Understanding Jesus Through His Many Names

(by Marilynne Todd Linford latterdaysaintmag.com 12-9-24)

As Christmas was approaching this year, I wanted to learn more about Jesus by studying His names and titles in scripture. Specifically, I searched for names He called Himself. As I got into it, I discovered this was more complex than I thought. To say that Jesus is a Man with many names is understatement. In the Book of Mormon, for example, a name for Jesus is found every 1.7 verses, and there are 6,607 verses—3, 025 refer to Him. Figuring out which ones Jesus said about Himself would require reading over 3,000 verses without considering those in the Bible, Doctrine and Covenants, or Pearl of Great Price.

Many people have studied Jesus’ names and His roles. I read in Wikipedia: “Although the precise difference between a name [such as Jesus] and a title [such as Christ] may be open to interpretation, 198 different names and titles of Jesus in the Bible are listed in Cruden’s Concordance, first published in 1737, and continuously in print ever since.” One of my husband’s hobbies is finding descriptions of Jesus. He has found about nine hundred.

When I typed the Book of Mormon, I counted the names of Jesus that are capitalized. I found eighty-four. Twelve of them are found only in the Book of Mormon: Being (5); Beloved (2); Eternal Head (1); Eternal Judge (1); Holy God (2); Holy Messiah (2); Lord Omnipotent (4); Man (1); One (1); Savior Jesus Christ (2); Son of Righteousness (3); Well Beloved (1).

Here is a sampling of words and phrases Jesus used to describe Himself and how many times the phrase is repeated in scripture:

“I am your God” 1

“I am gracious” 1

“I am merciful” 1

“I am your Lord” 1

“I am your Lord and your Redeemer” 1

“I am the bread of life” 1

“I am the Almighty God” 1

“I am your lawgiver” 1

“I am their Redeemer” 1

“I am the same that leadeth men to all good” 1

“I am the light, and the life, and the truth of the world” 1

“I am the true vine”

“I am he who spake in righteousness, mighty to save” 1

“I am the door” 2

“I am no respecter of persons” 2

“I am the light of the world” 2

“I am the God of Abraham” 3

“I am holy” 3

“I am the good shepherd” 3

“I am the Son of God” 3

“I am with thee” 12

“I am Jesus Christ” 15

“I am the first and the last” 19

“I am God” 26

“I am the Lord” 189.

He calls Himself or is referred to by others as:

“Holy Messiah” 2 times

“Redeemer of Israel” 2

“Light of the world” 6

“Good shepherd” 12

“God of Abraham” 26

“Bridegroom” 29

“Lamb of God” 38

“Holy One of Israel” 71

“Savior (Saviour)” 72

“Redeemer” 82

“Son of Man” 230

“Lord of Hosts” 309.

All this finding, reading, and listing were inspiring, but what I found most satisfying was to read the words that Jesus Christ spoke to individuals about who He is.

(To Abraham (Abram): “Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward.” “Abraham, Abraham, behold my name is Jehovah” (Genesis 15:1). Abraham 1:16).

To Issac, son of Abraham: “I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed” (Genesis 26:24).

To Jacob, son of Issac: “I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac.… and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee…. Thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name…. I am God Almighty…. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; and the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land” (Genesis 28:13-15; 35:10-12; 46:2).

To Moses: “Moses, Moses…. Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground…. I am the Lord… I will hear [you]; for I am gracious…. I am the Lord God that doth sanctify you” (Exodus 3:4-5; 22:27; 31:13).

To the Nation of Israel: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness…. For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee…. I am God…. the Lord, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King…. I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions… and will not remember thy sins…. I am he; I am the first, I also am the last…. and say unto Zion, thou art my people” (Isaiah 41:10-13, 43:15-16, 25; 48:12; 51:16).

To Jeremiah: “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations…. I am with thee… to deliver thee…. I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight…. Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 1:5,19, 9:24; 32:27).

To Ezekiel: “I am the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; and hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God” (Ezekiel 20:19-20).

To Daniel: “O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding… for thou art greatly beloved” (Daniel 9:22-23).

To Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, for the people: “Be strong, all ye people of the land, and work: for I am with you…. My spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not…. Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; and I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory” (Haggai 2:4-7).

