Lessons on Missionary Service
Lesson No. Sixteen

Missionaries are to Avoid Contention

Contention must be done away – The first thing Jesus taught the Nephites was the importance of baptism and that there should be no disputations about it.  (See 3 Nephi 11:18-28)  The Lord then expounded on the sin of contention:  “For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another” (3 Nephi 11:29).  This doctrine applies to all of us and to missionaries in a special and unique way.

Hyde Park’s “Speaker’s Corner” in London is a well-known spot where people speak on all sorts of controversial subjects.  There are often hecklers whose purpose is to create contention.  Historically, LDS missionaries would occasionally preach at Speaker’s Corner.  That practice had stopped before I was a 19-year-old missionary in London from 1963 to 1965.  Occasionally, missionaries still Bible bash with members of other Churches.  I learned as a young missionary and as a mission president that nothing good ever comes from contending with others.

Joseph Smith prophesied about those who contend and those who do not – “Go in all meekness and sobriety and preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified; not to contend with others on account of their faith, or systems of religion, but pursue a steady course.  This I deliver by way of commandment, and all who observe it not will pull down persecution upon their heads, while those who do shall always be filled with the Holy Ghost; this I pronounce as a prophecy.”

“The Book of Mormon, A Musical” has played on Broadway and in cities throughout the United States and abroad.  This offensive production ridicules the Church, missionaries, and the Book of Mormon.  Nevertheless, it has won many awards and raves from critics.   Rather than get into a debate about the gross misrepresentations in this production the Church’s official response was:  “The production may attempt to entertain audiences for an evening but the Book of Mormon as a volume of scripture will change people’s lives forever by bringing them closer to Christ.”

This statement is profound in its brief simplicity and powerful testimony of the Book of Mormon, and it was widely noticed.  For example, Wall Street Journal Op-Ed columnist Bret Stephens on September 19, 2012 wrote an article entitled “Muslims, Mormons, and Liberals.”  There he contrasted the LDS Church's thoughtful response to the public ridicule of the Book of Mormon to the violent response of some when the Koran is slandered.  The article concluded:  “[Mormons] tend not to punch back, which is part of what makes so many of them so successful in life.”

Testimony – The Lord turned “The Book of Mormon, A Musical”  to His advantage.  The Church has placed advertisements in the production’s program such as “Now you have seen the play, read the book.”  As a result of this production and our response to it, many have become aware of and positively influenced by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and its members.

“No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing”, but missionaries contending will hinder it.  If missionaries respond to opposition by following the Church’s example in “The Book of Mormon, a Musical” they will, as the Prophet promised, “be filled with the Holy Ghost.”