Several months ago, thousands of people visited our Church’s booth at the Frankfurt Book Fair where they had the opportunity to learn about the Book of Mormon, read it, and talk about their impressions. On the other side of the booth, crowds of visitors could experience family history for themselves and were astonished at the scale of FamilySearch’s work.
After gaining insights, many visitors asked me: Why are you doing all of this?
Profound conversations about the gospel of Jesus Christ and the plan of redemption ensued. These conversations made some things very clear to me again:
- There is no reason to be reluctant in sharing our testimony of Jesus Christ.
- The hand of the Lord is clearly manifest as we act righteously in His name.
- Nothing comes close to the magnitude and majesty of the plan of redemption and the gathering of Israel on both sides of the veil.
As I was walking to the parking garage at the end of the last day of the fair, I noticed a family in the crowd in front of me talking animatedly about their experiences at our booth.
The words of President Russell M. Nelson came to my mind:
“I call upon you to help gather scattered Israel and to prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Lord. I call upon you to talk of Christ, testify of Christ, have faith in Christ, and rejoice in Christ!”1
I am grateful for the many opportunities to do just that.
In our everyday lives, there are countless influences vying for our attention that can distract or even prevent us from participating in doing that. If we blindly accept these forces, we run the risk of being imperceptibly but steadily led away from the gravitational field of the tree of life and its fruit, and the forces of attraction emanating from the great and spacious building gain influence.
Nephi unequivocally echoed the words of his father Lehi:
“And great was the multitude that did enter into that strange building. And after they did enter into that building they did point the finger of scorn at me and those that were partaking of the fruit also; but we heeded them not. … For as many as heeded them, had fallen away.”2
Consciously attending to our testimony means noticing changes in the gravitational fields to whose effects we expose ourselves in a timely manner. Am I in the process of alienating myself from my covenants with God, including temple covenants? Am I becoming negligent in paying tithing or with regard to other commandments, the sacrament, the Sabbath, my prayers, and the way I am nurturing my soul?
It is essential to pause from time to time and ask yourself some important questions: Where do I stand in the plan of redemption? Where do I still lack understanding? What do I need from Jesus Christ in order to gain this understanding? What should I start repenting of immediately?
Keep in mind that spiritual decline accelerates the farther away we get from Jesus Christ. In contrast, however, spiritual progress accelerates if we repent daily and draw ever closer to Jesus Christ.
One of the most effective ways to achieve this greater closeness is in fact found in the counsel of our prophet to recommit our lives to Jesus Christ and to testify of Him. As we do this with determination, we will increasingly feel God’s power in our lives. We will receive counsel from the Holy Ghost and will increasingly be able to understand this counsel. We will have a greater sense of belonging and will very often be astonished at the magnitude and eternal scale of this work.
But that is not all: irrespective of our circumstances, we will increasingly feel God’s love and this will in turn motivate us to share it with others. We will receive effective protection against the destructive forces in the world.
Working at the book fair was very exhausting. At the end, all of us were drained physically, but beautifully awake in spirit and full of joy.
Notes
- Russell M. Nelson, “The Lord Jesus Christ Will Come Again,” Liahona, Nov. 2024, 122.
- 1 Nephi 8:33–34.