Archive for December, 2009
Missionary Work Cleanses Sin
Dec 13th
One of the blessings of missionary work is that missionary work cleanses sin. Of course only our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has the power to cleanse us of sin, which power he possesses thanks to his suffering for the sins of the world. And by faithfully doing missionary work, we do the things that are necessary to take advantage of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
When I arrived in Argentina and had my first interview with my mission president, he shared this scriptural concept and it has always stuck with me. I wish I had written down the scripture he shared with me that day, but perhaps it’s better that I can’t remember what it was because it has caused my to do my own scripture study of the subject.
The following are scriptural examples I have found as evidence that missionary work cleanses sin:
- To early Church missionaries the Lord said, “And in this place let them lift up their voice and declare my word with loud voices, without wrath or doubting, lifting up holy hands upon them. For I am able to make you holy, and your sins are forgiven you.” D&C 60:7
- To the early pioneers of these latter days the Lord said, “And I give unto you, who are the first laborers in this last kingdom, a commandment that you assemble yourselves together, and organize yourselves, and prepare yourselves, and sanctify yourselves; yea, purify your hearts, and cleanse your hands and your feet before me, that I may make you clean.” D&C 88:74
- Praying about the 12 apostles he chose in the ancient Americas, our Savior said, “Father, I thank thee that thou hast purified those whom I have chosen, because of their faith, and I pray for them, and also for them who shall believe on their words, that they may be purified in me, through faith on their words, even as they are purified in me.”3 Ne. 19: 28
- When the ancient Jared rejected the prophet Ether after he was sent by God to exhort the people to believe in God, the Lord said, “If they have not charity it mattereth not unto thee, thou hast been faithful; wherefore, thy garments shall be made clean. And because thou hast seen thy weakness thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father.” Ether 12:37
- Ezekiel 33:9 “if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.”
Which, if any, of these scriptures was the one my mission president shared with me all those years ago, I do not know. But it seems to me, through studying these scriptures, that sincere, true missionary efforts naturally leads to forgiveness of sins. By being a worthy missionary and helping others come unto Christ, we ourselves are brought closer and receive His cleansing power.
It’s not the doing missionary work gives you a free pass from your sins. It’s that to do true missionary work requires the individual to go through the God-given steps of faith, repentance, and cleansing Priesthood ordinances of salvation which make us worthy and able to return to live with God.
The main purpose of missionary work is to help bring others to Christ, but and importance secondary purpose is that it brings the missionaries themselves closer to Christ. I thank Heavenly Father for this wonderful blessing of missionary work with its dual effect of gathering those into the restored gospel who previously did not know of it, and its ability to cleanse and purify the missionary workers themselves.
Conversion Story of Aldo
Dec 6th
The conversion story of Aldo is perhaps the easiest conversion process and baptism of my whole mission. It was September 1996, and I met Aldo at Church my first Sunday serving in the city of Fray Luis Beltran, a little town north of Rosario. We were in Sunday School and there was a young man who was answering all the questions from the teacher. I leaned over and asked my companion, Elder Gertge, who this person was who was so engaged in the lesson. Elder Gertge told me his name was Aldo and he was not a member of the Church. Aldo lived in the city of Rosario, but his girl friend lived with her family in Beltran. I asked Elder Gertge if he and his previous companion had been teaching Aldo the discussions, and he said no.
After Church I went up to Aldo and introduced myself and asked him if he wanted to hear the missionary discussions. Without hesitation, Aldo agreed to hearing the discussions and we began teaching him that week at his girl friend’s home. Gabriela had told Aldo she would not marry outside the temple of the Lord, and therefore Aldo had been attending Church for the three months before I met him. I don’t know why the previous missionaries never pursued teaching Aldo the discussions, but I was very happy to do it. It is always a great joy to teach someone who is hungry to learn and take the next step in his eternal progression by getting baptized.
Aldo cruised through the six discussions and got baptized within a couple of weeks of our first meeting. While Elder Gertge and I taught Aldo and guided him into the waters of baptism, we really did very little other than being in the right place at the right time. It was his girl friend Gabriela, her family, the ward members in Beltran, and the Lord who prepared Aldo to become a member of the true Church of Jesus Christ. We missionaries just opened our mouths and invited him to come unto Christ. 
About a year after Aldo’s baptism, I was serving in the city of the Rosario. My companion and I were doing some street contacting along a major avenue, when a car pulled up beside us and Aldo jumped out. Aldo gave me a big hug and told me how he and Gabriela would soon be married in the Buenos Aires temple. I was so very happy to know that Aldo had stayed true to his testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and that he and Gabriela were going to be sealed in the temple for time and all eternity. And I was thankful that I had had a small part in the conversion story of Aldo.
