Aaron and some of his fellow missionaries were cast into prison after preaching to the Amalekites. Then they were rescued by Ammon and King Lamoni, and were allowed to go preach. They listened to the spirit, and it guided them to where they should go and with whom they should share the gospel. After their prison experience, they were blessed with a lot of success.
Their success included bringing many to the knowledge of the truth, and convincing them of their sins and that the traditions of their fathers were not correct.
My question is how can I similarly do this?
I think the main clue here is not what they were doing. I could go around all day saying, "You're wrong!" to people and it would not be an effective missionary approach. I really don't think that standing on a soapbox is the typical way to get people to listen to you, especially today.
The main clue comes before the description of what they were able to accomplish; they were listening and obeying the voice of the spirit. They allowed the holy ghost to direct and guide them in their efforts. That is how they were led to people who would be receptive and ready, people whose hearts were not completely hardened and stiff.
In the end, it is not our job to convert people. Missionary success isn't in the number of people that end up joining the church because you shared the gospel with them. It isn't even in the number of people you invite, though that is a far less weird metric. Success comes from being able to approach the throne of God when you pray and know with certainty that you followed through with every prompting from the holy ghost that you received from the holy ghost. Success comes from living your own life in a way that makes it possible for the holy ghost to actually communicate God's will to you. It is not so much about the external effects of your efforts, but more like the internal attitude that you have. You aren't trying to accumulate numbers and quotas. You're trying to sincerely and genuinely bring people to Christ because you love them.
Answer:
I can be my genuine self. I can be the same - show my same faith - with everyone around me in whatever context we happen to be. That includes my inactive family members, my non-believing friends, and my devout friends and family. I can be consistently the same and not be afraid to bear my testimony just because I think it will be offensive. I can also approach people as people, not as numbers. I don't ever want people to think or feel that I'm only their friend because I want them to get baptized. That is a worry that plagues me. I really don't want that to be who I am. I want to genuinely love all people, even if they say that no, the gospel isn't for them, or no thanks, I'm not interested in that right now. I think that showing that I am sincerely and really their friend is itself the best kind of missionary work.
Basically, I can avoid "love withdrawal" from people who reject my faith. The closer a person is to you, the harder this becomes. It is not ever easy, though. It's far easier to love people who embrace all of you.
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