How Can We Lift Up Our Voices to Declare the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

My Come Follow Me studies for this week took me to Doctrine and Covenants 30-36 in a lesson titled “Lift Up Your Voices … to Declare My Gospel.” The lesson was introduced by the following information. 

Parley P. Pratt had been a member of the Church for about a month when he was called “into the wilderness” to preach the gospel (Doctrine and Covenants 32:2). Thomas B. Marsh had been a member for even less time than that when he was told, “The hour of your mission is come” (Doctrine and Covenants 31:3). Orson Pratt, Edward Partridge, and many others had likewise barely been baptized when their mission calls came. Perhaps there’s a lesson in this pattern for us today: if you know enough to accept the restored gospel by baptism, you know enough to share it with others. Of course, we always want to increase our gospel knowledge, but God has never hesitated to call upon the “unlearned” to preach His gospel (Doctrine and Covenants 35:13). In fact, He invites all of us, “Open your mouth to declare my gospel” (Doctrine and Covenants 30:5). And we do that best not through our own wisdom and experience but “by the power of [the] Spirit” (Doctrine and Covenants 35:13).

This lesson includes the following principles: (1) I am called to be a witness of Jesus Christ (Doctrine and Covenants 30-36), (2) The Lord can help me with my family relationships (Doctrine and Covenants 31:1-2, 5-6, 9, 13), (3) The Lord prepares me for the work He wants me to do (Doctrine and Covenants 32-33; 35), and (4) If I build my life on the Savior’s gospel, I will not fall (Doctrine and Covenants 33:12-18).

For principle #1, “I am called to be a witness of Jesus Christ,” Elder Gary E. Stevenson taught that proclaiming the gospel “can be accomplished through simple, easily understandable principles taught to each of us from childhood: love, share, and invite” (“Love, Share, Invite,” Liahona, May 2022, 85).

For principle #3, “The Lord prepares me for the work He wants me to do,” these chapters tell of the lives of several people from which we can learn. They can help us to recognize how the Lord is preparing you for His work. Early converts of the Church of Jesus Christ brought unique talents that were needed. For example, Oliver Cowdery was better educated in that he could read and write better than Joseph Smith could. Therefore, Oliver was a good candidate to become Joseph’s scribe when translating the Book of Mormon. Another example is that of Ezra Thayer who wrote that sometime before he was baptized, he had a vision in which “a man came and brought me a roll of paper and presented it to me, and also a trumpet and told me to [play] it. I told him that I never [played] any in my life. He said you can [play] it, try it. … It made the most beautiful sound that I every heard” (“Revelation, October 1830-B, Revelation Book 1,” historical introduction, josephsmithpapers.org). When Joseph Smith later receive a revelation for Ezra Thayer and Northrop Sweet, now recorded as Doctrine and Covenants 33, Ezra interpreted the revelation as the roll of paper in his vision.

None of us know what the Lord will ask of us in the future. Therefore we should follow the promptings that He gives to us. Ten years ago, I was prompted to start college classes at age 70 years. I worked hard for ten years, taking two classes per semester. I am pleased to report that I have now completed the requirements to graduate from a university. I do not yet know the purpose, but I am certain that the Lord prompted me to take the classes and helped me to learn the lessons of each course.