“How Great Will Be Your Joy” Talk Outline

Posted on by Mitch Peterson

Last updated on December 9th, 2023 at 04:17 pm

General Conference Applied

“How Great Will Be Your Joy” by Elder Ronald A. Rasband; October 2023 General Conference

Corresponding General Conference Applied episode show notes: S2 E10

Talk Outline

Invitations

  1. “As an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, I ask you to serve as a missionary in the gathering of Israel and perhaps even serve again… I now invite you to take your know-how, coupled with your time-honored testimonies, and go on a mission.”

Directives (“an official or authoritative instruction”)

  1. “President Russell M. Nelson has encouraged couples to ‘get on their knees and ask Heavenly Father if the time is right for them to serve a mission.'” (Senior Missionary Moments, April 2016 Liahona)
  2. “For some, and we hope thousands of you, full-time missionary service in another corner of the world will be just the right place. For others, serving a Church-service mission at home might be preferable. Because of health issues and other circumstances, there are those who are unable to serve. We understand those situations, and it would be my hope you might find ways to support those who are serving. Follow the prophet’s counsel and pray to know what the Lord would have you do.”
  3. “The particulars of ways to serve, what best suits you, where you are needed, and how you can get ready to go are addressed on the website ‘Senior Missionary.’ You can also talk with your bishop or branch president.”

Promises

  1. Action: “At their return,”
    Promise: “[senior missionary couples] have described growing closer to the Lord and closer to one another, feeling the Spirit of the Lord pour down upon them, and knowing they are making a difference. Who would not want that?”
  2. Action: “You may be on unfamiliar ground;”
    Promise: “however, the power of the Spirit will make you feel right at home.”
  3. Action: “My parents and tens of thousands of returned missionary couples have borne testimony”
    Promise: “of the joy they found in missionary work.”
  4. Action: “I also promise that as you serve,”
    Promise: “you will feel the love of the Lord in your life, you will know Him, He will know you, and ‘how great shall be your joy.'”
  5. Action: “Your dedicated service to Jesus Christ”
    Promise: “will inspire and bless your family, your grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. ‘Peace, and love [will] be multiplied’ in their lives for years to come. I promise.”

Doctrines

  1. Dispensation: “A dispensation is a period of time when the Lord reveals His gospel doctrine, ordinances, and priesthood. It is a period in which the Lord has at least one authorized servant on the earth who bears the holy priesthood and who has a divine commission to dispense, or proclaim, the gospel to the inhabitants of the earth. Today we are living in the last dispensation—the dispensation of the fulness of times (see Ephesians 1:10).”

Principles

  1. Missionary Work: “Missionary work began again when the Lord’s Church was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Today the Apostles and Seventies have been given the chief responsibility for preaching the gospel and seeing that it is preached in all the world. The Lord told Joseph Smith: ‘Proclaim my gospel from land to land, and from city to city. … Bear testimony in every place, unto every people’ (D&C 66:5, 7). In June 1830, Samuel Harrison Smith, the Prophet’s brother, began the first missionary journey for the Church.

    “Since that time, over one million missionaries have been called and sent forth to preach the gospel. The message they take to the world is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and our Savior. They testify that the gospel has been restored to the earth through a prophet of God. The missionaries are given the responsibility to preach the gospel to all people, to baptize them, and to teach them to do all things that the Lord has commanded (see Matthew 28:19–20). Latter-day Saint missionaries go at their own expense to all parts of the world to preach the gospel message…

    “Our Heavenly Father will help us be effective missionaries when we have the desire to share the gospel and pray for guidance. He will help us find ways to share the gospel with those around us.”

Christlike Attributes

  1. Diligence: “Diligence is consistent, earnest effort. In missionary work, diligence is an expression of your love for the Lord. When you are diligent, you find joy and satisfaction in the Lord’s work (see Alma 26:16).

    “Diligence includes doing many good things of your own free will instead of waiting for leaders to tell you what to do (see Doctrine and Covenants 58:27–29).

