How do we do missionary work with solemnity and meekness today?

 

7 But a commandment I give unto you, that ye shall declare whatsoever thing ye declare in my name, in solemnity of heart, in the spirit of meekness, in all things.

8 And I give unto you this promise, that inasmuch as ye do this the Holy Ghost shall be shed forth in bearing record unto all things whatsoever ye shall say. (D&C 100:7-8)

I did a study on meekness a while back, and I was struck by this scripture that mentions meekness is needed when doing missionary work. Meekness means teachable-ness, so this caused me to wonder in way a missionary (or a member missionary) is supposed to teach the gospel while demonstrating they themselves are teachable?  How do they learn while teaching? Is it only learning from the Spirit, or are they supposed to demonstrate they can learn from the investigator? And if so, what would that look like?

I ran into one answer in Clayton Christensen’s book The Power of Everyday Missionaries on page 26-30. He explained how people are generally not attracted to the church by its doctrines (only around 10% are), but by the promise of finding happiness, meaning, and purpose to their lives. He suggested that when people ask us about the church, we then ask them why they are curious and find out what they know or what they are interested in knowing. He even includes an experience he had discussing with a colleague the disinterest in religion in general society. Christensen asked him, “Why do you think that is?” and wanted to know this friend’s difficulties with organized religion.

Rather than trying to convince Stephen that he needed our church or any church, I said, “Why do you think so many people are exiting rather than entering churches? Are there any big deal-breaking questions that caused you to despair of organized religion because the churches didn’t have answers to those questions?”

Stephen responded that he’d like to take some time to put them together “in a cogent list.”

I said, “I would love to discuss these questions, because I think about this a lot too. And if by chance the LDS perspective shines any light on a question, I’ll offer it to you.” Stephen was amenable, and we set up a meeting early the next week.

At the next meeting I was quite stunned: Stephen had some very good questions—about the purpose of life, if there is one; what is God, if there is one; and so on. He said, “As I went through college and graduate school, the churches I attended just could not answer my questions. So I stopped going to church and have been looking for answers in philosophy and science instead. Frankly, they can’t answer them any better than churches can.”

We started at the top of Stephen’s list. I asked questions about his first question, just to understand why it was important to him, and why he hadn’t been impressed with the answers that others had offered. I then found and discussed answers to that question in the Book of Mormon.

I noticed that he crossed the first question off his list. “Why did you cross it off?” I asked.

“You answered it,” he replied.

We then organized the subsequent lessons with the missionaries around the remaining questions on his list. When we scheduled a time for the zone leaders to interview Stephen for baptism, we listed all of the concepts, doctrines, and practices that are covered in the four lessons. We were delighted that we had covered every one of them, but in a sequence that answered Stephen’s questions. (p28-29)

In the process of trying to understand his friend’s questions, Brother Christensen was demonstrating meekness and solemnity, taking his questions seriously, seeking to hear first before speaking, seeking to understand without judgment or dismissiveness. I suspect that is part of the meekness the Lord asks us to cultivate. (I also notice that Brother Christensen’s friend was honest enough to accept good answers when they were presented to him, rather than trying to go on the attack.)

So if anyone asks us about our church, rather than launching into a recital of our favorite aspects, only telling what we want them to know, we can ask, “Why do you ask?” or “Do you have any questions about religious issues that you’ve been wondering about or that you haven’t been able to get good answers for?”

I love the promise the above scripture gives if we declare the gospel with solemnity and meekness: “that inasmuch as ye do this the Holy Ghost shall be shed forth in bearing record unto all things whatsoever ye shall say.”  That is what we need. It’s what we hope will happen so that others can feel and know it. 

What do you think? ?  Is there anything else involved in teaching this way?  What experiences have you had with teaching with solemnity and meekness

Apollos is Taught More Perfectly

24 ¶And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus.

25 This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.

26 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. (Acts 18:24-26)

This block of verses gives us a little snapshot of Apollos, convert in the former-day church.  He is described as:

·      An eloquent man

·      Mighty in the scriptures

·      Instructed in the way of the Lord

·      Fervent in the Spirit

·      Teaching diligently, speaking boldly

·      Knowing only the baptism of John

He had so much going for him even when he only knew a portion of the gospel.  He was clearly living according to the light he had.

Aquila and Priscilla took him and expounded things to him more perfectly.  I like this because it shows our responsibility to those who have a part of the truth and are sincerely trying to live it and teach it.  We have to try to give them the bigger picture.  Of course, they choose whether to accept it or not.

I also like to look at this story from Apollos’ perspective.  He’s doing his best and this couple comes to him and starts sharing more.  It might have been easy for him to say, “But I’m doing just fine with what I have; I don’t need more.”  He might have been insulted.  But he chose to listen and ponder it.  No doubt he searched the scriptures looking for evidence that what Aquila and Priscilla told him was true.  And his open heart received the witness of the Spirit.

Apollos’ story reminds me that no matter what stage I am at, I can still be a learner and have things expounded to me more perfectly.

Apollos’ great qualities also give me a wonderful picture of what a good member of the church looks like: eloquent, mighty in the scriptures, instructed, fervent, diligent, bold… and teachable.

Meekness in analyzing sacred texts

Recently I noticed Moroni’s worries to the Lord about the efficacy of his writing, and I found the Lord’s response interesting.  Moroni writes:

25 Thou hast also made our words powerful and great, even that we cannot write them; wherefore, when we write we behold our weakness, and stumble because of the placing of our words; and I fear lest the Gentiles shall mock at our words.

26 And when I had said this, the Lord spake unto me, saying: Fools mock, but they shall mourn; and my grace is sufficient for the meek, that they shall take no advantage of your weakness; (Ether 12:25-26)

Moroni was pondering the problem that just about every writer of the sacred has discovered at some point—that words are simply inadequate to capture the power and glories of spiritual experience.   He also had more problems with writing on plates – very little opportunity for editing what was already engraved, except with an added “or rather” or “I would speak in other words.”  (If he was a perfectionist at all, this writing the sacred on gold plates would have been very hard.)  Moroni was very concerned the final product would cut a poor figure in the world, and only be made fun of by Gentile readers.

When the Lord answers, “Fools mock, but they shall mourn,” we see an implicit acknowledgement that some Gentiles would mock what Moroni and his father had written.  But it also contains a reassurance that reader mockery reflects badly on the reader, not the writer.  Fools mock the sacred because they are too foolish to value the sacred as they ought.  If they mock the admonition to repent and come to Christ, then they will remain in their sins, and in the end their judgment will come upon them.  They will mourn for their sins that might have been swept away if they had been more wise to listen and obey.

The Lord also adds, “my grace is sufficient for the meek, that they shall take no advantage of your weakness,” which is an acknowledgement that at a certain level, the Lord saw that Moroni’s writing did have a certain weakness to it.  (Part of me suspects that Moroni was actually an excellent writer and that the Lord knew that writing style standards don’t translate well, so even Moroni’s skill would sound odd to us.)  Yet, meek people read the book, and the power of God they feel from it makes up for the weakness, just as the Lord promised. 

The Lord’s answer shows us that how sacred texts are received is more a measure of the reader than the writer.