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Sharing the Gospel and the Savor of Salt

President Jonathan S. Durrett, Second Counselor in the Hawaii-Honolulu Mission admonished students during his devotional address at BYU-Hawaii on Thursday, April 3, to follow the teachings of Christ and “be the salt of the earth,” especially in missionary work.

President Durrett began his devotional address with a story about the Hanapepe salt ponds on the island of Kauai: An old Hawaiian woman who had taken too many fish from the sea was troubled that she would have to suffer for her mistakes. In her lamenting, she was visited by Pele, the Hawaiian demigoddess who had pity on the woman and showed her how to dig a hole that would eventually fill with salt water. In this pit, the woman could preserve her fish so they were not wasted. Said Durrett, “this was the beginning of the sacred practice of Hawaiian salt-making.”

The disciples of Christ were called to be good examples and positive influences to those around them when the Savior said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you to be the salt of the earth; but if the salt shall lose its savor wherewith shall the earth be salted? The salt shall be thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot of men.” (3 Nephi 12:13)

Comparing missionaries to salt, President Durrett said, “In many respects, salt of the earth is the most appropriate metaphor for what our lives as Latter-day Saints should be. And particularly at BYU-Hawaii, this place should be the salt mother lode, a veritable salt mine! And I’m not talking here about the excessive workload your professors sometimes inconsiderately impose, either. This campus is the missionary equivalent of the Hanapepe salt ponds for the State of Hawaii and perhaps the entire Asia-Pacific region of the world.”

However, he noted that being a good missionary is not always the easiest task. “My life’s experiences have taught me that the most fantastic missionary opportunities present themselves during the busiest and sometimes most uncertain periods of our lives. Someone not a member of our faith very wisely taught me long ago that ‘service will rarely ever be convenient.’ How you treat these opportunities for service, therefore, will be the measure of your savor as salt of the earth in the eyes of the Lord.”

“You might ask yourself how you or your spouse can participate in this majestic undertaking with all of the pressing daily responsibilities you have. You go to school, you hold down a job to earn a meager living, you study to keep up with a rigorous academic schedule and you give generously of your time to fulfill Church callings. What else could Heavenly Father ask of you? Believe it or not, you may never have so much discretionary time again in your life.”

President Durrett’s son, Kahi, attended BYU-Hawaii because “he said that he would probably have the greatest chance here of accepting a call to serve a mission.” He reported Kahi had a great experience at school, and after a year he was called to serve in Sydney, Australia. “Do not underestimate your capacity to influence your roommates and fellow students towards the path of righteousness.”

President Durrett also pointed out many students who leave BYU-Hawaii will enter the working world, “where missionary experiences may be hard to come by, but are still necessary. This is where our true savor will show itself. Many of you will take jobs in organizations where you are the only Mormon, and you will be your associates’ sole impression of what a member of the Church of Jesus Christ is. While it may not be appropriate to directly proselytize your associates and colleagues, opportunities to befriend those attracted to your values must not be overlooked.”

For President Durrett, some experiences have taught him that when the Spirit directs, we follow no matter the circumstances. For example, he told of sharing the Gospel with a client who had spoken respectfully of other Church members he had worked with, even though it was “a breach of the general protocol... I felt compelled by the Spirit to meet him the next day before he returned to San Francisco to present him with a copy of the Book of Mormon with my testimony in it. Although he graciously accepted the gift and promised to read it, this meeting ran counter to all of my legal and ethical training. Nevertheless, the Spirit commanded, and I knew I was the salt of the earth in this particular instance and could not live with the thought that I had lost my savor.”

In another example, he told the story of José Cruz, a man originally from Mexico, who met the missionaries while living and working in Waipahu. Cruz received the missionary lessons in Spanish, and since joining the Church has continually received fellowshipping from Spanish-speaking members of the Ewa Beach Ward. “I do not think that this Spanish-speaking capability in a small ward in Ewa Beach is unique in the Church, but I do believe the willingness of the Church members to reach out to an individual far away from home in such a linguistically miraculous manner exemplifies what the Savior means by salt of the earth. In their acts of individual charity these members had certainly not lost their savor. Those of you with foreign language capabilities can bless the lives of many in your earthly sojourn.”

“Heavenly Father’s foremost desire is to deploy you and your own special set of skills in areas of the world that will bring about the greatest blessings to his children,” President Durrett said. “The choices you make which are best for your career or professional development may not necessarily be the choices, which allow you and your family to find the deepest satisfaction and joy that comes from being deployed in areas where you can make a lasting contribution to building up His Kingdom.”

“As you receive career and professional assignments in cities around the world, there may be opportunities to put down roots in smaller branches or less affluent wards that will afford you and your family opportunities to serve His children with a deeper commitment to Gospel living. Such choices will require that you heed the whisperings of the Spirit. You will need to find the right balance for your family.”

-Photo by Larrin Wada

:: For a complete transcript of President Durrett's devotional...