New Year, New opportunities to share the gospel

By Craig Howard, News Editor

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January 03, 2011 — It is New Year's Day in the Spokane Mission Office and President Mark Palmer is talking about some of his favorite moments of 2010.


President Mark Palmer and his wife, Jacqueline, have been serving for 18 months in the Spokane, WA. Mission. The Palmers are encouraging local LDS residents to help with the ongoing work of 200 full-time elders and sister missionaries. Contributed Photo.

The highlights of the past year include a woman who was impressed by the simple acts of service carried out by members of an LDS ward in North Idaho. She began taking the missionary discussions and was eventually baptized.

"She was amazed that people she didn't even know would help her family," Pres. Palmer said.

A woman in Spokane was on her cell phone when a pair of full-time missionaries knocked on the door. While she remained on the line, the elders wrote down the address of a nearby LDS chapel and a meeting time on a pass-along card. The woman attended church the next Sunday and later joined the Church.

"When she spoke with the missionaries, she said needed more in her life," Pres. Palmer said. "When she found the Church, she said it felt like home."

Pres. Palmer and his wife, Jacqueline, are halfway through their three-year commitment to serve in the Spokane, WA. Mission. Along the way, they have seen how members of area stakes have played integral roles in bringing people to a knowledge of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

The process begins, Pres. Palmer said, when members step forward and speak of the beliefs that have brought them peace and an understanding of where they came from, why they are here and where they go after this life.

"We talk about how when you don't invite someone, the answer is already 'no,'" Pres. Palmer said. "It's so humbling to see so many lives change when people do accept the gospel. It's true what the scripture says, 'By small means the Lord can bring about great things.'" (1 Nephi 16:29)

While the Palmers are responsible for overseeing some 200 full-time missionaries in a territory that covers parts of three states and a sliver of Canada, they also talk about the thousands of member missionaries who can make a difference by discussing the Church with their neighbors, co-workers and friends.

"Missionary work succeeds when people love the Lord and want to share the gospel," Pres. Palmer said. "You have to be willing to invite people to church functions, read the Book of Mormon or visit mormon.org."

As a New Year dawns and resolutions involving themes from exercise to education are posted on refrigerators and in cubicles, the goal of being a more effective missionary may be the most important aspiration of all.

"Most members want to be a good missionary, but they don't know how," Pres. Palmer said.

One of the ways to start is to "prayerfully consider your friends and acquaintances" who may be ready to hear about the Church, then invite them to a gospel-centered activity, Pres. Palmer said. It could be anything from a Family Home Evening to a ward activity to a Church softball game. Introductions to the Church can also include the gift of a DVD such as "Finding Faith in Christ," a church pamphlet explaining the Plan of Salvation or a simple pass-along card.

In a case of modern technology merging with traditional missionary work, members can also construct a personal profile on www.mormon.org that includes their testimony along with various aspects of their life.

The invitation to investigate the Church should reflect the genuine love we have for the gospel, Sis. Palmer said.

"When we have joy in sharing, it will always be received well," she said. "People are going to sense our sincerity."

Before the Palmers moved to Spokane, they lived in Austin, Texas for 28 years. Sis. Palmer remembers being reticent at first to talk about the Church with neighbors.

"When I tried to be careful, it was interpreted as me being hesitant to share my testimony," she said.

Sis. Palmer recalls the success that came later when she "spoke from the heart."

Along with their active schedule as Spokane's first missionary couple, the Palmers make it a point to share the gospel on their daily rounds across the Inland Northwest, whether at a restaurant in Lewiston or a gas station in Wenatchee.

"We try to talk to everyone," Pres. Palmer said. "We ask people if they've had a chance to meet the Mormon missionaries or if they have any Mormon friends. I'm amazed by the number of people in this area that know someone who is LDS."

As for the task of motivating the ranks of full-time elders and sister missionaries, the key is connected to a sentinment shared by the father of Gordon B. Hinckley when the future prophet was struggling in the early part of his mission to England - "Forget yourself and go to work."

"We try to encourage diligence and finding joy in the work," Pres. Palmer said. "Missionaries learn that it's not about them; it's about the people they're teaching and baptizing."

Pres. Palmer added that members can do their part by referring investigators to the full-time missionaries, going out on visits or "splits" with the missionaries and having investigators over to their home for gospel discussions. Sis. Palmer said members can also promote the cause by emphasizing missionary themes when the full-time elders or sister missionaries are over for dinner.

"Ask them about their spiritual experiences, the neat lessons they taught that week, their investigators or how you can be better missionaries," she said.

Sis. Palmer added that members can serve a valuable role by fellowshipping less active individuals and families who may be returning to church after a hiatus - a number of whom may be making New Year's resolutions to come back.

As for the ongoing work of sharing the gospel with others, Pres. Palmer hearkens back to the words of Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles who visited the Spokane Mission in autumn of 2009.

"Elder Bednar talked about the degree of our conversion being directly related to our willingness to share the gospel," he said. "I know there is no greater joy one can experience than bringing someone to the joy and knowledge of the gospel."