First off, I'd like to just say that I am grateful for you all. My love for each and everyone of you grows each day. I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who has guided me through life and helping me.
My heart is filled to the brim with happiness for the opportunity that I have to serve in England to bring souls unto Christ so that they may know what true joy is. About three weeks ago, I gave a talk in my ward sacrament meeting. It was about missionary service. I would like to post on what I talked about:
Before I begin, I wanted to read to you something that was said by a Prophet of God in this dispensation, President Gordon B. Hinckley and he said quote:
“It is good to look at the past to gain appreciation for the present and perspective for the future. It is good to look upon the virtues of those who have gone before, to gain strength for whatever lies ahead. It is good to reflect upon the work of those who labored so hard and gained so little in this world but out of whose dreams and early plans, so well nurtured, has come a great harvest off which we are the beneficiaries.” Close quote.
My talk is on missionary work through the ages. As we know, Adam and Eve were the first humans on Earth. They would teach their children about the goodness of God. In Moses Ch. 5 we read about Adam and Eve and their posterity. We see that Satan is persuading men to follow him. Cain, the son of Adam and Eve, rebelled against his parents, killed his brother Abel, and made a pact with Satan. He was banished from the presence of the Lord. The earth was then filled with wickedness. In Moses 5:58-59 it reads:
58 And thus the aGospel began to be bpreached, from the beginning, being declared by choly dangels sent forth from the presence of God, and by his own voice, and by the gift of the Holy Ghost.
59 And thus all things were confirmed unto aAdam, by an holy ordinance, and the Gospel preached, and a decree sent forth, that it should be in the world, until the end thereof; and thus it was. Amen.
Prophets of God through Old Testament times preached amongst the people the Gospel of Jesus Christ and of the Coming of the Messiah. We now transition into the most important part of human history: The Birth of the Savior, The Church established in the Meridian times and the gift of the atonement. We read in the Gospels of Christ (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) about the Savior’s ministry and of his beautiful acts of charity. As I read in Matt. 4:18-23, I will also have the JST read with it to have a better understanding of the scripture and it reads:
18 ¶And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were afishers.
19 And he saith unto them, I am he of whom it is written by the prophets; aFollow me, and I will make youbfishers of men.
20 And they straightway left their nets, and afollowed him.
21 And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, Jamesthe son of aZebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he bcalled them.
22 And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.
23 ¶And Jesus went about all aGalilee, bteaching in their synagogues, and cpreaching the gospel of the kingdom, anddhealing all manner of esickness and all manner of disease among the people which believed on his name.f
These men knew that this was the Savior of the World. These men knew they had a work to do. In Matt. 24: 9-14, the Savior tells the Apostles what will happen to them , the great Apostasy and the gospel restored in the Latter-Days. It reads:
9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall akill you: and ye shall be bhated of all nations cfor my name’s sake.
10 And then shall many be aoffended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
11 And many afalse prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
12 And because ainiquity shall abound, the love of many shall waxbcold.
13 But he that shall aendure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
14 And this agospel of the bkingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the cend come.
After the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Apostles began to preach the Gospel of Christ. The Apostle Paul talked about the dispensation of the fullness of times in Ephesians 1:10 which reads:
10 That in the adispensation of the fulness of times he mightbgather together in one call things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
The Apostles were then all killed off leaving no Priesthood Authority on the Earth to guide the work. It wasn’t until the year of 1820 AD that a young boy named Joseph Smith came across a scripture in James which said: (memorize)
In the Spring of 1820 he did just that: We went into the woods alone and kneeled down into reverent prayer. He went on to say, “I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.” “When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!”
(End of Talk)
I want to bear my testimony that this Church is the only true and living church on the Earth. This Gospel is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God and because of his faithfulness, has translated the Book of Mormon which is Another Testament of Jesus Christ. President Thomas S. Monson is a Prophet of God today. This work will go forward and will not yield to the power of the destroyer. Jesus is the Christ; He is my Savior and Redeemer of my soul. I leave this with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!
Love,
Elder Terrence M. Taylor
