This week in Sunday School we discussed the event in Luke 4:16-30 when Jesus read Isaiah 61:1-2 in the synagogue in Nazareth and announced that the scripture was fulfilled that day in him. Sunday School classes typically emphasize the “no prophet is accepted in his own country” (Matthew 4:24) part of the story and the fact that those in the synagogue were “filled with wrath” toward Jesus.
I am more interested in what Jesus (quoting Isaiah) had to say about his mission on Earth. Here is Luke’s version of what Jesus read in the synagogue that day:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
Luke 4: 18-19
To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
The key words in that verse are preach, heal, deliver/liberate, and recover. “The acceptable year” is a reference to the Year of Jubilee in which debts are forgiven, slaves are freed, and lands and property are restored to their original owners.
Here is the verse from our version of Isaiah:
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
Isaiah 61: 1-2
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
Here we have the same message. The Messiah (Christ) will preach, bind up (restore or recover), proclaim liberty and open the prison (deliver/liberate), and comfort (heal).
The modern “Three-fold Mission” of the Church
In the Sunday morning session of the April 1981 General Conference, President Spencer W. Kimbell described a threefold “mission of the Church.”
My brothers and sisters, as the Brethren of the First Presidency and the Twelve have meditated upon and prayed about the great latter-day work the Lord has given us to do, we are impressed that the mission of the Church is threefold:
- To proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people;
- To perfect the Saints by preparing them to receive the ordinances of the gospel and by instruction and discipline to gain exaltation;
- To redeem the dead by performing vicarious ordinances of the gospel for those who have lived on the earth.
All three are part of one work—to assist our Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ, in Their grand and glorious mission “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” (Moses 1:39.)
Spencer W. Kimbell, “A Report of My Stewardship,” General Conference, April 1981.
Hear we also have preach, restore (or recover) our pre-Earth knowledge and blessings, and deliver/liberate (the captives from the Spirit Prison).
A later addition
In 2009, Church President Thomas S. Monson added a fourth element to the mission of the church:
- To care for the poor and needy.
This, of course, is a process of healing.
Church critics have claimed that since it supposedly took the Church 28 years to add “caring for the poor and needy” to its mission, the LDS Church can hardly claim to be a Christian Church. This cynical attitude betrays a complete ignorance of the humanitarian work of Latter-day Saint Charities – not to mention the unsung work of Helping Hands, service missionaries, ministering home teachers, local volunteers, and an entire organization known as the “Relief” Society.
The Philanthropies department of the Church, under the direction of the Presiding Bishop, goes back as far as 1955 (under various names).
The mission has always been the same
The important insight here is that the four-point “Mission of the Church” is essentially the same as the verses in Isaiah and Matthew. Proclaim (preach) the gospel, perfect (restore or recover) the Saints, redeem (deliver/liberate) the dead, and care for (heal) the poor and needy.
The mission of the Church and the mission of Jesus are the same.
Current usage
The Church does not currently use this list as a “Four-fold Mission” of the Church. They have, rather, been folded in to the Church handbook, in the “Doctrinal Foundation” section, under the heading “The Work of Salvation and Exaltation.”
The Work of Salvation and Exaltation
We come unto Christ and assist in God’s work by:General Handbook, Section 1.2
- Living the gospel of Jesus Christ.
- Caring for those in need.
- Inviting all to receive the gospel.
- Uniting families for eternity.
These four bullet points are referred to as “four aspects of God’s work” and are spelled out in detail in following subsections. It is worth noting that “Caring for Those in Need” is listed above missionary work and temple work.
The essential basics
Perhaps a more common way of thinking about these aspects of the Church would be:
- Righteous Living
- Ministering to Others
- Missionary Work
- Temple Work
It is inspiring to consider how comprehensive and universal these tenets of our religion are. They cover (in order) self, our immediate neighbors, the larger community and world, and, finally, all those who have ever lived on this Earth.
God’s love is indeed infinite.
Sources:
Spencer W. Kimbell, “A Report of My Stewardship,” General Conference, April 1981.
Peggy Fletcher Stack, “New LDS emphasis: Care for the needy,” Salt Lake Tribune, December 9, 2009.
“1.2 The Work of Salvation and Exaltation,” General Handbook: Serving in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Very enlightening. I appreciate the connection with Jesus’s announcement of his own mission with the mission of the church.
Thank you for this timeline and explanation. As I watched the last two episodes of the Chosen I, too, was drawn to Jesus Christ’s testifying of his mission as prophesied by Isaiah.