To Zechariah: “I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof…. If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? …. Behold, I will save my people…. I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness” (Zechariah 8:3-8).

To Malachi: “I am a great King, and my name is dreadful among the heathen” (Malachi 1:14).

To the People in and around Jerusalem: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil…. I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance…. I am meek and lowly in heart…. I am the Son of God…. I am the resurrection, and the life …. I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (Matthew 5:17; Luke 5:32; Matthew 11:29; John 10:36; John 11:25).

To John the Revelator: “I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last…. I am alive for evermore; and have the keys of hell and of death…. I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things…. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star” (Revelation 1:11, 17-18).

Here is a sampling of the “I am” descriptions Jesus gave of himself. Interestingly, I found that many of these statements have eight syllables, so I limited this list to phrases with eight syllables with a few ellipses.

“I am with thee and will bless thee” (Genesis 26:24).

“I am the God of thy father…

Abraham… Isaac… and Jacob” (Exodus 3:6).

“I am the Lord that healeth thee” (Exodus 15:26)

“I will hear for I am gracious” (Exodus 22:27

“I am the Lord that hallow you” (Leviticus 22:32).

“I am the Lord…. Keep my sabbaths” (Leviticus 26:1).

“Be still and know that I am God” (Psalms 46:10).

“I am the Holy One, your King” (Isaiah 43:15).

“The Lord the King of Israel…

[Your] Redeemer the Lord of hosts

I am the first… I am the last;

And beside me there is no God.” (Isaiah 44:6).

“I am the Lord that maketh all” (Isaiah 44:24).

“I am the Lord… there is none else” (Isaiah 45:5).

“I am he that comforteth you” (Isaiah 51:12).

“Ye shall know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 6:14).

“I am… displeased with the heathen” (Zechariah 1:15).

“I am the Lord [and] I change not” (Malachi 3:6).

“I am meek and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29).

“And… whom do ye say that I am” (Mark 8:27)?

“I am come in my Father’s name” (John 5:43).

“Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58).

“Little children, I am with you” (John 13:33).

“I am Alpha and Omega

the beginning and the ending” (Revelation 1:8).

“I am alive for evermore” (Revelation 1:18).

“I am… the bright and morning star” (Revelation 22:16).

“I am a God of miracles” (2 Nephi 27:23).

“I am Jesus Christ… Son of God” (3 Nephi 9:15).

“I am the God… of the whole earth” (3 Nephi 11:14).

“Ye have seen… and know that I am” (3 Nephi 12:2).

“I am God; give heed… to my word” (Doctrine and Covenants 6:2).

“I am with you until I come” (Doctrine and Covenants 34:11).

“I am God and I… show wonders” (Doctrine and Covenants 35:8).

I Come

I am He, your Lord Jesus Christ,

Exemplar, the Way, Truth, and Life,

Endless, All-Knowing, Almighty,

True Lord of the Vineyard, I AM.

Mighty One, Savior, Redeemer.

The Light of the World, Lord of Hosts.

Advocate, Peace and Law Giver,

The Great King of Israel, I AM.

Wonderful, Counselor, Holy,

Creator of worlds without end,

Alpha, Omega, Good Shepherd,

Life’s Bread, Living Water, I AM.

Master and Only Begotten,

The High Priest of Good Things to Come,

The Lamb of God, the Messiah,

Jehovah, the Chosen, I AM.

Spread the good news I come quickly

To cleanse a dark world of its sin.

As King and your Lord, I will reign

In beauty build Zion again.

“He which testifieth… saith,

Surely I come quickly. Amen.

Even so, come, [come], Lord Jesus.

(Revelation 22:20).

Seek this Jesus.

https://latterdaysaintmag.com/understanding-jesus-through-his-many-names/

The Hebrew word that will change how your family reads Luke 2

(ldsliving.com 12-16-24)

When reading about the Nativity this holiday season, understanding the Hebrew word hineni helps us better appreciate Mary’s example of discipleship. And shows us how to become better disciples ourselves.

The Meaning of "Hineni"

In the Hebrew Bible, hineni is translated as “Here I am.” The word appears in many places in the Bible and conveys the idea of being ready to say yes to whatever the Lord asks of us.

