Gospel Doctrine Commentary
Lesson No. Thirty-Two
Be True to Your Trust
Be True to Your Trust was the title of the last message Sister Lunt and I sent to our missionaries before we were released from the Kentucky Louisville Mission. This message was about the two thousand stripling sons of the people of Ammon. (See Alma 53, 56 – 58) We likened our missionaries to The Army of Helaman which is the title of one of their favorite songs.
Today we attended the homecoming of our granddaughter from Romania, and I remembered the ways the account of these striplings describes valiant missionaries in our dispensation:
- The striplings “entered into a covenant” to serve the Lord “even unto the laying down of their lives” (53:17). Missionaries enter into a covenant with the Lord when they accept their call which includes the following language: “You will be expected to devote all of your time and attention to serving the Lord, leaving behind all other personal affairs.”
- The striplings “took their weapons of war to defend their country” (53:18). The weapons and armor missionaries use today includes the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. (See D&C 27:15-18)
- “And they were all young men, and they were exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and activity; but behold, this was not all – they were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted” (53:20). Missionaries, both elders and sisters, show great courage as they testify of Christ and the Restoration. Missionary service takes physical strength and activity. Missionaries must be “true at all times in whatsoever thing they [are] entrusted.” It was devastating to a missionary not to be trusted. The best thing that can be done for an errant missionary is to help him do what is necessary to regain trust.
- The striplings “were men of truth and soberness (quiet dignity), for they had been taught to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before him” (53:21). Missionaries today learn the reality of the promise in the White Handbook that “quiet dignity will open doors for teaching the gospel.”
- The striplings first trusted in the faith and testimony of their mothers which led them to their faith and to trust in the Lord. (See 56:47-48) Over 500 missionaries touched our lives during our three years of service. We learned that if a missionary has faith in the Lord it is almost always because that faith was first sparked by the faith and testimony of parents.
- The striplings “did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them” (57:21, see also 57:25-27).
- “They stand fast in that liberty wherewith God has made them free and are strict to remember the Lord their God from day to day; yea they do observe to keep his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments continually; and their faith is strong in the prophecies concerning that which is to come” (58:40). Similarly, missionaries who keep their covenants and are strict to remember the Lord their God from day to day find that their hearts are changed, and in this way they are made free. (See Mosiah 5:1-8)
Testimony – Missionaries who are true to their trust come from many different backgrounds, and in many ways they are individual and different. However, in the most important ways they are all remarkably the same. These missionaries are wonderful examples of how the doctrine of oneness works as they become one with the Lord. They are given “faith, hope, charity, and love, with an eye single to the glory of God.” They become true servants of the Lord able to act in his name as they develop the Christ-like attributes of faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, and diligence” (D&C4:5-6).
Like the two thousand striplings, latter day missionaries who are true to their trust follow the example of Jesus and think more of others than of themselves. (See Alma 56:47)