As a way to celebrate the 100th birthday of President Russell M. Nelson, in August we invited all missionaries in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission to memorize “The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: A Bicentennial Proclamation to the World“.
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The Restoration Proclamation was issued by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at the April 2020 General Conference. This proclamation commemorates the 200th anniversary of The First Vision received by the Prophet Joseph Smith that initiated the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and ushered in “the dispensation of the fullness of times” (Ephesians 1:10).
Our efforts to memorize The Restoration Proclamation was based on this promise from President Nelson at the 2021 Mission Leader Seminar:
We live in this unique and exciting time when the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ continues to unfold. I would encourage each of you to study, ponder, and teach from the bicentennial proclamation of the Restoration, introduced at the April 2020 general conference. Teach it often to your missionaries. There is power in its declarations. It proclaims truths concerning the Godhead, the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the First Vision, the organization of the Lord’s Church, the restoration of priesthood authority, the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, and modern-day prophets. The more your missionaries understand about these fundamental gospel truths, the more their own testimonies will grow—which of course will help them teach and testify with greater power.
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Important eternal truths are taught in The Restoration Proclamation that are valuable for missionaries to know and teach:
- Heavenly Father loves His children.
- God knows you, loves you, and has a plan for your life. He will direct your path.
- After the death of His apostles, Christ’s New Testament Church was lost from the earth.
- God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith to initiate the restoration of Jesus Christ’s Church.
- Heavenly messengers re-established His Church.
- The Book of Mormon, like the Bible, is sacred scripture that teaches the Doctrine of Christ.
- Priesthood authority has been restored.
- Missionaries carry the message of the Restoration to the world.
- The Restoration is ongoing.
- You can know for yourself of the reality of this Restoration.
This was no easy task for our missionaries. The Restoration Proclamation is 608 words. Similar to when we memorized “The Living Christ”, Sister Barlow created flip cards that would help us memorize the Restoration Proclamation. She also noted that we will record a video of missionaries reciting “The Restoration Proclamation” just like we did with “The Living Christ.”
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Memorizing this proclamation has been a great experience for our mission. Missionaries shared that they often find themselves quoting The Restoration Proclamation as they teach. Combining it with our efforts to memorize The Living Christ has been powerful. Memorizing and pondering these words from living prophets have strengthened our faith and is helping us to testify with greater power.
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Barlows in TKM 