To All the World

The Church is watching as our prophet goes on a global tour to visit people across the world.  He said in commenting on why he chose to make the trip, “The Lord’s message is for everyone.  This is a global work. Whenever I'm comfortably situated in my home, I'm in the wrong place. I need to be where the people are. We need to bring them the message of the Savior….  No matter where we would go, we would neglect more than we'd serve, but we’ll do all we can do in two weeks, and we'll go home and rest for a while, then tackle another journey."  I’m amazed at his energy and his willingness to go not just to comfortable first world countries, but to places such as India, Thailand, Kenya, and Zimbabwe.  Clearly one of his purposes is to fulfill the admonition of the Savior to the apostles after His resurrection, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).  As our modern scriptures say, he is a “special witness of the name of Christ in all the world” (D&C 107:23).

               One of the declarations of the scriptures is that the Lord’s purpose is that the gospel be preached in all the world.  Speaking of the last days the Savior said, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matt. 24:14).  He renewed that mandate to missionaries of our day, “Remain steadfast in your minds in solemnity and the spirit of prayer, in bearing testimony to all the world of those things which are communicated unto you.  Therefore, go ye into all the world; and unto whatsoever place ye cannot go ye shall send, that the testimony may go from you into all the world unto every creature” (D&C 84:61-62).  The Twelve were similarly given this charge: “And if they desire to take upon them my name with full purpose of heart, they are called to go into all the world to preach my gospel unto every creature” (D&C 18:28).  They sought to fulfill that mission as they declared concerning the revelations Joseph had received, “We, therefore, feel willing to bear testimony to all the world of mankind, to every creature upon the face of the earth, that the Lord has borne record to our souls, through the Holy Ghost shed forth upon us, that these commandments were given by inspiration of God.”  Of course, the responsibility to declare the gospel to “all the world” is not just for the apostles.  All disciples share in the burden to be a witness for the Savior as covenanted at baptism.  To Stephen Burnett, not a member of the Twelve, the Lord commanded, “Go ye, go ye into the world and preach the gospel to every creature that cometh under the sound of your voice” (D&C 80:1).  The Lord declared in general the responsibility we all have, “Or, verily, the sound must go forth from this place into all the world, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth—the gospel must be preached unto every creature, with signs following them that believe” (D&C 58:64).  Though most of us will not get the opportunity to travel the Lord declaring the gospel, we can still cultivate the desires of the sons of Mosiah and take the gospel wherever in the world we go: “Now they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish” (Mosiah 28:3).