How are you a fisher of man?

Reviewing 'Come, follow me' for CTR 5, I am impressed by its example of relating scriptures to one's life. The first impression was the application of Luke 3:5:
"Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;"
I always thought this partially quoted prophecy of Isaiah was a description of the Millennium, the final thousand years of time on Earth, where "Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory." (the tenth article of faith) The example of relating scriptures to one's life by 'Come, follow me' shows a different interpretation.

The following is the quotation: 

"This is a message for all of us, including those who think they cannot change or do not need to change. If something as permanent as a mountain can be flattened, then surely the Lord can help us straighten our own crooked paths (see Luke 3:4–5). As we accept John the Baptist’s invitation to repent and change, we prepare our minds and hearts to receive Jesus Christ so that we too can “see the salvation of God” (Luke 3:6)."

I read another gem in the manual yesterday. "The Savior’s call, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19), applies to everyone, including children." When I read this, I thought about the principles of fishing that I know. I am thinking about fishing with a rod rather than a net. Fishing with a net seems to be overbearing. Fishing with a rod requires patience and a constant effort of inviting the fish to bite the lure. 

Thinking of my effort, I patiently have my line in the water by sharing the content of 'Single Adults' Blogs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Facebook and Twitter pages. They have over 1500 followers. I don't know the depths of the fruits thereof, but I know that I helped a young woman in rural Washington find a young single adult congregation, finding a boyfriend. The pages are designed to serve the world. Years ago I helped a couple young women out of a troubling situation. One lives in the Philippines and the other in Africa. This fruit came because these people were open and sought after the gospel lure of my blogs and pages' invitations.

There are many ways to serve man. People will seek after the gospel lure of your invitations. Keep on inviting. Let your example shine. This is the purpose of 'Single Adults' Blogs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Facebook and Twitter pages to share the good content of other church members, letting them shine brighter.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Doctrine of Mortal Suffering: Part 2

7 March 2019 Today I studied more about suffering. Francine R. Bennion, the professor, taught that a quality of theology and religion is that it needs to answer questions universally. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-days Saints still doesn't have an official doctrinal answer to suffering; although, this speech was given one hundred years ago. "There is no single theology of suffering in our church, one framework uniform in all respects in the minds of all leaders and all other members. Though we may share the same scripture, the same revelation, prophets, and belief that God and Christ are real, we have various frameworks for putting them together and for seeing suffering, either our own or someone else’s. One person thinks God sends suffering to teach us or to test us. Another thinks God or Satan can affect only our response to the suffering, and some think it is Satan who is causing the suffering. Others think there should be no suffering at all if we are righteous and ...
Read more

Learning from the Mother of Christ's Example

Mary's life in raising Jesus Christ is very limited, but her example of pondering her child's life is emphasized. Two scripture references in Luke say "But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart." (Luke 2:19) "His mother kept all these sayings in her heart." (Luke 2:51) Mary probably told Christ's disciples her account, saying that she did not understand at first, but she came to understand over time by pondering. Pondering is a key to revelation from Holy Ghost. Joseph F. Smith is a testament of this precept, for he wrote "As I pondered over these things which are written, the eyes of my understanding were opened, and the Spirit of the Lord rested upon me," (D&C 138:11) I am a pondering person too, and I would like to add my testimony to this principle. My truths are realized through thinking. I know this not sympathetic; however sometimes, when I hear people struggle on receiving answers, I ponder 'If you just ...
Read more

My Witness of Jesus Christ

Before Heavenly Father had Jehovah create the Earth, he proposed the implementation of the Plan of Salvation. Heavenly Father had a resurrected body of flesh and bone, and he wanted to share his joy of eternal life with all his children. Jehovah had a crucial role in the Plan of Salvation for he was elected to perform an atonement.  This atonement of Jesus Christ as he will be known by in mortality was controversial in the Grand Counsel because a man named Lucifer did not believe that sin and choice was necessary. He had a plan to save everyone, but he desired glory above all. One third of God's children were cast out of Heaven as they rejected Heavenly Father's Plan for the Salvation of man. Satan was given enmity to make mortality especially horrifying on top of the veil of forgetfullness, blocking our memory of our premortal life. The Godhead is God the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. They are three different people, but they are completely united. We pray to Heavenly Fathe...
Read more