Doctrine of Christ Is Foundation of Missionary Work
Contributed By R. Scott Lloyd, Church News staff writer
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Elder W. Craig Zwick speaks to couples attending the 2015 Seminar for New MTC Presidents and Visitors’ Center Directors on the doctrine of Christ.
Article Highlights
- Missionary work is founded on the doctrine of Christ.
- Teaching and living the doctrine of Christ will change lives.
“All missionary work and its sacred purpose are founded on the doctrine of Christ.” —Elder W. Craig Zwick of the Seventy
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“All missionary work and its sacred purpose are founded on the doctrine of Christ,” Elder W. Craig Zwick of the Seventy said as he spoke to couples attending the 2015 Seminar for New MTC Presidents and Visitors’ Center Directors on January 13.
Elder Zwick, Assistant Executive Director of the Missionary Department, pointed out that the doctrine of Christ is taught most succinctly in 2 Nephi 31:2–21 and in 3 Nephi 27:13–22. It is the missionary purpose found on page 1 of the missionary guide Preach My Gospel.
It is not complicated, he said, explaining it in this way: Heavenly Father has a plan for His children. Death is not the end of existence, and separation from God is temporary. The Savior Jesus Christ has by His
Atonement overcome death and hell so that all will be resurrected and all who repent and are baptized in His name and remain faithful, receiving the blessings and gifts of the holy temple, may have a place in the heavenly kingdom of God forever.
Elder Zwick identified five elements of the doctrine of Christ: faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism by immersion, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.
“As you help your missionaries put that in their hearts, as you help them fully repent and apply the Atonement of Jesus Christ in their own lives, they will be more capable of teaching those same true principles to others and through that to gain expanded faith in both the Father and the Son, which will change their lives forever.”
Elder Zwick further declared, “When the Holy Ghost is your companion, you can have greater confidence that the Atonement is working in your own life.”
He asked, “How do the Father and the Son feel about this doctrine?”
He said the Father is the Author of the great plan of happiness and His Son came to live it and teach it.
“The Father and Son are united, were one in this, just as you and your wife will be one as you teach these principles to the missionaries, helping them each gain the majesty of Christ’s mission,” he said.
