D&C 44:1-2 reads:

1 Behold, thus saith the Lord unto you my servants, it is expedient in me that the elders (and sisters) of my church should be ^acalled together, from the east and from the west, and from the north and from the south, by letter or some other way.

2 And it shall come to pass, that inasmuch as they are faithful, and exercise faith in me, I will pour out my ^aSpirit upon them in the day that they assemble themselves together.

Elder Juan Pablo Villar said:

“I have come to realize that spiritual gifts behave in the same way. They also need to be exercised to grow. The spiritual gift of faith, for example, is not just a feeling or a mood; it is a principle of action that frequently appears in the scriptures linked to the verb exercise. Just as reading and learning about muscles is not enough to build muscle, reading and learning about faith without adding action is insufficient to build faith.”

AS missionaries we have been called by the Lord from all parts of the world and if we exercise faith the Lord promises to pour out His Spirit upon us.

We know that “Nothing happens in missionary work until you find someone to teach.” Unfortunately, for most missionaries, finding is the  most difficult part of the work.

Preach My Gospel tells us that:

“Finding by the Spirit is as important as teaching by the Spirit. As in teaching, your efforts in finding will be effective if you are guided by the Spirit.” PMG p158

But how do we do that? How do we find by the Spirit? I am going to suggest some things that we can do to better find by the Spirit.

1. First of all, we may need to strengthen our faith

Hebrews 11:3 says:

 Through faith we understand that the worlds were ^aframed by the ^bword of God,

Joseph Smith, in the Lectures on Faith, explained:

By this we understand that the principle of power which existed in the bosom of God, by which the worlds were framed, was faith ; and that it is by reason of this principle of power existing in the Deity, that all created things exist ; so that all things in heaven, on earth, or under the earth exist by reason of faith as it existed in Him.

Faith is one of the grand and glorious powers of eternity. It is a force powerful beyond our comprehension.  Through faith, waters are parted, the sick healed, the wicked silenced, and salvation made possible. Our faith is the foundation upon which all our spiritual lives rest.

Faith is a real power, Elder Neal L Andersen said:

 “Faith can cause things to happen that need to happen. It can bring someone who would not normally listen to the missionaries to awaken to God.”

We may need to strengthen our faith that “there are today, people in every country, every city, among every race and culture ready to accept the restored gospel.”

What can we do to strengthen our faith?

“Seek to strengthen your faith that God is preparing His children to receive the message of the Restoration. As you do all you can under the guidance of the Holy Ghost to find people to teach, the Lord will place such people in your path. Have faith that you will know ….. what to do to find those who will receive you.” PMG page 167

So – we have to do all that we can under the guidance of the Holy Spirit – plan, prepare, work, put in effort, believe.

2. Personal study

D&C 11:21 Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men.

We need to search the scriptures diligently in personal study every day. Daily scripture study invites the Spirit.

Elder Ballard said:

Missionaries need to know all the gospel lessons in order for them to become watchful and bold finders. When they know, believe, love, and live the principles and commandments of the gospel, they will “find” the elect and they will know better what gospel principles to use in that process.

3. Obedience

1 Thessalonians 1:5 For our ^agospel ^bcame not unto you in ^cword only, but also in ^dpower, and in the ^eHoly Ghost, and in much assurance;

Paul tells us that the gospel comes to men in two ways, in word and in power. The word of the gospel is written in the scriptures, and we can obtain the word through our personal study.

The power of the gospel comes into our lives if we live so that the Holy Ghost is our companion and we follow the promptings we receive. This means being obedient!

Some may focus their attention only on obtaining the word. Others may neglect their preparation and hope that the Lord will somehow help them get by.

In order to successfully find and teach, we must have both the word and the power of the gospel in our life.

The Lord has prepared people in our areas to hear the gospel but why should the Lord lead us to them or indeed them to us if we are not prepared in word and power?

4. Pray for the Spirit’s help

Doctrine and Covenants 31:11 Go your way whithersoever I will, and it shall be given you by the ^aComforter what you shall do and whither you shall go.

Doctrine and Covenants 75:27 27 Let them ^aask and they shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto them, and be made known from on high, even by the ^bComforter, whither they shall go.

• Pray that you will be led to those who are prepared to receive the message of the Restoration.

• Pray that you will recognize them. Believe that God will answer your prayers.

• Pray for the ability to see unplanned opportunities.

