Will Help All Genesis Members Become Missionaries
Dear Brothers and Sisters,One of the greatest joys and responsibilities we have as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is to share the precious gem of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ with our family, friends, neighbors, and business associates.
Since I have been called to serve as the Genesis Mission Leader, I have pondered and prayed on how this might be accomplished in the context of the Genesis Group.
Each month I am uplifted and amazed at the spirit that I feel as I attend the Genesis Group meeting. Your testimonies are incredible as you share your experiences of how God has blessed and sustained you through the challenges of life. The love that I feel truly crosses all boundaries of race, gender, or any other social barriers. We become one in spirit and in purpose as the Spirit of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ changes our hearts and opens our minds to the beauties of his everlasting peace. We don’t see each other as black or white, but we truly become one as our Savior breaks down the frail human barriers that limit our spiritual growth.
In the book of Ephesians, chapter 2, verses 11-18, the Apostle Paul wrote of this:
11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;With this in mind the Genesis Presidency and I felt that a new section in the newsletter would be appropriate. The new section will be entitled “Preach My Gospel,” and it will feature excerpts from the Preach My Gospel manual. We would also like to include inspirational missionary experiences that you have had or that you know about. This will help us all to keep missionary activities in the forefront of our daily experiences and allow us to be more proactive in sharing the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Please send your missionary experiences to me at ricegroup5@hotmail.com.
12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
The First Presidency’s message in the front of the Preach My Gospel manual begins with the words, “Dear Fellow Missionary.” What a powerful message! The First Presidency understands that they are fellow missionaries with the full-time missionaries in preaching the gospel to the world. Likewise we are fellow missionaries with the full-time missionaries in joining with them to preach the gospel. So whenever you read in the Preach My Gospel manual the word missionary, just add the word member in front so that it reads member missionary—because it applies as much to us as it does to the full-time missionaries.
We as a family have been using the Preach My Gospel manual in our family home evenings and in our personal study. It is truly an inspired resource to help us share the gospel.
The way that the manual is organized is a very unique concept in teaching. Each chapter begins with a question; as you go through the chapter, the question is answered through the scriptures, the prophets, the General Authorities, and other Church leaders. But one of the most important things about the manual is that it incorporates exercises that you can do to begin to implement the ideas that it is teaching. Some sections have self-evaluation exercises to see where you stand in relation to where you should be.
And the most important concept of the Preach My Gospel manual is that it teaches us to teach by the Spirit and to prepare by the Spirit.
In my home ward the bishopric felt the manual was such an important resource that every family in our ward has a copy. And in some cases each member of some of the families has his or her own Preach My Gospel manual.
Once again, thank you for your testimonies, your faith, your love, and your example of following the Master!
May the Lord bless you as we serve together in this great endeavor to preach the gospel to all His children!
Michael Rice