D&C Lesson 11: "The Field Is White Already to Harvest"

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INTRODUCTION: Part of the information sent to prospective missionaries is a list of needed clothing, supplies, and incidentals. The Missionary Department is appropriately concerned that missionaries arrive in the field properly equipped for the service they are expected to render.

In the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord gives us a comprehensive list of the things his servants will really need. These are not the sort of things that can be purchased with cash or a credit card. These are qualities that can only be procured by diligent and prayerful effort.

If you are teaching this lesson, consider a suitcase filled with word strips containing (or objects suggesting) the words and phrases below. One at a time they could be withdrawn and discussed with your class or your family.

1. “SERVE HIM WITH ALL YOUR HEART, MIGHT, MIND AND STRENGTH”

The kind of service the Lord requires is specified with remarkable clarity here. No half-hearted endeavor will meet the Savior’s expectations. Here are the first few qualities and attitudes to be place in our bags as we go forth to serve the Lord:

A.    All your heart (4:2): Our hearts are sometimes like unconquered territories, unwilling to submit completely to the rule of the rightful King. Most of us have surrendered most of our lives to his rule, but we often maintain nearly hidden outposts of rebellion, areas of disobedience or selfishness that we have been unwilling to pay the price to conquer. We must offer all of our hearts to the Savior if we mean to serve him perfectly.

B.    All your might (4:2): This suggests me to hard work with a divine purpose.

I have asked mission presidents in many parts of the world this question: ‘How many missionaries do you have in your mission who are really spiritual and also lazy?’ There isn’t one in all the world. Laziness and spirituality don’t go together. The most spiritual people I know are also some of the hardest working people I have ever met. So if you want to increase your level of spirituality, work hard. Magnify your callings within the Church. Really work! (Joe J. Christensen, “Ten Ideas to Increase Your Spirituality,” Ensign, Mar. 1999, 59)

C.    All your mind (4:2): The Lord has promised to give us revelation by telling us in our hearts and in our minds (see D&C 8:2) what we ought to do. Thus we must serve him thoughtfully. Revelation comes to those who study and ponder and prepare. In addition, we must not allow ourselves to be distracted from the requirements of our calling.

D.    All our strength (4:2): This reminds me that Nephi the son of Helaman was praised for serving with “unwearyingness.”

Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments. And now, because thou hast done this with such unwearyingness, behold, I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will. (Helaman 10:4-5, emphasis added)

E.    Desires (4:3) This is the fourth of the preliminary items to be packed in our “service” bags. Perhaps it should be the first. So many times you and I have been called to serve in positions and places for which we knew we were unqualified. But the Lord never cares about that. When Moses led Israel out of Egypt, he knew nothing about dividing seas or building tabernacles. What he had was a desire to serve God. We must have a great desire to serve and and proceed with a perfect confidence that the Lord will sustain us in our efforts.

2. PREPARE TO SERVE THE LORD

A marvelous work requires marvelous workers. The Lord needs servants—men and women—who will see the work through. In verse 5 of D&C 4, the Lord presents those attributes that will qualify us for the work.

A.    Faith (4:5): Faith as used here is the shortened form of the statement “faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.” We must have faith in him, in his work and in his promises. These qualities, beginning with faith, are those that enable us “be partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4-5). With that nature inside of us, we can serve with great faith in the assistance of the Lord.

B.    Hope (4:5): Elder Maxwell said,

Ultimate hope is a different matter. It is tied to Jesus and the blessings of the great Atonement, blessings resulting in the universal Resurrection and the precious opportunity provided thereby for us to practice emancipating repentance, making possible what the scriptures call “a perfect brightness of hope” (2 Ne. 31:20). [“Hope through the Atonement of Jesus Christ:” C.R., Elder Neal A. Maxwell (October 1998)]

We are willing to labor, even labor without a clear perception of the good we might be doing, because we hope that in the end, we and those for whom we labor will have something better than we have now.

C.    Charity (4:5): Charity is a gift of the Spirit for all who are true followers of Christ and who seek it prayerfully with all their hearts (see Moroni 7:48).

D.    Love (4:5): I wonder if perhaps, in the absence of charity, which is “the pure love of Christ” (Moro. 7:47), we can serve with love in a less pure form while we seek to develop the charity. Any kind of real love will assist the work.

E.    An eye single to the glory of God (4:5): No hidden motives and secret agendas are permitted in this service. We cannot serve properly with an eye partially fixed on our own glory, hoping for the honors of men and the things of the world. Remember what Moroni said to Joseph about this:

I beheld the same messenger at my bedside, and heard him rehearse or repeat over again to me the same things as before; and added a caution to me, telling me that Satan would try to tempt me (in consequence of the indigent circumstances of my father's family), to get the plates for the purpose of getting rich. This he forbade me, saying that I must have no other object in view in getting the plates but to glorify God, and must not be influenced by any other motive than that of building his kingdom; otherwise I could not get them. (JSBH 1:46, emphasis added)

But there are other qualities that we must remember in our service.

F. Remember faith, virtue (4:6): In D&C 121, the Lord says that we should let “virtue garnish [our] thoughts unceasingly.” To have such protective shield around our thoughts in these days will require a great effort, and that protective shield will enable our thoughts to “wax strong in the presence of God” (121:45).

G. Remember . . . knowledge (4:6): We live in an ecclesiastical environment that stresses the qualities of the spirit and heart. But twice in D&C 4, the Lord refers to qualities of the intellect. We are to serve with our minds (4:2) and we are to remember knowledge. We have been commanded to study the scriptures (11:22) and to search them (John 5:29; Alma 33:2, etc.) We have also been commanded to seek learning by study out of the best books (see D&C 88:118)

H. Remember . . . temperance (4:6): Elder Russell M. Nelson spoke of this quality as he reviewed a tour of the Tabernacle Choir. He taught

Temperance suggests sobriety and self restraint in action. It reminds one of covenants made. Members of the choir were always temperate and well disciplined, not from without but from within. Completely obedient to the Word of Wisdom, they were blessed with health and strength. Keeping a schedule that left little time for leisure, their grueling pace allowed them to perform for audiences that otherwise might have been excluded. (“These ... Were Our Examples”: Elder Russell M. Nelson: C.R., October 1991)

I. Remember . . . patience (4:6): When Moses went up into the mountain of the Lord to get the higher law for his people, he was gone 40 days. But we have seen so many problems, even huge problems, solved in 30 minutes or an hour on television. We are not conditioned to be patient. I know a wonderful woman who was informed that she was not to marry until she found the man chosen for her by the Lord. She trusted patiently in his promises and waited until she was 34 years old. When she found him, she found a true saint, one of the greatest men I have ever known. What if she had not been patient?

J. Remember . . . brotherly kindness (4:6): The scriptures speak of kindness over 100 times. This is one of the simplest of virtues. It is the sort of thing that we can all do if we are willing to remember this injunction when people mistreat us, or when they need our help. The opportunities for brotherly kindness are everywhere, if we will just remember.

K. Remember . . . godliness (4:6): Elder Nelson also spoke of this quality as he reviewed the experience of the Choir:

“The power of godliness is manifest” in the ordinances of the priesthood (D&C 84:20). Godliness is not a product of perfection; it comes of concentration and consecration. Godliness characterizes each of you who truly loves the Lord. You are constantly mindful of the Savior's atonement and rejoice in His unconditional love. Meanwhile you vanquish personal pride and vain ambition. You consider your accomplishments important only if they help establish His kingdom on earth. (“These ... Were Our Examples”: Elder Russell M. Nelson: C.R., October 1991)

L. Remember . . . humility (4:6): This quality is the one that took the place of sacrificial lambs and bullocks. The Lord commanded that we offer no more burnt offerings, but that we offer the sacrifice of a broken heart and a contrite spirit. That characteristic heart and spirit is certainly related to humility.

So it is that real, personal sacrifice never was placing an animal on the altar. Instead, it is a willingness to put the animal in us upon the altar and letting it be consumed! Such is the “sacrifice unto the Lord . . . of a broken heart and a contrite spirit” (D&C 59:8). (“Deny Yourselves of All Ungodliness”: Elder Neal A. Maxwell: C.R., April 1995)

M. Remember . . . diligence (4:6): The scriptures counsel us to be diligent in all things. Perhaps this quality comes last in this verse because the Lord wants us to be diligent in remembering these qualities of character that he has revealed to those of us who desire to serve him.

3. “THE FIELD IS WHITE”

In D&C 4:4, the Lord uses the imagery of the sickle to emphasize the need for harvesters. Eleven times in the D&C, we are counseled to thrust in our sickles with our might. All those who are called to the work must pack a sickle in their bags and use it vigorously in the service of the Lord.

As to the whiteness of the field, our literature is full of stories of spectacular numbers of conversions, but President Gordon B. Hinckley suggested that the whiteness of the field means the harvest can increase.

Last year there were approximately 300,000 convert baptisms throughout the Church. This is tremendously significant. This is the equivalent of 120 new stakes of 2,500 members each. Think of that: 120 new stakes in a single year! It is wonderful. But it is not enough. I am not being unrealistic when I say that with concerted effort, with recognition of the duty which falls upon each of us as members of the Church, and with sincere prayer to the Lord for help, we could double that number. (Gordon B. Hinckley, “Find the Lambs, Feed the Sheep,” Ensign, May 1999, 105)

4. “OPEN YOUR MOUTHS AND THEY SHALL BE FILLED”
 
Fear is too much with some of us. We long for the joy of missionary work and the rich rewards with come to us when those we love and serve embrace the truth. But we are often frightened to make the effort. But so often when we ought to speak, we do not.

But with some I am not well pleased, for they will not open their mouths, but they hide the talent which I have given unto them, because of the fear of man. Wo unto such, for mine anger is kindled against them. (D&C 60:2)

The Lord has said that we must open our mouths. In fact, on several occasions he has suggested that if we have prepared, that is all we must do. For example,

Open your mouths and they shall be filled, and you shall become even as Nephi of old, who journeyed from Jerusalem in the wilderness. . . . Yea, open your mouths and they shall be filled, saying: Repent, repent, and prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (D&C 33:8-10, emphasis added)
Therefore, verily I say unto you, lift up your voices unto this people; speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts, and you shall not be confounded before men; For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say. (D&C 100:5-6)

We have no need to fear, for we shall not be confounded.

5. THE LORD PROMISES GREAT BLESSINGS TO THOSE WHO LABOR IN HIS SERVICE

The scriptures are filled with promises to missionaries. The most significant to me is the affirmation that if I serve as I have been taught to serve, I will stand blameless before God when I see him on judgement day (see D&C 4:2). Or to but it another way:

And lo, he that trusteth in his sickle with is might, the same layeth up in store that he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul. (D&C 4:4)
And thus, if ye are faithful ye shall be laden with many sheaves, and crowned with honor, and glory, and immortality, and eternal life. (D&C 75:5)

No price is too great to pay. A lifetime of labor will be abundantly rewarded with the joy shared with a single convert (see D&C 18:15).

CONCLUSION: Having served many years in missionary callings, I leave you with my testimony that echoes that of Lehi’s:

Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah. (2 Nephi 2:8)

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