Christ – Lesson 33: Sharing the Gospel with the World,” Old Testament Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual, 162

Gospel with the World,” Old Testament Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual, 162

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Jonah 1–4; Micah 2; 4–7

Purpose

To encourage class members to fulfill their responsibilities as latter-day Israel to love all the people of the world and share the blessings of the gospel with them.

Preparation

Prayerfully study the following scriptures:

• a. Jonah 1–2. The Lord calls Jonah to preach repentance to the people of Nineveh. Jonah tries to flee from the Lord on a ship, is swallowed by a great fish, prays, and is delivered from the belly of the fish.
• b. Jonah 3–4. Jonah prophesies the downfall of Nineveh and is angry when the people of Nineveh repent and the Lord spares the city (the Joseph Smith Translation of Jonah 3:9–10 explains that the people, not God, repented). The Lord uses a gourd and a worm to teach Jonah that he should love all people.
• c. Micah 2:12–13; 4:1–7, 11–13; 5:2–4, 7–8; 6:6–8; 7:18–20. Micah prophesies of the mission of Israel in the last days.

Suggested Lesson Development

Attention Activity

You may want to use the following activity (or one of your own) to begin the lesson.

• How many young men in the Church does the Lord want to serve full-time missions? (All worthy, able young men.) Why is it important that each of these young men respond to this call? Who else is eligible to serve full-time missions? (Worthy single sisters 21 years of age or older and senior couples when their circumstances allow.)

In 1979, President Spencer W. Kimball spoke of the need for more missionaries who could preach the gospel to people in all parts of the world. He declared:

“I believe the Lord can do anything he sets his mind to do. But I can see no good reason why the Lord would open doors that we are not prepared to enter” (“The Uttermost Parts of the Earth,” Ensign, July 1979, 9).

This lesson will discuss how the lives and writings of Jonah and Micah can help us understand our responsibility to love all people and share the blessings of the gospel with them.

Scripture Discussion and Application

As you teach the following scripture passages, discuss how they apply to daily life. Encourage class members to share experiences that relate to the scriptural principles.

1. Jonah is called to preach to Nineveh, but he runs away.

Teach and discuss Jonah 1–2.

• Join me in the scriptures.  Please turn to Jonah chapter 1 verse 2.  Read verse 2 and tell me why did the Lord want Jonah to go to Nineveh?
• Let’s learn about Nineveh so we understand why Jonah didn’t want to go there.
• The causes of the forthcoming destruction are outlined in chapter 3. The first cause is the lies and the robbery that flourish in the bloody city (Nahum 3:1-3). The second cause is immorality (Nahum 1:4). This is more than sexual immorality, which, of course, will itself destroy a nation (Jacob 3:3, 6).
• About 60 percent of men and 40 percent of women will have an affair at some point in some marriage “Monogamy Myth”, Therapist Peggy Vaugn
• Nineveh’s immorality extends to the worship of witchcrafts or false gods (Nahum 3:4). It is estimated that there are over 200,000 practicing witches in the United States & there are literally millions of Americans who dabble in some form of the occult, psychic phenomena, spiritism, demonology & black magic. Statistics show that occult book sales have doubled in the last four years!….
• Assyria had apparently been offered the gospel through the captive Israelites, a possible Gentile graft (Jacob 5:7). This offer would symbolically represent a marriage with Jehovah, but she chose to worship the false gods of her various witchcrafts. The Lord announces that he will disclose her immoral practices to the nations and kingdoms of the world. This disclosure is probably the evidence that Nineveh’s false gods cannot save her against the only true and living God, Jehovah (Nahum 3:5-7). The Lord uses the ancient Egyptian city of No as an example of what will happen to Nineveh, thus illustrating how fruitless her efforts to prevent the destruction will be (Nahum 3:8-18
• Why might Jonah have been reluctant to accept a mission call to Nineveh? (See Nahum 3:1–5, where the great wickedness and violence of Nineveh are described. The people of Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, were enemies to Israel.)
• (See Jonah 1:3.) Why did Jonah go to Tarshish? In what ways do we sometimes try to escape from the presence of the Lord or from callings extended to us by his representatives? What are the results of such efforts?
• (See Jonah 1:4–2:10.) • How did the Lord show mercy and help Jonah repent? (See Jonah 2:1–9.) What did Jonah learn while he was inside the great fish?
• How does the Lord help us repent and return to his ways

In One Blinding Moment by Max Ellerbusch

I was in my instrument repair shop, working feverishly so that I could have all the Christmas holiday at home with my family.  Then the phone rang and a voice was saying that our five-year-old Craig had been hit by a car.

There was a crowd standing around him by the time I go there, but they stepped back for me.  Craig was lying in the middle of the road; his curly blond hair was not even rumpled.

He died at Children’s Hospital that afternoon.

There were many witnesses.  It had happened at the school-crossing.  They told us that Craig had waited on the curb until the safety-patrol boy signaled him to cross.  Craig, how well you remembered.  How often your mother called after you as you started off for kindergarten, “Don’t cross till you get the signal.”  You didn’t forget.

The signal came, Craig stepped into the street.  The car came so fast no one had seen it.  The patrol boy shouted, waved, had to jump for his own life.  The car never stopped.

Grace and I drove home from the hospital through the Christmas-lighted streets, not believing what had happened to us.  It wasn’t until night, passing the unused bed, that I knew.  Suddenly I was crying, not just for that empty bed but for the emptiness, the senselessness of life itself.  All night long, with Grace awake beside me,  I searched what I know of life for some hint of a loving God at work in it, and found none.

As a child I certainly had been led to expect none.  My father used to say that in all his childhood he did not experience one act of charity or Christian kindness.  Father was an orphan, growing up in 19th century Germany, a supposedly Christian land.  orphans were rented out to farmers as machines are rented today, and treated with far less consideration.  He grew into a stern, brooding man who looked upon life as an unassisted journey to the grave.

He married another orphan and, as their own children started to come, they decided to emigrate to America.  Father got a job aboard a ship; in New York harbor he went ashore and simply kept going. . He stopped in Cincinnati where so many Germans were then settling.  He took every job he could find, and in a year and a half had saved enough money to send for his family.

On the boat coming over, two of my sisters contracted scarlet fever; they died on Ellis Island.  Something in Mother died with them, for from that day on she showed no affection for any living being.  I grew up in a silent house, without laughter, without faith.

Later, in my own married life.  I was determined not to allow those grim shadows to fall on our own children.  Grace and I had four: Diane, Michael, Craig and Ruth Carol.  It was Craig, even more than the others, who seemed to lay low my childhood pessimism to tell me that the world was a wonderful and purposeful place.

As a baby he would smile so delightedly at everyone he was that there was always a little group around his carriage.  When we went visiting it was Craig, three years old, who would run to the hostess and say, “You have a lovely house.”  If the received a gift he was touched to tears, and then gave it away to the first child who envied it.  Sunday morning when Grace dressed to sing in the choir, it was Craig who never forgot to say, “You’re beautiful.”

And if such a child can die, I though as I fought my bed that Friday night, if such a life can be snuffed out in a minute, then life is meaningless and faith in God is self-delusion.  By morning my hopelessness and helplessness had found a target, a blinding hatred for the person who had done this to us.  That morning police picked him up in Tennessee: George Williams.  Fifteen years old.

He came from a broken home, police learned.  His mother worked a night shift and slept during the day.  Friday he had skipped school, taken her car keys while she was asleep, sped down a street….All my rage at a senseless universe seemed to focus on the name George Williams.  I phoned our lawyer and begged him to prosecute Williams to the limit.  “Get him tried as an adult, juvenile court is not tough enough.”

So this was my frame of mind when the thing occurred which changed my life.  I cannot explain it, I can only describe it.

It happened in the  space of time that it takes to walk two steps.  It was late Saturday night.  I was pacing the hall outside our bedroom, my head in my hands.  I felt sick and dizzy, and tired, so tired. “Oh God,”  I prayed, “Show me why.”

Right then, between that step and the next, my life was changed.  The breathe went out of me in a great sigh–and with it all the sickness.  In its place was a feeling of love and joy so strong it was almost pain.

Other men have called it “the presence of Christ.”  I’d known the phrase, of course, but I’d thought it was some abstract, theological idea.  I never dreamed it was someone, and actual Person, filling that narrow hall with love.

It was the suddenness of it that dazed me.  It was like a lightning stroke that turned out to be the dawn.  I stood blinking in an unfamiliar light.  Vengefulness, grief, hate, anger–it was not that I struggled to be ride o them–like goblins imagined in the dark, in morning’s light they simply were not there.