    “Continue to do good even when it is hard or you are tired. Yet recognize the need for balance and rest so you do not ‘run faster than [you have] strength’ (Mosiah 4:27).

    “Center your heart and interests on the Lord and His work. Avoid things that distract you from your priorities. Focus your time and efforts on the activities that will be most effective in your area and most helpful to the people you are teaching.”

Attribute Activity:

Most Important Quote

“Let me take you back to the year 2015. I was a newly called member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. One of the wonderful responsibilities we carry as Apostles is to assign missionaries to their fields of labor. I had participated as a Seventy in the process, but now as an Apostle, I felt the full weight of the assignment. I began with prayerfully placing a great number of young elders and sisters, one by one, in missions around the world. Then I turned to the senior couples. There were 10 on the list. Not very many. Surprised, I asked my associate from the Missionary Department, ‘How many do we need this week to fill the requests?’ He responded, ‘300.’ That sobering moment has stayed with me: 10 couples to fill 300 requests.”

Powerful Stories

“Some years ago I was visiting family, when the bishop asked me to conclude the sacrament service. As I was coming down from the stand, a woman approached me with her seven children and introduced herself as Sister Rebecca Guzman.

“She asked, ‘Elder Rasband, do you know Rulon and Verda Rasband?’

“I beamed and replied, ‘They are my parents.’

“You can see where this is going. With Rebecca’s permission, who is here with family in the Conference Center, I share her family’s story.

“My parents, Elder Rulon and Sister Verda Rasband, were serving as a senior couple in the Florida Fort Lauderdale Mission. They were proselyting and by divine guidance knocked on the door of Rebecca’s home. She was just a teenager and loved listening to the music of the Osmonds, in particular our friend Donny—who is here with us today. She had listened to their media interviews and learned they were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She felt there was something different about them, and thinking it might be their religion, Rebecca spent two years researching the Church’s beliefs in the school library. So, when a kindly-looking couple knocked on her family’s door and introduced themselves as Latter-day Saint missionaries, she was taken back.

“‘My mother told me to get rid of them,’ Rebecca later wrote, ‘but my heart said, ‘No.’ I looked into their faces, and I felt so much warmth and love. The memory still brings tears to my eyes and deep emotion to my heart.’

“Rebecca invited them in, and my missionary parents shared a message with her, her two younger sisters, and, despite her objections, her mother.

“Rebecca described to me: ‘Both your parents were wonderful in explaining any questions we had. I can still see their faces as if there was light surrounding them. We always hugged your mother when she left, and she always made a point of helping my mother feel comfortable and respected. Your father always had a sparkle in his eyes as he was teaching us about Jesus Christ. He tried to include my father in discussions and eventually won him over. My father was a chef at a local country club and started cooking dinners for your parents, including making your father’s favorite, key lime pie.’

“When Elder and Sister Rasband asked Rebecca and her family to read the Book of Mormon, Rebecca did so in five days. She wanted to be baptized immediately, but the other members of her family were not ready. After four months, Rebecca insisted she be baptized and join the true Church. She recalled, ‘Every fiber of my soul knew it was true.’ On April 5, 1979, missionaries baptized 19-year-old Rebecca, her mother, and two sisters. My father was a witness at the baptism.

“When I met Rebecca and her family at church, we took a photograph of her family with me. I took it home to my elderly mother, and she held it close to her heart. Then she said to me, ‘Ronnie, this is one of the happiest days of my life.'”

The Best Footnote

Footnote 22: “See Alma 5:14. ‘Countenance’ can be described as reflecting an individual’s spiritual attitude and state of mind.”

Questions for Reflection Asked by the Speaker

  1. “My mother’s response begs the question for our seniors: ‘What are you doing at this stage of your life?’ There are so many ways senior missionaries can do what no one else can.”
  2. “I have called many couples to serve and watched as the Light of Christ has filled their countenances. At their return, they have described growing closer to the Lord and closer to one another, feeling the Spirit of the Lord pour down upon them, and knowing they are making a difference. Who would not want that?”

Tags

Gathering | Joy | Missionary Work | Senior Missionaries | Service

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial