Being a Messenger

Day thirty-seven

I get to teach at church today, Sunday School for the youth.  This is one of my favorite classes to teach and it's on one of my favorite topics, the Messiah.  What a great way to spend the Sabbath!  My prayer this morning is filled with gratitude for the Sabbath and the opportunity to partake of the sacrament, for the opportunity to teach,  and for the opportunity to be filled with the Spirit.  My requests were that the Spirit would be with the class and their teacher and that the message they needed to hear would be given. 

This morning I am working on Article of Faith 6:

We believe in the same organizations that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.

As I studied each of these callings one point stood out; they are all messengers of God.  I also began to realize that even if we are not called to fill any of these specific callings we all share some the duties that go with them.

Apostles are asked to dedicate their lives to sharing the message of the gospel.  We too are asked to do this, remember the 'every member a missionary talk'?

Prophets share important messages for their time.  As members we are asked to listen to the prophets words and share them with others.

Pastors (Bishops) are the overseers, shepherds, and judges of their flocks.  As members of a family, especially parents, we have these same responsibilities towards each family member.

Teachers are asked to teach about God to all His children through their words and their example.  Us too.

Evangelists (Patriarchs) seek the power of the Spirit to receive revelation for a person.  We are to seek the Spirit to receive revelation regarding those that are under our stewardship.

In fact, all Christians are asked to be messengers.  With that in mind I would like to share a quote by Elder Hugh B. Brown:

"A prophet bears witness to what he has seen and heard and seldom tries to make a case by argument.  His message and not himself is important."

Do I remember this?  God's message is more important than me.

D&C 76:61 "Wherefore, let no man glory in man, but rather let him glory in God..."

Alma 29:9   "I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not  glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy"

D&C 4:5 "And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work."

The message is loud and clear to me:  Be A Better Messenger!  If I truly have faith, hope, charity and love then my purpose should be to bring glory to God.  What better way to be a messenger of God than to share the gospel or the 'good news'?

After my study session I realized that I need to pray more for opportunities to share what I know about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  I need to pray that I may be 'an instrument in the hands of God'.  This should be my joy.  I should pray that I will recognize those that have been prepared to hear the message and then follow through! And so, I will kneel in prayer once more this morning and add this to my prayer.  Lord, please help me to be a better messenger. Amen.