And all the while I had the extraordinary felling that I was two people.  I had another self, a self that was millions of miles from that hall, learning things men don’t y et have words to express.  I have tried so often to remember the things I knew then, but the learning seemed to take place in a mind apart from the one I ordinarily think with, as though the answer to my question was too vast for my small intellect.

But, in that mind beyond logic, that question was answered.  In that instant I knew why Craig had to leave us.  Though I had no visual sensation, I knew afterward that I had met him, and he was wiser than I, so that I was the little boy and he the man.  And he was so busy.  Craig had so much to do, unimaginable important things into which I must not inquire.  My concerns were still on earth.

In the clarity of that moment it came to me: this life is a simple thing.  I remember the very words in which the thought came.  “Life is a grade in school’ in this grade we must learn only one lesson: we must establish relationships of love.”

“Oh, Craig,” I thought.  “Little Craig, in your five short years how fast you learned, how quickly you progressed, how soon you graduated.”

I don’t know how long I stood there in the hall.  Perhaps it was no time at all as we ordinarily measure things.  Grace was sitting up in bed when I reached the door or our room…Not reading, not doing anything, just looking straight ahead of her as she had much of the time since Friday afternoon.

Even my appearance must have changed because as she turned her eyes slowly to me she gave a little gasp and sat up straighter.  I started to talk, words tumbling over each other, laughing, eager, trying to say that the world was not an accident, that life meant something, that earthly tragedy was not the end, that all around our incompleteness was a universe of purpose, that the purpose was good beyond our furthest hopes.

“Tonight,” I told her,”   “Craig is beyond needing us.  Someone else needs us; “George Williams.  It’s almost Christmas.  Maybe at the Juvenile Detention Home, there will be no Christmas gift for him unless we send it.”

Grace listened, silent, unmoving, staring at me.  Suddenly she burst into tears.  “Yes,”  she said, “That’s right, that’s right.  It’s the first thing that’s been right since Craig died.”

And it has been right.  George turned out to be an intelligent confused, desperately lonely boy, needing a father as much as I needed a son.  He got his gift, Christmas Day, and his mother got a box of Grace’s good Christmas cookies.  We asked for and got his release, a few days later, and this house became his second home.  He works with me in the shop after school, Joins for meals around the kitchen table, is a big brother for Diane and Michael and Ruth Carol.

But more was changed, in that moment when I met Christ then just my feeling about George.  That meeting has affected every phase of my life, my approach to business, to friends, to strangers.  I don’t mean I’ve been able to sustain the ecstasy of that moment; I doubt that the human body could contain such joy for every many days.

But I now now with infinite sureness that no matter what life does to us in the future, I will never again touch the rock bottom of despair.  No matter how ultimate the blow seems, I glimpsed an even more ultimate joy that blinding moment when the door swung wide.

• During his earthly ministry, the Savior spoke about the “sign of the prophet Jonas [Jonah]” (Matthew 12:39). What did this sign mean? (See Matthew 12:39–41. Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish and then was brought forth alive. The Savior would spend three days and nights buried in the earth and then would come forth resurrected.)
• • Through his prophets, the Lord has repeatedly commanded every worthy, able young man to serve a full-time mission. He has also encouraged senior couples to serve as full-time missionaries if they are able. (See the additional teaching ideas.) What are some reasons why some able young men and senior couples choose not to serve missions? (Lack of commitment and faith, unworthiness, unwillingness to leave the comforts of home and family, fear of what might be expected of them.) What can we learn from the story of Jonah that can help us be more valiant in obeying the Lord and sharing the gospel?

2. The people of Nineveh respond to Jonah’s message and repent.

Teach and discuss Jonah 3–4.

• After Jonah repented, the Lord called him again to preach repentance to the people of Nineveh. How did the people of Nineveh respond to Jonah’s message? (See Jonah 3:5–9 and footnote 9a. In ancient times, people clothed themselves in coarse cloth, called sackcloth, and sat in ashes to show that they were humble and repentant.) How did God respond to the change in the people? (See Jonah 3:10 and footnote 10c.)
• (Jonah 3:4 Jonah had prophesied the downfall of Nineveh). How did Jonah respond when the Lord forgave the people of Nineveh? (• What did the Lord teach Jonah by the growth of the gourd that gave shade and comfort and then died? (See Jonah 4:4–11. God loves all his children. Just as he showed mercy to Jonah, he desired to show mercy to the repentant people of Nineveh.) See Jonah 4:1–3. He was angry because the Lord was merciful to the people.) What can Jonah’s experience teach us about loving other people?

