Lessons on Missionary Service
Lesson No. Thirty-Four
Missionaries Minister in the Inner City of Louisville and Cincinnati
Introduction – In 1978 President Spencer W. Kimball was given the revelation on the priesthood. This prepared the way for millions of people on both sides of the veil to be taught the gospel. Twelve years later many inner cities in the United States were opened to missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. These included the inner cities of Louisville Kentucky and Cincinnati Ohio.
The sons of Mosiah’s missionary service among the Lamanites is well known to Book of Mormon students. What may not be as well known or appreciated is that as our missionaries began to love and serve people living in the inner cities they began to have sons of Mosiah-like missionary experiences.
Our missionaries opened the inner cities of Louisville and Cincinnati – In August 1990, a month after we arrived in Louisville, the Church started a media campaign. People were invited to call and ask for a free Book of Mormon or a video presentation about the Church. These were delivered by missionaries. As a result we received hundreds of “media referrals” mostly from the inner cities of Louisville and Cincinnati where missionaries had never served before. We learned that if missionaries will love the people they serve and apply correct principles they will have success. The principles for success include:
Successful missionaries serve and teach with power and authority of God – They are faithful and “search the scriptures diligently”; and “give themselves to much prayer and fasting” (Alma 17:2-3).
Successful missionaries desire to live among the people they serve – This quickly overcomes hostility. When missionaries began calling on referrals, their white shirts and ties quickly identified them as not belonging in the area. But when the “locals” saw that our missionaries were friendly; desired to serve them; had apartments in their neighborhoods and desired to live among them; were anxious to eat with them; and were kind to their children; they were invited into many homes. They played basketball pickup games with the young men of the area, and rather than being a threat their new friends became their defenders. (Compare Ammon’s experiences as recorded in Alma 17)
Successful missionaries teach and testify; don’t debate or argue – Following this practice brought many teaching opportunities, and I assigned more and more missionaries to the inner cities.
Successful missionaries teach the plan of salvation and the atonement of Christ – Ammon and Aaron taught from the scriptures of the creation, the fall, and the atonement. (See Alma 18:36, 39; 22:12-14) Successful missionaries today teach these doctrines from the Book of Mormon.
Successful missionaries testify of the restoration – They understand the doctrine of the restoration is the sieve which separates those who will accept their message and be baptized from those who are willing to listen and discuss but in the end will not be baptized. (See 1 Nephi 14:7)
Successful missionaries get people to attend church – Many people were willing to attend church, but had no transportation to the nearest chapel which several miles away. We had brought our 15 passenger van on our mission, and it quickly became our Church Bus in Louisville. Members gave investigators rides in Cincinnati. But this could not be sustained. We needed to meet in the inner cities. The Shawnee branch in Louisville began in the YMCA. Now there is a lovely chapel. The Cincinnati River Front branch had a store front in the downtown area. To baptize and retain people it is essential that they are willing and able to attend church and meet with other members.
Successful missionaries love the people they serve, and hope to win their hearts so they will believe in their words (See Alma 17:29). Our inner cities missionaries won the hearts of many good people “by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; By kindness, and pure knowledge…without hypocrisy, and without guile” (D&C 121:41-42)
Testimony – For many of our missionaries who ministered in an inner city was like it was with the sons of Mosiah serving among the Lamanites. They loved the people of those neighborhoods, and their service there was most often the highlight of their missions.
Missionaries who follow the example of the sons of Mosiah (see Alma 17-27) and minister by the power of the Holy Spirit will have success, and they will also have sons of Mosiah-like missionary experiences.