While the Prophet Joseph Smith was traveling with a group of missionaries on the Missouri River, the Lord revealed, “It is not needful for … mine elders to be moving swiftly … whilst the inhabitants on either side are perishing in unbelief” (Doctrine and Covenants 61:3). As you move swiftly to planned activities, pray for the ability to see unplanned opportunities to serve and teach those who may be “perishing in unbelief.”

Pray for the spiritual sensitivity to recognize these opportunities. You will find that God will place in your path His children who are being prepared to receive the restored gospel.

5. Work .

Notice: this is not step number one. If this were step number one, all our actions would be works of the flesh, not fruits of the Spirit. Only after we have appealed for the Spirit’s help, do we now work with all our might.

(Nephi) Helaman 10:17 And it came to pass that thus he did go forth in the Spirit, from multitude to multitude, declaring the word of God, even until he had declared it unto them all, or sent it forth among all the people.

Note that Nephi had the Spirit but he still had to work – he declared the word to multitudes!

In a Missionary devotional about receiving revelation, Elder Dale G Renlund said:

You must be engaged in the task before the revelation comes….Missionaries are not going to be prompted about whom to share a gospel message with when they are casually lounging in their apartment or are not prepared to speak. They are more likely to receive that nudge when they are on a bus, walking down the street, actively doing FaceBook mining or other such actively involved work.

6. Learn to receive and follow personal revelation.

We must acknowledge in our hearts that we are helpless to do good apart from the enablement of the Holy Spirit. President Benson taught, “If we are humble and sensitive, the Lord will prompt us through our feelings” .

 “Technology cannot and never will replace the importance of the Spirit in finding, warning, testifying, and teaching.” Elder Andersen

In the Book of Acts, an angel directs Philip to leave Jerusalem and ‘go towards the south’. That’s it. Just go south. That’s all he was told.  When he did as instructed, he met an Ethiopian who was in his chariot reading Isaiah:

Acts 8:27-31

27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to ^aworship,

28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.

29 Then the ^aSpirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.

30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?

31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.

Philip then climbed into the chariot beside the Ethiopian and they began talking. He then asked him a question based on what he saw the Ethiopian doing. Philip wasn’t directed by the angel to meet an Ethiopian. He had to figure that part out on his own. Philip was curious. He asked questions. He was conversational, and he displayed genuine interest.

7. Teach and testify as you meet people

Acts 8: 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him ^aJesus.

36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?

37 And Philip said, If thou ^abelievest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he ^abaptized him.

“Develop the habit of beginning to teach and testify as you meet people. You will find more people to teach as you testify and allow them to feel the power of the Holy Ghost.” P159 PMG

The restored gospel of Jesus Christ is something so wonderful, so amazing, and so remarkable. Missionaries need to invite many more people to come unto the Father through the Savior every single day. Of course, technology is one of the ways that we can do this.

Doctrine and Covenants 33:8–10

8 ^aOpen your mouths and they shall be filled, and you shall become even as ^bNephi of old, who journeyed from Jerusalem in the wilderness.

9 Yea, open your mouths and spare not, and you shall be laden with ^asheaves upon your backs, for lo, I am with you.

10 Yea, open your mouths and they shall be filled, saying: ^aRepent, repent, and prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight; for the ^bkingdom of heaven is at hand;

Here we are commanded to open our mouths three times.

8. Eliminate distractions

Elder Dale G Renlund said: Receiving revelation requires the elimination of distraction

We need to walk away from contention, temptations and the noise of the world. We do not receive revelation when we are angry, agitated or occupied.

9. Encourage members to pray and follow the Spirit

In every visit with members, do all you can to encourage them to pray and follow the Spirit. Encourage members to “join in fasting and mighty prayer in behalf of the welfare of the souls of those who [know] not God” (Alma 6:6).

10. Look for ways to draw people to Christ

John 12:32  And I, if I be ^alifted up from the earth, will ^bdraw all men unto me.

How can we change finding from a push to a pull?

2 Nephi 26:24 He doeth not ^aanything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he ^bloveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw ^call men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation.

3 Nephi 27: 14 And my Father sent me that I might be ^alifted up upon the ^bcross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the ^ccross, that I might ^ddraw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be ^ejudged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil—

15 And for this cause have I been ^alifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their ^bworks.

Consider:

How can we draw people in normal and natural ways?

How can we get the Spirit into online work?

How can a video carry the Spirit?

How can we use the Spirit when contacting in the street?

CONCLUSION

When your heart is right, when your motivation is pure and based on love – when you are worthy of and seek the Spirit you will be led.

Remember! From the heart and by the Spirit!