Since the early days of the Church, missionaries have gone forth to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with people throughout the world. Sometimes that work was done under difficult circumstances. Missionaries endured much to deliver their messages to prospective Church members. The missionaries' goal was to share the teachings of Jesus Christ found in the Bible and the Book of Mormon and to assure listeners that God speaks today through His living prophet.

President Gordon B. Hinckley repeatedly has said that he marvels at the vision and direction the Prophet Joseph Smith undertook as he presided over the restored Church more than 150 years ago.

"Within the space of that 20 years preceding his death, Joseph Smith set in motion a program for carrying the gospel to the nations of the earth. I marvel at the boldness with which he moved. Even in the infant days of the Church, in times of dark adversity, men were called to leave homes and family, to cross the sea, to proclaim the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. His mind, his vision encompassed the entire earth" (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, p. 368).

What made the messages carried by the early missionaries endure? What is it about that message that continues from the 19th century to today that attracts people from all walks of life to join the Church?

Look at what early Church leaders had to say about this work:

"The whole secret of our success as far as making converts is concerned," said Elder Wilford Woodruff in a meeting in the Salt Lake Tabernacle on May 14, 1882, "is, that we preach the same Gospel in all its simplicity and plainness that Jesus preached, and that the Holy Ghost rests upon those who receive it, filling their hearts with joy and gladness unspeakable, and making them as one; and they then know of the doctrine for themselves, whether it be of God or man" (Teachings of the Latter-day Prophets, p. 419).

That is the test of true religion: the plain and simple truths taught by the Savior Himself during His ministry and confirmed by the presence of the Holy Spirit to the soul that what is being taught is right and proper.

Millions — collectively and individually — have come to the realization that Jesus is the Christ, that He is who He and His servants say He is and that His doctrine is the only sure way to allow us to return to the presence of the Father.

Critics may scoff, but the truth will survive and endure — as it did in the Savior's time and among the Nephites and today — during this, the final dispensation.

President Hinckley reminds us: "One cannot think of the hundreds of millions who have never heard of this work without wondering how our charge to teach all mankind can ever be accomplished. There are nations where we presently cannot legally go. We honor and obey the laws of these nations. But if we will be both alert and patient, the Lord will open the way in the appropriate season. His is the timetable" (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, p. 371).

His counselor President Thomas S. Monson adds, "We [the Church] care because the Lord, who knows the source of all happiness, has asked us to do it and has assured us blessings and happiness and joy if we will do it. We care because when we share the gospel with others, we unavoidably get outside of ourselves; we think and pray and work for the blessing of others, and this only further enriches and quickens us by the Holy Spirit. The list of by-products to ourselves is endless — growth in our testimonies, growth in our knowledge of the gospel, growth in our faith, more answered prayers. The eternal truth is: that which we willingly share, we keep; and that which we selfishly keep to ourselves, we lose" ("Status Report on Missionary Work," Ensign October 1977, p. 11).

President Hinckley testifies, "The missionary program is the great, vibrant, pulsating thing that keeps this Church growing and moving and going forward across the world. It is a miracle. It is a miracle beyond the comprehension of most of us. . . . And that is the strength of the Church . . . It is in the hearts of the people, individuals, who can stand and say, 'This is the work of God' " (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, p. 354).