Ponderings
Religion related stuff, if you don't want to read it, don't :)
Sorry if the post seems a bit disjointed, I really just kind of wrote down my train of thought, which usually does not flow well. :)
It seems to me that a recurring theme that has been popping up over the past week for me is fellowshiping/social activity. I brought this up with Bryan yesterday and asked if he had been getting the same thing. He just gave me a "what the heck are you talking about?" look, so I figured maybe it's something that I personally need to work on, as it really stood out to me.
This past weekend we had an enrichment meeting, and I was going to give a thought, but in all the bustle, it just didn't happen (in other words, no one, including me, remembered). It was to be on fellowshipping. I found a GREAT talk by Elder Ballard from the 80s about Fellowshipping. There were two paragraphs I really liked. The first one:
"As disciples of Christ, we need to feel genuine charity for one another. As we do, new light will come into our own lives. This charity is essential in missionary work, but we must never allow ourselves to treat our neighbors only as potential converts. We have had the sad experience of seeing members of the Church who attempted to convert their neighbors and friends and, when they did not respond, withdrew their friendship and neighborliness. We must not be so anxious to share the gospel that we become insensitive to the feelings of others."
This really stood out to me, because I always took fellowshipping as a sense of being a missionary, and always trying to figure out some way to get people to come to church. After reading this, it was nice to know that sometimes just being a friend, friendly person/coworker is part of fellowshipping. However, I do need to work on the part of sharing the gospel with others. I have *NEVER* shared the gospel outside of people that I knew were already members of the church, and active members at that. I have no idea how missionaries do it. Yeah, I know they have the Lord with them, but dang....it still has to be hard!
The other paragraph that really stuck out to me:
"I encourage you to build personal, meaningful relationships with your nonmember friends and acquaintances. Interest in the gospel may come later as a natural extension of a good friendship. Invitations to participate in gospel-related activities often will strengthen relationships with acquaintances. If they are not interested in the gospel, we should show unconditional love through acts of service and kindness, and never imply that we see an acquaintance only as a potential convert. Members must understand that when a nonmember declines one invitation to investigate the gospel, he has not necessarily rejected the gospel."
That last line really stuck out to me. Just because someone doesn't want to hear about it now, doesn't mean they've rejected the gospel. Interesting thought, and one that actually does make sense to me.
Now what do I need to work on? Being social, being brave enough to discuss the gospel with others, members or not, and learning how to share it appropriately (not too much, not too little, etc). I definitely have to work on the being social part before I can do any of the other things. I think I need to to set a personal goal for myself to be more social. I am actually quite content with my life now, but that doesn't mean I'm doing it right. I'm just afraid that if people see that I'm trying to be social, they might think I have a reason behind it. I really don't other than that I realized I need to do this, and I want to know other people. I've always been shy, and I think a lot of it has to do with being scared of saying the wrong thing. I need to get over it, meet new people, and enrich my life and hopefully add a little something to their lives.
I also need to do this for my own son, so that he can learn how to be social and make friends as well. Heaven knows I'll want him to get out and be with friends as he grows!
Sorry if the post seems a bit disjointed, I really just kind of wrote down my train of thought, which usually does not flow well. :)
It seems to me that a recurring theme that has been popping up over the past week for me is fellowshiping/social activity. I brought this up with Bryan yesterday and asked if he had been getting the same thing. He just gave me a "what the heck are you talking about?" look, so I figured maybe it's something that I personally need to work on, as it really stood out to me.
This past weekend we had an enrichment meeting, and I was going to give a thought, but in all the bustle, it just didn't happen (in other words, no one, including me, remembered). It was to be on fellowshipping. I found a GREAT talk by Elder Ballard from the 80s about Fellowshipping. There were two paragraphs I really liked. The first one:
"As disciples of Christ, we need to feel genuine charity for one another. As we do, new light will come into our own lives. This charity is essential in missionary work, but we must never allow ourselves to treat our neighbors only as potential converts. We have had the sad experience of seeing members of the Church who attempted to convert their neighbors and friends and, when they did not respond, withdrew their friendship and neighborliness. We must not be so anxious to share the gospel that we become insensitive to the feelings of others."
This really stood out to me, because I always took fellowshipping as a sense of being a missionary, and always trying to figure out some way to get people to come to church. After reading this, it was nice to know that sometimes just being a friend, friendly person/coworker is part of fellowshipping. However, I do need to work on the part of sharing the gospel with others. I have *NEVER* shared the gospel outside of people that I knew were already members of the church, and active members at that. I have no idea how missionaries do it. Yeah, I know they have the Lord with them, but dang....it still has to be hard!
The other paragraph that really stuck out to me:
"I encourage you to build personal, meaningful relationships with your nonmember friends and acquaintances. Interest in the gospel may come later as a natural extension of a good friendship. Invitations to participate in gospel-related activities often will strengthen relationships with acquaintances. If they are not interested in the gospel, we should show unconditional love through acts of service and kindness, and never imply that we see an acquaintance only as a potential convert. Members must understand that when a nonmember declines one invitation to investigate the gospel, he has not necessarily rejected the gospel."
That last line really stuck out to me. Just because someone doesn't want to hear about it now, doesn't mean they've rejected the gospel. Interesting thought, and one that actually does make sense to me.
Now what do I need to work on? Being social, being brave enough to discuss the gospel with others, members or not, and learning how to share it appropriately (not too much, not too little, etc). I definitely have to work on the being social part before I can do any of the other things. I think I need to to set a personal goal for myself to be more social. I am actually quite content with my life now, but that doesn't mean I'm doing it right. I'm just afraid that if people see that I'm trying to be social, they might think I have a reason behind it. I really don't other than that I realized I need to do this, and I want to know other people. I've always been shy, and I think a lot of it has to do with being scared of saying the wrong thing. I need to get over it, meet new people, and enrich my life and hopefully add a little something to their lives.
I also need to do this for my own son, so that he can learn how to be social and make friends as well. Heaven knows I'll want him to get out and be with friends as he grows!