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“CONTINUE TO MINISTER”
(from Moving in His Majesty & Power, by Neal A. Maxwell)

WAITING

We must wait until an errant individual is willing to receive the Holy Ghost. We cannot force that moment. Given their agency, individuals must desire to be touched by Him. Thus, we are to “continue to minister” until a person desires change; he, alone, can decide to engage with the Holy Spirit (3 Nephi 18:32). Thus we cannot force things, but we can “continue to minister.”

Yes, we go on trying, even when our witness is unheeded. The Lord has told us firmly how this process works (see D&C 68:3-5). After all, God is in the business of saving souls. It is His work and glory (see Moses 1:39). We must consider the wait as part of life and part of His work. Ironically, while we are to “wait upon the Lord” (2 Nephi 18:17), He must also wait for us.

ON NOT QUITTING

We must not quit trying. If we do, then the natural man has won another battle, and we are, in effect, acknowledging that the doctrine of hope does not amount to much. Periodic exhorters are like a spent roman candle that puffs and flares for a brief moment and then, mute and charred, expires.

Refraining from giving up on others is, therefore, a special form of giving. Otherwise, hope is sidelined and loses its rightful place, which is “smiling brightly before us” (“We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet,” Hymns, no. 19).