3. Micah prophesies of the mission of latter-day Israel.

Teach and discuss the following passages from Micah.

The prophet Micah called on the people of Israel to repent of their wickedness and return to the Lord. He prophesied of the destruction of Jacob (Israel) and Judah. He also prophesied that latter-day Israel (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) would accomplish the purposes of the Lord with great power.

• • What promises did the Lord give in Micah 2:12–13? (He promised that he would gather the remnant of Israel, that they would become a great multitude, and that he would lead them.) How are these promises being fulfilled today?
• • Some of Micah’s great prophecies about the latter days are recorded in Micah 4:1–7. What did Micah prophesy about the latter-day temple? (See verses 1–2.) What did he prophesy about the Millennium? (See verses 3–7.) Why are these prophecies important to us?
• • What can we learn from Micah 4:11–13 about the latter-day destiny of Israel? (In the ancient world, oxen were often used to thresh grain. They would walk over the grain, separating the chaff from the kernel. The chaff was blown away and the kernel saved. The nations that oppose Zion will be gathered as sheaves and then be threshed by Israel.) How might this separation of the chaff from the kernel be compared to latter-day Israel’s responsibility to do missionary work throughout the world? (See D&C 29:7; 33:5–7.)
• • Of whom did Micah prophesy in Micah 5:2–4? (Compare this prophecy to the record of its fulfillment in Matthew 2:4–6.)
• • What are the Lord’s people compared to in Micah 5:7? How can the image of dew or showers on the grass be compared to the effect of Church members on the people of the world? What do you think Micah meant by saying that these showers will not wait “for the sons of men”? (Just as mortals cannot stop dew from forming or showers from falling, nothing can stop the Lord’s work from progressing throughout the world.)
• • What are the Lord’s people compared to in Micah 5:8? What does this image suggest about the strength and power of the Lord’s work? (Just as a flock of sheep have no power to stop a young lion, no power on earth will be able to hinder the work of the Lord.)
  • In 1842 the Prophet Joseph Smith declared, “No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done” (History of the Church, 4:540).
• • How can Micah 6:6–8 help us when we feel overwhelmed by all that is expected of us?
• • After prophesying of the Lord’s work in the latter days, what conclusion did Micah come to about God’s nature? (See Micah 7:18–20.) What phrases in these verses could be applied to the Lord’s dealings with the people of Nineveh? Which of these phrases could be applied to the Lord’s dealings with us?

Conclusion

Bear testimony that the Lord loves all his children and that we, as latter-day Israel, have the great responsibility to share his love and the truths of the gospel with all people. Ask class members to share what they have learned from Jonah and Micah.

Additional Teaching Ideas

The following material supplements the suggested lesson outline. You may want to use one or more of these ideas as part of the lesson.

1. Every worthy, able young man should prepare to serve a mission

Discuss the following statement from President Spencer W. Kimball:

“When I ask for more missionaries, I am not asking for more testimony-barren or unworthy missionaries. I am asking that we start earlier and train our missionaries better in every branch and every ward in the world. That is another challenge—that the young people will understand that it is a great privilege to go on a mission and that they must be physically well, mentally well, spiritually well, and that ‘the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance.’ …

“The question is frequently asked: Should every young man fill a mission? And the answer has been given by the Lord. It is ‘Yes.’ Every young man should fill a mission” (“When the World Will Be Converted,” Ensign, Oct. 1974, 7–8).

2. The need for couple missionaries

Discuss the following statement from Elder David B. Haight:

“In behalf of the Brethren, this is a call for retired couples to seriously consider serving a mission. We desperately need more couples to help meet our needs. … Less than 50 percent of the requests for couple missionaries from [our] mission presidents are being filled. …

“The Brethren hope that many, many more couples will make themselves available for full-time service to the Church. The need is great! Hundreds of thousands of new members join the Church each year, and they need to hear a friendly voice of support and comfort from experienced members.

“The refrain, ‘I’ll go where you want me to go, dear Lord’ (Hymns, 1985, no. 270), should be more than a hymn we sing on Sunday. It should be our own prayer of faith as we serve wherever the Lord has need of us” (“Couple Missionaries: ‘A Wonderful Resource,’ ” Ensign, Feb. 1996, 7, 12).

