The Process of the Harvest

Good Morning!

I sit here not knowing where the week went. The events of Tuesday and Wednesday legitimately feel like they occurred 2-3 weeks ago. Yesterday was last week. And now I don't even know how long I've been out . . . just kidding, I do know that one.

I have served as a missionary for a while now. It has been a marvelous opportunity to understand more of myself, and the other people who live in this great big world. I have learned so much about my Savior, and my Father. This experience has taught me how to receive revelation, how to trust in the Lord, and how to utilize goals and diligence to enable the work of God to continue. Or, at least to be a more effective tool in the Lord's hands. It's really Him doing all this wonderful work. This pondering leaves me reflecting on the process of the harvest, and how the Lord's work is carried out among the children of God.

What I share today is not an all-inclusive description of this great work I am on. However, it is a snippet of the vast promises and opportunities God has given to those who humble themselves before Him and "bring forth fruit unto repentance." (Alma 34:30) Consider the following from Matthew chapter 13:

3 And (Jesus) spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:

6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:

8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

We are in a world of many opportunities, and many perils. I have witnessed many friends draw near unto the gospel, begin to take root, and even spring up. However, some of these friends have chosen to wither away, temporarily or otherwise, because of a lack of good roots, or an attraction to the thorny, perilous cares of the world. It is the truly elect and humble who choose to nurture good ground, and bring forth fruit. The sower has cast the seeds and we are here to help them grow.

Because of this, I know the field is very white, and very ready to harvest. Consider the following words of Christ.

John 4:

35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.

36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.

37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.

38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.

The harvest is now. God is gathering his children through worldwide missionary efforts. These missionaries (of which I am humbled to be one) press forward and give all their "heart, might, mind and strength, that they may stand blameless before God at the last day." (Doctrine & Covenants 4:5) I have felt my own life purified as I've served my Father. Because of this He has enabled me to be a part of those who are prepared to receive the gospel. I have found great joy in assisting my Father in His marvelous work.

One thing I have learned is that sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven. As I commit myself more fully to this work, it moves at an accelerated pace. From the above verses, I also notice that one soweth, and another reapeth. I have felt this as a missionary. I have friends I've worked with, who have progressed towards baptism just as I left. I've also moved into areas and reaped what other missionaries have sown. This work is one we are all a part of, and I find joy in helping these souls come to their Savior, no matter what end of the process I'm in.

1 Corinthians 3:5-7

5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?

6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.

As a missionary there have been times I plant, or I water, but ultimately the growth of the covenant children across the world comes from God. He provides all the increase, often through miracles and the practical processes that help build faith in Christ. However, I can provide all the carbon dioxide, sunlight, water and nutrients a budding faith may need. Yet if the individual striving to grow the seed of faith fails to intake those resources and apply them, that faith won't grow stronger. Instead it shrivels up, as mentioned in Matthew 13:6.

Matthew 13:23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth and endureth; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

Some missionaries help many come unto baptism, especially from missions in Africa, the Philippines, and some South American countries. I have heard that European and some stateside missions have a harder time bearing forth fruit. I've seen missionaries in the Utah, St. George Mission help dozens of friends prepare for baptism. I've seen others labor with their might and help only a few. I am somewhere in-between.

Whether we bring forth an hundredfold, or sixty, or even thirty (figuratively speaking), the Lord is proud of our diligence and efforts in the vineyard. Some locations are more fruitful than others. Some missionaries are more fruitful than others for various reasons. But when we are a part of the Lord's work, and serve with everything we have, we are blessed and rewarded. Obedience brings blessings, exact obedience brings miracles. And in the Utah, St. George Mission we seek and expect those miracles!

Ultimately, the Lord doesn't give those who bring forth an hundredfold anything different than those who put in the same effort, yet only yield thirty. In Matthew chapter 20 Christ relates a parable that discusses this interesting concept.

1 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.

2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

In the 3rd, 6th, 9th and 11th hours respectively, the householder gathers the idle labourers from the town and hires them, all at the same wage of a penny. Thus I know the promised reward is no different for one who labors all 12 hours of the day, or the other who is called for the final hour.

8 So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.

9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.

10 But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.

These men may have felt slighted, though they had agreed to the original terms of the contract by being hired for a specific pay. Ponder on those that labored for the full 12 hours, and their response; "thou hast made them equal unto us". We are all loved in the sight of God, and our conditions for laboring only one, or maybe the full 12 hours differ. We do not know the background for the men who were only available for the final hour, though we do know that God promises the same blessings to those that love and serve Him, regardless of when they join the fight or the time and apparent results they are able to offer.

I've been in and out of this fight. I've labored for a significant period of time now and intend to labor for more. But my efforts cannot be compared to Elder ___, or Sister ____. Their circumstances and opportunities are different and particular to their needs, understanding, and preparation. We are in God's hands just as much as those we teach.

Doctrine & Covenants 64

32 But all things must come to pass in their time.

33 Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.

34 Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days

This is one of my favorite scriptures from the Doctrine & Covenants, one which a previous companion of mine shared with me. What the Lord requires is our heart and a willing mind. He doesn't offer greater blessings to those who yield an hundredfold, versus those who yield sixty or thirty. So don't give up, and "be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work." Your small efforts change hearts, lives, and souls. They bring people to Jesus Christ. And it is only in and through Him that we can be saved.

I'll end with something one of our ward mission leaders taught me. "What separates the great missionaries from the good ones is their ability to resolve concerns." Each fruit is different than the last. The people we teach come from different backgrounds with different experiences and varied levels of willingness. Each fruit is precious and priceless, though all are tarnished and worn when they first enter the garners. Yet through Jesus Christ and His Atonement, all can become perfected and complete. Our offering may be small, our skills and talents varied, yet it is the Lord who perfects even the most humble offering from the most inexperienced.

This is the process of the harvest. This is the pattern with which the Lord gathers his covenant children home. This is how we can realize and fulfill our divine identity as sons and daughters of a Father, in Heaven, who loves every one of us. I have experienced miracles and true power in my missionary service. It has been a wild ride, continuing to choose to stay on the path of full-time missionary service and rely on Christ through the twists and turns. But everything is possible to those that put their faith in Him. The Gospel of Jesus Christ has changed me. Because of this I don't have to be what I have been. I can "press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end," thus receiving the promise of eternal life. I know that "this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God." For this is God's work, and none can prevail against it, for it is true.

- Elder Williams

Mailing Address:

881 South River Road

St. George, Utah, 84790

Pictures:

1. Luke!

2. Sister Schmidt at the 2nd follow-up new missionary meeting! You can see our two new missionaries in the background.

3. The view from the mountains we cover.

4. Sunday Sunsets.

5. I've never seen a rock like this.

6. Preparation Day hike!