance to make these things of Christ and the atonement known under the inhabitants of the earth almost everything I've said now tonight has been an a directed toward the missionary process ultimately toward an investigator somewhere in one of your missions may I close with an extended testimony about how the atonement helps the missionary presence you'll have occasion to ask and your missionaries will have many occasions to ask

why is this so hard why doesn't it go better why can't our success be more rapid why aren't there more people joining the church it is the truth we believe in angels we trust in miracles why don't people just flock to the font why isn't the only risk in the mission field out of pneumonia just being soaking wet all day and all night in the baptismal font why isn't it easier president why do the people not understand president why do they reject this president can't they see this these are things that are 19 and a

20 at 21 and a 22 year old we'll ask there things that I've asked I've thought about it a great deal I offer this as my personal feeling it's not Church doctrine per se it's just my feeling to you as you prepare to go into the mission field I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience salvation was never easy we are the Church of Jesus Christ this is the truth he is our great eternal head why would we believe why would we think that it would be easy

for us when it was never ever easy for him in turn how could we possibly bear any moving lasting testimony of the atonement if we've never known or felt anything of such an experience as missionaries were proud to say that we're disciples of Christ and we are but mark my word that means you must be prepared to walk something of the path he walked to feel something something a little of the pain he felt to at least occasionally sometime during your mission shed one of the tears of sorrow that He shed now please don't misunderstand

I'm not saying you have to look for sorrow and I'm not saying that we experience anything anywhere near what Christ experienced that would be presumptuous and frankly sacrilegious but I believe that missionaries and investigators missionaries and investigators to come to the truth to come to salvation to come to repentance to come to know something of the price that has paid will have to pay a token of that same price it will only be a token but I believe it has to be paid I don't believe missionary work has ever been easy nor that conversion is

know that retention is know that continued faithfulness in the church is I believe it's supposed to require something of our soul if Jesus could plead in the night falling on his face bleeding from every pore and crying Abba Father Papa remove this cup from me will little wonder that salvation is not a whimsical or easy thing for a missionary this is the living son of the Living God saying isn't there some other way so presidents if your missionaries wonder why this isn't easy they should remember they're not the first ones to ask that someone a

lot greater and a lot better asked of a long time ago he asked if there wasn't a less excruciating way and for him there wasn't and so perhaps for us in token symbolism there won't be an entirely easy way either now presidents if the missionaries can come to love and appreciate it the atonement will carry them perhaps even more important than it will carry their investigators you let them know that when they struggle when they are rejected when they're spit upon and cast out and made a hiss and a byword they are standing shoulder to

shoulder with the best life this world has ever known the only pure and perfect missionary that ever lived they have every reason to stand tall and to be grateful that the Savior and Redeemer of the world knows all about their sorrows and their afflictions and that for a moment or two in their lives they will understand what he went through for them the only way to salvation is through Gethsemane the only victory is the victory at the summit of Calvary welcome to the journey of the disciples of Christ I testify that the Living God is

our Eternal Father and that Jesus Christ is his living and only begotten Son in the flesh I testified that this Jesus who was slain and hanged on a tree was the chief apostle then and the chief apostle now the great High Priest the chief Cornerstone of his church in this last and greatest of all dispensations I testify that he lives that the whole triumph of the gospel is that he lives and because he lives so will we on that first Resurrection Sunday Mary Magdalene first thought that she saw a gardener well she did the gardener

who cultivated Eden and who endured Gethsemane the gardener who gave us the Rose of Sharon the lily of the valley the Cedars of Lebanon and the Tree of Life I declare him to be the savior of the world the bishop and Shepherd of our souls the bright and Morning Star I know that our garments can be washed white only in the blood of that lamb slain from the foundation of the world I know that we're lifted up lifted unto life because he was lifted up lifted unto death that he bore our griefs and carried our

sorrows and with His stripes we are healed I bear witness that he was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities that he was a man of sorrows acquainted with grief because upon him were laid the transgressions of us all I testify in a very personal way from the depths of my own heart that I have felt and sought the gift of the atonement and the joy of spiritual Redemption it was for me as much as any other in the world and certainly in this room that as the hymn says he hung and suffered

there whatever I am or in eternity ever hope to be was purchased and given to me without price no the price of the innocent blood of the Lamb I bear witness that Jesus came from God as a God to bind up the brokenhearted to dry the tears from every eye and to proclaim Liberty to the captives and opened the prison doors to them that are bound in the spirit of that testimony I promise that because of your faithful response to these mission calls he will bind up your broken hearts he will dry your tears and

set you and your loved ones free this is my apostolic witness to the world and my missionary promise to every one of you in the sacred name of the Lord Jesus Christ amen