Day 262 Preaching with Power and Authority

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus tells his followers that they are the salt of the earth, and in the same sentence offers a warning that savorless salt is good for nothing. Join me in an attempt to be savory salt as I share each day one verse of scripture and one small thought. Perhaps this small daily emphasis can lead to greater savor in your life and ultimately you and I can be savory salt.

Hello, my friends and family, wherever you're listening from, thank you for joining me and know that I'm cheering for your every success. Welcome to day 262 on our 365-day journey through the Book of Mormon together. You're going to be reading Helaman chapter 5, verses 15 through 36.

And in the middle of this chapter, we're going to see Nephi and Lehi doing some incredible preaching and teaching, as well as them getting put into prison and then we have this also, this amazing spiritual angelic prison experience that happens with Nephi and Lehi. Today our verse is going to come on the front end of the reading, although there are a couple of places in here that I debated about. One of them may be picked up tomorrow.

But our verse for today is going to be Helaman 5:18. And this is in the middle of explaining that Nephi and Lehi are going all over. They're going to the Nephites.

They're going to the Lamanites. They're going everywhere and preaching the word. And in verse 18, it says this: "And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi did preach unto the Lamanites with such great power and authority." For they had power and authority given unto them that they might speak.

And they also had what they should speak given unto them. Interesting two-piece combo there: they had power and authority given unto them that they might speak and also what they should speak given unto them. Now, there's a lot of different examples and experiences and stories in Church history about those that are going forward, in a lot of times in a missionary sense, and preaching the gospel and having the words come unto them in the moment of the words that they should speak.

I think it's interesting because if we're talking about converting to the gospel of Jesus Christ, people need to hear the message. But the only way they can hear the message is if there are people sharing the message and speaking it. Now, a lot of us tend to just say, "Yeah, exactly!

That's what the missionary work is for." And so we tend to put the speaking aspect and sharing the gospel into the laps of the missionary work around the world, and we tend to leave ourselves out of that situation and maybe clam up a little bit or go home into our safety of our own homes rather than continue to speak and share the gospel from our perspective as well. My friends, please remember, President Boyd K. Packer has said, "A testimony is to be found in the bearing of it." Don't shy away from your opportunities to share the gospel and share what it means for you to live the gospel so that others can hear the message.

This very podcast is specific to this call here. I'm trying to just speak about my experiences of the gospel and what it's done to make my life better. And whoever comes across it, I hope that they feel and can sense that the gospel is an important aspect of my life and that following Jesus Christ can bring greater light into my life.

I want to share that on a daily basis. Thank you for watching. The missionary work encourages us to do it, and yet at the same time, prophets have said, "Every member can be a missionary." In order for people to hear about the gospel and decide whether they are going to be converted to it, they must hear it from the mouths of someone willing to share it.

Today, I'd encourage you: find a way to share even a fraction of your testimony with someone in your life. Doing so will open up the possibility of the Spirit to speak to that person and may even increase your own testimony in the bearing of it as well. What does it look like for you to speak into the Gospel message with power and authority?

That's all for today, my friends. Remember that, "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass." Keep it small, keep it simple, and always seek to be savory salt. I'll be here tomorrow and I hope you are too.