Gaye Strathearn, Brigham Young University professor of ancient scripture, shared on the Magnify podcast that Mary is an example of what it means to live the definition of hineni. Though Mary would have known about the prophecy of the coming Messiah, as a young woman from the small village of Nazareth, she would not have expected this call to come to her.

“Mary says, ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord,’” Gaye explains. “This is saying Mary is giving up her will to the will of God.”

Mary’s willingness to do God’s will, even without knowing how it can happen, shows us that when we don’t feel prepared for what we learn God has in store for us, we can confidently say, “Here I am.”

Gaye further explains, “That is what disciples do. This is how they act. This is how they respond to the invitations from the Lord. ... ‘Here I stand, God, if you need someone, choose me.’”

Other Example of "Hineni" in the Nativity Story

-Joseph-

Joseph had decided to “put [Mary] away privily” but was quick to change course and “do as the angel had bidden him.” When we’re certain one path is the right way, but the Lord steers us in a direction we wouldn’t have chosen, answering with hineni takes courage and faith. Even when we are striving to follow the Lord and do His will, we may be asked to put our trust in Him in ways that stretch us.

Joseph’s example of discipleship shows us that everything will work for our good when we choose to follow Him, even though we may not understand how.

-Shepherds-

Immediately upon receiving the good news of Christ’s birth, “which the Lord hath made known unto [them],” the shepherds responded with, “Let us now go even unto Bethlehem.” Their desire to put aside what they were doing to act on what they were called to witness is an example of discipleship.

Answering the Lord’s call with hineni isn’t always convenient. Like the shepherds, it may require us to set aside what we thought was most important and change our plans to better align with what God has in store.

The shepherds’ example of discipleship shows us that when we willingly respond to the Lord, we can witness spiritual growth and beauty beyond our comprehension. “And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen” (Luke 2:20). Responding with hineni changes us for the better.

-Wise Men-

When the star appeared, the wise men were ready to follow it to the Christ child. Their preparations are an example of discipleship. The Spirit often prepares us in ways we don’t realize until the time comes to act and move forward. This example of discipleship from the wise men shows us that when we answer with hineni in our spiritual preparations to hear the Lord personally, we can be given direction and purpose, leading us to rich spiritual blessings.

The continued pursuit of spiritual direction helps us be instruments in the hands of the Lord. When the wise men “departed into their own country another way” after “being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod” (Matthew 2:12), they show us that continued willingness to seek spiritual direction is a marker of discipleship.

The Magnifying Quality of Responding, "Hineni"

When asked to accept and follow the Lord’s calling of us, like Mary, we may question, “How shall this be?” After responding willingly to the Lord, we can find confidence He will be with us. Why? Gaye reminds us that like Mary, we can trust that the Holy Ghost will magnify our efforts in ways that we “can’t even imagine” when we are “willing to have faith and trust in God to say ‘yes.’"

https://www.ldsliving.com/the-hebrew-word-that-will-change-how-your-family-reads-luke-2/s/12582

Painting the Christ child: Believing artists talk about what it teaches them

(deseret.com 12-24-24)

If you trust ChatGPT, the most commonly painted historical scenes throughout the history of the human family come from the life of Jesus Christ — with the Lord’s earliest moments in the arms of Mary among the most popular.

Approximately 200 years after his death, the first images of Christ showed up in Roman catacombs (235 A.D.) — with the first known image of his birth, “The Adoration of the Magi,” appearing on an arch in the Greek Chapel in Rome’s catacombs of Priscilla sometime over the next 100 years (late third or early fourth century). Portrayals of the wise men appearing before Mary and Jesus, according to one historical source, became “the most common scene of Jesus’ birth and childhood in early Christian art.”

According to one tradition, some early images of Mary with the baby were attempts to mimic a portrait originally drawn during her life by Luke. By the fifth century, Christian art had spread from catacombs to many public spaces, with Mary and baby Jesus continuing as a central theme of Christian art, especially during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. A dizzying array of Nativity scenes have since been painted by countless other artists across centuries and countries — with sculptures, stained glass windows and ceremonial objects also displaying the iconic scene from Christ’s birth.

Latter-day Saint painter Greg Olsen acknowledges that the nativity had been portrayed so many “countless times throughout history,” that virtually “every Christian man, woman and child has already developed a very personal and treasured image in their minds of what that special night might have been like.”

That fact alone made him reluctant to move into such “sacred emotional territory” by trying his own version of these events. Yet as a subject so “quintessential” to Christianity, he says it’s one of those pieces, as a believing artist, that eventually “you just gotta do!”

Rather than trying to be different and unique, Olsen “wanted the image to feel familiar,” including the presence of three wise men. Despite not being “chronologically accurate,” he says they are part of the “magical imagery” surrounding that first Christmas night. “Who wants a Nativity set without any Wise Men?” Olsen added another kneeling woman with a small lamp, leaving her identity up to viewers.

A river of witnesses

Recalling how deeply he felt the birth of his own children was “attended to” by otherworldly beings, artist Brian Kershisnik admits getting so ”carried away” by his “river of witnesses” (which he prefers to “angels”), that there was no room in the stable for farm animals, except for one dog and her pups as sole representatives of animal-kind (the only mortal in the painting who can see the angels).

The title of Brian Kershisnik’s piece, “Nativity,” draws attention to that word’s actual meaning (the process or circumstances of being born). “Notwithstanding the overwhelming significance of Jesus coming, He came very much like you and I came,” he says. “He came into our dirt and sweat and blood and milk. He arrived into our hunger and discomfort, just as everyone else on the planet ever has … It hurt his mother and Him.”

More than the historical reality alone, Kershisnkik says his originally 17-foot long painting was trying to “fathom an emotional reality to the experience,” pointing out that “virtually all of the visual memory we have of Jesus’ birth has come from centuries of this kind of imagining — the event being so very important, the historical details so very scant.” (No animals are mentioned in the text, he points out, with the only reason we think of a stable being the single phrase, “laid in a manger”).

Kershisnik includes midwives despite no scriptural mention, saying, “The chance of a young woman having her first child away from her usual residence and not being attended by women (even strangers) seems to me very unlikely. Women would come. They would hear; they would help. I feel sure of it.”

O Holy Night

Few modern artists have captured the majesty of this night more than Rose Datoc Dall’s Nativity Quadriptych — four pieces that are originally 7 feet by 7 feet all together.

Alanna Naylor remarks on how much highlighting the heavenly hosts add to the image. And Holly Abbe notes that the artist’s use of light “draws my attention to different areas in the picture.”

Dall admits, “I have a thing for moonlight,” in response to Shannon Sidwell Knight’s observations that she had “mastered the subtleties of moonlight” in the painting, in a way that brought tears to her eyes.

Mary and Joseph together

While attempting to facilitate viewers’ own witnessing of the Savior’s birth, these artists naturally feature prominently the original witnesses in the flesh - starting with Mary and Joseph.

About her depiction of the nativity, “Love’s Pure Light,” Lee recounts to LDS Living feeling guided to colors and lighting that “draws the eye straight to baby Jesus.” In the painting itself, she highlights how each person’s hands, including Mary’s and Joseph’s, are pointing to the Savior.

Lee describes wanting viewers to “feel the beauty” in this pivotal moment — “Can you imagine being there, witnessing this beautiful moment? What did they feel? What did they say to each other?”

As part of this, she tries to capture the “love expressed between Mary and Joseph” as their momentous calling continues — looking at one another, as if to say, “Together we can do this.”

“I love how Mary is looking up at Joseph, full of love and trust for her husband,” the artist adds, pointing to how he holds the baby so his wife can rest, while she also places her hands gently under his, “helping him as he holds not only his new baby son, but his Savior.”

In all the colorful paintings Yongsung Kim creates, he says, “not only is everyone in the presence of Jesus Christ smiling, but Jesus is always smiling back at them.” Even the animals are “glad to be in His presence.” That includes his painting, “Immanuel.”

Reflecting on his painting, Kim wrote to the Deseret News that so many people can relate to the “special joy of having a child,” suggesting, “there is nothing else like it” as we are “filled with such love and great hope for who our children will become.” Kim sought to capture in this image of Mary and Joseph being “aware of the vast impact that this child, the Baby Jesus, will have on the world ”

Mary and Jesus

While Jesus is rightfully central to most depictions, some artists have sought to draw more attention to what Mary’s experience would have been in that moment. Few have done so more effectively than Liz Lemon Swindle in her paintings, “She Shall Bring Forth a Son” and “Be It Unto Me.”

“I could probably paint a hundred painting of Mary and her baby,” Swindle writes about the pieces. “The relationship of a mother and a child is not easily explained in hundreds of words, but it comes immediately to our understanding with a picture.

“How great is God’s plan that allows mere mortals to bring His children into the world, care for them, and help them make their way back to Him. How amazing that he trusts us when so much is at stake.

“I remember a moment after the birth of my first child when everyone had left and I was alone with my son for the first time” Swindle says about “Be It Unto Me.” “I looked at him lying on the bed and realized I was responsible for this new life. How could I teach him everything he needed? I was terrified.

“I held him close and the two of us cried. Those were tears of fear and tears of joy, but most of all they were tears of love.” Then she asks, “Was it different for Mary on that night in Bethlehem? Like any first-time mother she must have felt all the fear, all the joy, and all of the love that comes with a child.”

Tender shepherds

About her 2010 Nativity, Annie Henrie Nader writes of this “incredible moment for those who attended to have been able to see the Savior in those first early moments,” with the shepherds reflecting “our awe at the condescension of the Son of God.”

Eva Timothy, whose painting, “Unto Us A Son is Given,” is featured at the top of the article, created another image of a diminutive shepherd peaking over the edge of the manger, “Tender Shepherd” (a sweet theme continued in Annie Henrie Nader’s “Approaching the Manger” and “Little Shepherd Boy”).

In reflecting on the image, Eva Timothy writes about trying to capture the “wonder and joy” we can approach God with — inspired by a 7-year-old in sacrament meeting drawing pictures. Her first reaction was to dismiss the girl’s distractions with an absentminded, “That’s nice,” until she saw what the girl was writing, “Jesus is gentle. I love Jesus. I love you.”

“There was more of wisdom and love — more of Jesus — on those sheets of paper in childlike scrawl than in most sermons I can recall,” she reflects. “Little children seem to have a direct line to heaven.

“Is it any wonder that the heart of the Good Shepherd is so tightly knit with those of our tender little shepherds?”

A first temple visit

One of the most iconic images of the young child presented in the temple to Simeon is Greg Olsen’s “A Light to the Gentiles.” The artist described how painting the scene “forever changed” the way he thought about Jesus and other scriptural characters. “It brought an endearment and connection with those individuals that I had not experienced before.”

While taking photos of models for the painting, Olsen described how the poor little baby had “had enough” and started crying vigorously for his real mother a few yards away. “I watched as she held him close, rocked him gently and whispered into his ear, calming his little cries for rescue.”

That prompted Olsen to reflect, “I wonder if the baby Jesus ever acted like this?”

“It sounds rather trite and silly but I had never before imagined the baby Jesus crying,” he says — recalling how he had grown up with images of a smiling baby in a manger “looking heavenward in a sort of detached bliss.”

It was touching to Olsen that the “Christ child may have come into this world exhibiting some of the same ‘humanness’ as children.” Not diminishing his divinity in any way, he says that this did “make him more real to me.”

As Olsen was able to relate to scriptural characters as “real, living, breathing (and sometimes crying) people — people who perhaps had more in common with me and my family and friends than the romanticized versions I had previously imagined,” he experienced a “subtle yet profound shift” in how he relates to them.

Growing up

There is much less known about what happens between Jesus’ birth and the family’s flight to Egypt, and the ministry he began 30 years later. “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man,” Luke writes.

That’s all we know. So, perhaps unsurprisingly, there’s much less painting about the same interim period. Rose Datoc Dall’s 33 other images focus on the early years of the Savior try to explore those momentous years.

Along with other glimpses of Mary carrying baby Jesus and images soon after his birth, Dall has created less common scenes from when he was a young child, such as “Hope of Israel” below.

As a young mother painting about the Savior, Dall writes that her “driving thought” behind all these images involving the young boy Savior was the thought, “what would it have been like to have the sacred responsibility of raising the Messiah” — including for Joseph (see “Joseph and Boy Jesus” below). Greg Olsen has also created glimpses of Mary and the young boy, including “Consider the Lilies” and “Just For a Moment.”