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Jonah 1–4; Micah 2; 4–7

Purpose

To encourage class members to fulfill their responsibilities as latter-day Israel to love all the people of the world and share the blessings of the gospel with them.

Preparation

Prayerfully study the following scriptures:

• a. Jonah 1–2. The Lord calls Jonah to preach repentance to the people of Nineveh. Jonah tries to flee from the Lord on a ship, is swallowed by a great fish, prays, and is delivered from the belly of the fish.
• b. Jonah 3–4. Jonah prophesies the downfall of Nineveh and is angry when the people of Nineveh repent and the Lord spares the city (the Joseph Smith Translation of Jonah 3:9–10 explains that the people, not God, repented). The Lord uses a gourd and a worm to teach Jonah that he should love all people.
• c. Micah 2:12–13; 4:1–7, 11–13; 5:2–4, 7–8; 6:6–8; 7:18–20. Micah prophesies of the mission of Israel in the last days.

Suggested Lesson Development

Attention Activity

You may want to use the following activity (or one of your own) to begin the lesson.

• • How many young men in the Church does the Lord want to serve full-time missions? (All worthy, able young men.) Why is it important that each of these young men respond to this call? Who else is eligible to serve full-time missions? (Worthy single sisters 21 years of age or older and senior couples when their circumstances allow.)

In 1979, President Spencer W. Kimball spoke of the need for more missionaries who could preach the gospel to people in all parts of the world. He declared:

“I believe the Lord can do anything he sets his mind to do. But I can see no good reason why the Lord would open doors that we are not prepared to enter” (“The Uttermost Parts of the Earth,” Ensign, July 1979, 9).

This lesson will discuss how the lives and writings of Jonah and Micah can help us understand our responsibility to love all people and share the blessings of the gospel with them.

Scripture Discussion and Application

As you teach the following scripture passages, discuss how they apply to daily life. Encourage class members to share experiences that relate to the scriptural principles.

1. Jonah is called to preach to Nineveh, but he runs away.

Teach and discuss Jonah 1–2.

• • Why did the Lord want Jonah to go to Nineveh? (See Jonah 1:2.) Why might Jonah have been reluctant to accept a mission call to Nineveh? (See Nahum 3:1–5, where the great wickedness and violence of Nineveh are described. The people of Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, were enemies to Israel.)
• • Why did Jonah go to Tarshish? (See Jonah 1:3.) In what ways do we sometimes try to escape from the presence of the Lord or from callings extended to us by his representatives? What are the results of such efforts?
• • How did the Lord show mercy and help Jonah repent? (See Jonah 1:4–2:10.) What did Jonah learn while he was inside the great fish? (See Jonah 2:1–9.) How does the Lord help us repent and return to his ways?
• • During his earthly ministry, the Savior spoke about the “sign of the prophet Jonas [Jonah]” (Matthew 12:39). What did this sign mean? (See Matthew 12:39–41. Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish and then was brought forth alive. The Savior would spend three days and nights buried in the earth and then would come forth resurrected.)
• • Through his prophets, the Lord has repeatedly commanded every worthy, able young man to serve a full-time mission. He has also encouraged senior couples to serve as full-time missionaries if they are able. (See the additional teaching ideas.) What are some reasons why some able young men and senior couples choose not to serve missions? (Lack of commitment and faith, unworthiness, unwillingness to leave the comforts of home and family, fear of what might be expected of them.) What can we learn from the story of Jonah that can help us be more valiant in obeying the Lord and sharing the gospel?

2. The people of Nineveh respond to Jonah’s message and repent.

Teach and discuss Jonah 3–4.

• • After Jonah repented, the Lord called him again to preach repentance to the people of Nineveh. How did the people of Nineveh respond to Jonah’s message? (See Jonah 3:5–9 and footnote 9a. In ancient times, people clothed themselves in coarse cloth, called sackcloth, and sat in ashes to show that they were humble and repentant.) How did God respond to the change in the people? (See Jonah 3:10 and footnote 10c.)
• • Jonah had prophesied the downfall of Nineveh (Jonah 3:4). How did Jonah respond when the Lord forgave the people of Nineveh? (See Jonah 4:1–3. He was angry because the Lord was merciful to the people.)
• • What did the Lord teach Jonah by the growth of the gourd that gave shade and comfort and then died? (See Jonah 4:4–11. God loves all his children. Just as he showed mercy to Jonah, he desired to show mercy to the repentant people of Nineveh.) What can Jonah’s experience teach us about loving other people?

3. Micah prophesies of the mission of latter-day Israel.

Teach and discuss the following passages from Micah.

The prophet Micah called on the people of Israel to repent of their wickedness and return to the Lord. He prophesied of the destruction of Jacob (Israel) and Judah. He also prophesied that latter-day Israel (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) would accomplish the purposes of the Lord with great power.

• • What promises did the Lord give in Micah 2:12–13? (He promised that he would gather the remnant of Israel, that they would become a great multitude, and that he would lead them.) How are these promises being fulfilled today?
• • Some of Micah’s great prophecies about the latter days are recorded in Micah 4:1–7. What did Micah prophesy about the latter-day temple? (See verses 1–2.) What did he prophesy about the Millennium? (See verses 3–7.) Why are these prophecies important to us?
• • What can we learn from Micah 4:11–13 about the latter-day destiny of Israel? (In the ancient world, oxen were often used to thresh grain. They would walk over the grain, separating the chaff from the kernel. The chaff was blown away and the kernel saved. The nations that oppose Zion will be gathered as sheaves and then be threshed by Israel.) How might this separation of the chaff from the kernel be compared to latter-day Israel’s responsibility to do missionary work throughout the world? (See D&C 29:7; 33:5–7.)
• • Of whom did Micah prophesy in Micah 5:2–4? (Compare this prophecy to the record of its fulfillment in Matthew 2:4–6.)
• • What are the Lord’s people compared to in Micah 5:7? How can the image of dew or showers on the grass be compared to the effect of Church members on the people of the world? What do you think Micah meant by saying that these showers will not wait “for the sons of men”? (Just as mortals cannot stop dew from forming or showers from falling, nothing can stop the Lord’s work from progressing throughout the world.)
• • What are the Lord’s people compared to in Micah 5:8? What does this image suggest about the strength and power of the Lord’s work? (Just as a flock of sheep have no power to stop a young lion, no power on earth will be able to hinder the work of the Lord.)
  • In 1842 the Prophet Joseph Smith declared, “No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done” (History of the Church, 4:540).
• • How can Micah 6:6–8 help us when we feel overwhelmed by all that is expected of us?
• • After prophesying of the Lord’s work in the latter days, what conclusion did Micah come to about God’s nature? (See Micah 7:18–20.) What phrases in these verses could be applied to the Lord’s dealings with the people of Nineveh? Which of these phrases could be applied to the Lord’s dealings with us?

Conclusion

Bear testimony that the Lord loves all his children and that we, as latter-day Israel, have the great responsibility to share his love and the truths of the gospel with all people. Ask class members to share what they have learned from Jonah and Micah.

Additional Teaching Ideas

The following material supplements the suggested lesson outline. You may want to use one or more of these ideas as part of the lesson.

1. Every worthy, able young man should prepare to serve a mission

Discuss the following statement from President Spencer W. Kimball:

“When I ask for more missionaries, I am not asking for more testimony-barren or unworthy missionaries. I am asking that we start earlier and train our missionaries better in every branch and every ward in the world. That is another challenge—that the young people will understand that it is a great privilege to go on a mission and that they must be physically well, mentally well, spiritually well, and that ‘the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance.’ …

“The question is frequently asked: Should every young man fill a mission? And the answer has been given by the Lord. It is ‘Yes.’ Every young man should fill a mission” (“When the World Will Be Converted,” Ensign, Oct. 1974, 7–8).

2. The need for couple missionaries

Discuss the following statement from Elder David B. Haight:

“In behalf of the Brethren, this is a call for retired couples to seriously consider serving a mission. We desperately need more couples to help meet our needs. … Less than 50 percent of the requests for couple missionaries from [our] mission presidents are being filled. …

“The Brethren hope that many, many more couples will make themselves available for full-time service to the Church. The need is great! Hundreds of thousands of new members join the Church each year, and they need to hear a friendly voice of support and comfort from experienced members.

“The refrain, ‘I’ll go where you want me to go, dear Lord’ (Hymns, 1985, no. 270), should be more than a hymn we sing on Sunday. It should be our own prayer of faith as we serve wherever the Lord has need of us” (“Couple Missionaries: ‘A Wonderful Resource,’ ” Ensign, Feb. 1996, 7, 12).

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