Three Fold Mission of the Church

In the latter days the church is crystallizing its doctrine not changing it, but making it more understandable.  (This was written probably in the mid-1980s)

The threefold mission of the Church is to;

One, Proclaim the Gospel.

Two, Perfect the saints and

Three, Redeem the dead.

Proclaiming the Gospel

I want to approach this in the light that may be different than one might usually think of. The first things that impress me about the Savior's instruction on the subject are these.

Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore and teach all nations and baptize.

Mark 16 Go ye and preach to every creature.

John 21:17 Feed my sheep

The Gospel was to be an individual-to-individual effort.  This occurs in ways that we may not think of.

The raising of the family in the Gospel.

We teach and are instrumental in the conversion of our families.  We are called on a mission before this life to labor with those who come within the walls of our own home.  This is a mission, which is not only implicit, but it is real. D&C 68:25

President David O. McKay is quoted as saying, “No other success can compensate for failure in the home.”

This mission like any other mission has its challenges.  There may be doors slammed in our faces.  There may be indifference.  Just because the souls are born into our family does not mean that they have no agency to choose which path they follow and what they believe.  This mission is as real as any that any young Elder is called to serve by the Prophet today.  We make the latter seemed more important because of the interviews and the farewells, the setting aparts, the MTC, and the learning and preparing, but it has closer eternal consequences to us than that which is spanned by the 1 1/2 to 2 years of a person’s life on a ‘formal mission’.  The time for teaching is prolonged in the family experience to about 18 years and then we must emulate the Prophet Joseph’s statement and let them govern themselves.

My experience with my two missions as noted above may serve as a comparison.  I was able to teach two older Germans who were sisters and baptized them in the Grünewald Lake in Berlin. Later that year I baptized two sisters and another lady in the Havel River in Berlin.  To my knowledge none of these people are active in the church today.  I have taught the Gospel to, and baptized eight children and to my knowledge they all are active in the church today.

Two of my children have served missions and taught the Gospel.  One is going and three are yet to go.  This is good and must be done so the Gospel may spread.  But that is not the end of the influence because I have two married children who will teach the Gospel to my five grandchildren.  I consider my missionary success with my family to be far more successful than my mission success on my formal mission.  But that really doesn't count because He who called me to both of these missions is the judge.

We now have 33,000 missionaries in the field, probably more than any other religion.  The average cost is $325 per month per missionary at a cost of $10.7 million a month or $128.4 million per year.

We don't have mass media blasting away at people or hold mass conversion meetings where we ask people to come and confess Jesus.  It is done quietly and without fanfare on an individual basis.  We reserve the tumult for the Lord when he comes.

Perfect the Saints

Satan is more rampant as righteousness increases.  Every time a temple is built all the bells and hell will ring.  There is a lot of ringing in Hell lately.  Satan and his angels are awake.  Recent experience shows that when a person is alone he is more vulnerable.  Satan's plan is to isolate by;

1. Breaking families
2. Breaking down individual friendships
3. Distrust
4. Strife
5. Contention
6. Offense
7. Hurt feelings

The Lord's plan is to;

1. Unite families forever
2. Trust
3. Love
4. Amicability
5. Return to the Lord and be comforted
6. Be not weary in well doing

D&C 64:33 Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.

and 84:80  And any man that shall go and preach this gospel of the kingdom, and fail not to continue faithful in all things, shall not be weary in mind, neither darkened, neither in body, limb, nor joint; and a hair of his head shall not fall to the ground unnoticed. And they shall not go hungry, neither athirst.

Redeem the dead

This is a topic for another letter