Much can be said about the larger take-aways from these iconic early events in Christ’s life. For one, “our chances for reconciliation were all but lost when … this happened,” Brian Kershisnik says. “He said He would come. Then impossibly and improbably, He did, but not as we would have expected.”

Although the “epic drama of redemption is far from over,” Kershisnik added, that message remains sure: “He came. He came. Thank God, He came.”

https://www.deseret.com/faith/2024/12/24/painting-the-christ-child-believing-artists-talk-about-what-it-teaches-them/

Responding to the call of a Prophet: More missionaries serving, more people joining the Church

(thechurchnews.com 12-7-24 

The number of missionaries serving right now in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has reached a high mark of around 80,000.

Why a missionary serves is contained in the missionary purpose: to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism and receiving the Holy Ghost.

“When it gets into a person’s heart, it changes what they do and how they look at other people, that every individual out there in the world is a child of God, and we can bring them back home through making covenants,” said Elder W. Mark Bassett, a General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Church’s Missionary Department.

And people are responding to that invitation, said David N. Weidman, managing director of the Missionary Department.

“Every region of the world is seeing an acceleration in the growth of convert baptisms,” Weidman said.

Not only are people accepting the invitation to enter into the covenant of baptism, they are also continuing to progress along the covenant path, Elder Bassett said.

This good news comes at a time when people may feel like they only see bad news — particularly on social media.

“But the reality is more people are coming to the Church of Jesus Christ than we’ve seen in decades,” Elder Bassett said.

New missionary preparation course

Elder Bassett and Weidman joined the Church News podcast on Dec. 3 to talk about missionary work — including announcing new resources.

A new Churchwide missionary preparation course, based on “Preach My Gospel,” is coming in January 2025 for parents, wards, stakes, seminaries, institutes and others to help young men and young women prepare to serve missions.

“This course helps teachers teach in a way that will be engaging and will allow the young people to participate. And we really feel great about it and think it’ll be a great resource for our teachers that are in these classes,” Elder Bassett said.

The course can be done as a self-study program as well, with modules, visual content, go-and-do activities and more.

“The better prepared a missionary is, the faster they can jump in and feel like they’re really being a blessing to others,” Elder Bassett said. “And it helps them to understand, when they go to the missionary training center, what the experience will be like and what they’ll be focusing on.”

Changes to missionary work

Recently, the First Presidency announced that single senior men can now serve full-time missions. And last year, service missionaries were integrated into teaching missions.

This has changed the service missionaries, the teaching missionaries and the culture of the mission overall, Weidman said.

Missionaries used to knock on doors and be invited into homes to teach. Now missionaries are finding much more success inviting people to church on Sunday.

Elder Bassett said the quicker individuals go to a sacrament meeting, the more engaged they will be in learning. Members are there to welcome them, and they find friends who are their neighbors.

Weidman said when people come to sacrament meeting, the Spirit can convert them and change their hearts.

“We found tremendous, tremendous change in people’s lives just by attending one meeting in the church,” Weidman said.

Activity sharing

Church members are a key part of the work of love, share, invite, Weidman said, and it doesn’t have to be complicated; it is about sharing beliefs and faith in normal and natural ways.

A new tool announced in the leadership meeting of October 2024 general conference is called “activity sharing.” When a ward council has an activity or sacrament meeting or anything that is already happening, they can put that into their Church calendar, and then it will be populated on a website. It makes inviting simple, Elder Bassett said.

For example, a ward in Texas posted a Halloween trunk-or-treat activity that was then shared on social media. Neighbors found the activity and attended. The response was so great, the ward ran out of food. Then several of those families came to church on Sunday.

Weidman said in North America in particular, well over 50% of those who are baptized into the Church come through use of technology of one type or another, such as social media posts or digital ads in their feeds.

A remarkable season

Elder Bassett said Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are fully engaged in the work.

“Recent converts are staying. More people are being baptized, more missionaries are serving, and that’s why we had to create 36 new missions. And now we have more missionaries than we had estimated, and it’s likely that will continue as more people respond to the call of a Prophet. It’s just a blessing to witness.”

Weidman said it is a remarkable season in the history of the Church. ”I think all of us feel, in many ways, that we’re witnessing miracles on a day-in-and-day-out basis.”

https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2024/12/07/missionary-work-changes-prep-course-sacrament-meeting-invitations/

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