Inviteth to Do Good

Mormon asked the believers of his day this question: “And now, my brethren, how is it possible that ye can lay hold upon every good thing?” He gave the answer with a single word: “By faith, they did lay hold upon every good thing.” And so, if there is a “good thing” that we are seeking in our lives, a blessing from the Lord which He is willing to grant, we must first exercise faith to obtain it. Mormon then quoted these words of the Savior to the Nephites: “Whatsoever thing ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that ye shall receive, behold, it shall be done unto you.” Whatever it is that we desire, if it is good, we must exercise faith and we can obtain it. Mormon continued, “For he hath answered the ends of the law, and he claimeth all those who have faith in him; and they who have faith in him will cleave unto every good thing.” Whatever good thing that we are seeking, our quest must start with faith in Jesus Christ, and that faith will lead us to cleave to all things that are good. In a world that calls good evil and evil good, we must exercise faith by holding fast to that which comes from God: “Every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ” (Moroni 7:16, 20, 25-26, 28). If an idea or a book or a song or a movie or anything else helps us draw closer to the Savior and strengthen faith in Him, then it is good and comes from Him.

                I have generally interpreted this idea—that that which invites to do good and to persuade to believe in Christ is send forth by God—as a way to judge the media and entertainment that we participate in, and surely it is. But I think we can turn it around as well and use it on ourselves; do we help others by inviting them to do good and persuading them to believe in Christ? If not, then perhaps we are not doing His work as we should. This can I believe be a litmus test as we evaluate the effectiveness of all our activities: is what we are doing helping others to believe in Christ and to do good things themselves? Whether in work or at school or amidst friends, our actions should be such that those who interact with us go away desiring to do good and believe more in Christ. Of course, that influence need not always be overt or overbearing, but if we are seeking the Savior with all our hearts others will naturally feel a pull to seek after Him as well when they are around us. As I think about this idea, it scares me to think that this matters most in how I treat and interact with my children. There are times when I hear my older children using harsh language towards their younger siblings, and sometimes I wince to realize their words sound a lot like my own to them. As a parent perhaps my question to myself each day should be this: Did I help my children do good and believe more in Christ because of my words and deeds? Their perception of who He is will certainly be shaped by who I am and how they see me trying to do good. As parents no matter what stressful situation we are in, we must strive to “stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places” (Mosiah 18:9). As we cleave with faith unto every good thing in our actions—things such as patience, faith, humility, love, longsuffering, and forgiveness—we may in some small way help to persuade those whom we love most to do good and believe in Christ.