"Come and see"

I didn’t open my mission call ready to “come and see.”

I opened it ready to argue.

I went on a mission for all the wrong reasons. I didn’t have a burning testimony. I went because I didn’t want to break my mom’s heart. And when the Spirit finally got through to me, it wasn’t because someone backed me into a doctrinal corner. It was because, somewhere along the way, the Savior turned, saw me wandering after Him, and said the same thing He said to two of John’s disciples on the very first day they decided to follow:

“Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day.” — John 1:38–39

He didn’t quiz them.

He didn’t make them prove they were ready.

He turned, He saw them, and He invited them to come spend the day with Him.

That is where the gospel begins.

What John doesn’t say

John doesn’t tell us the Savior gave them a doctrinal exam. He doesn’t say He tested them, or set a bar they had to clear before He would let them near. He says Jesus turned. He says Jesus saw them following. And He invited them to come and see for themselves.

The word “see” matters. He didn’t say come and believe. He didn’t say come and decide. He said come and see. The very next phrase tells us they came, and saw where He dwelt, and abode with him that day.

That is the pattern, in a single afternoon: turn, see, come, abide.

The fifth lesson, hiding in the first chapter of John

In my book, the last of the five lessons is this: baptisms aren’t the focus; the Savior’s love is. It took me almost two years in Japan to learn it. Two of John’s disciples got it on the first day.

The Savior did not lead with a commitment pattern. He led with His presence.

Most of us don’t follow Him because we’ve been argued into it. We follow Him because, somewhere along the way, He turned, saw us, and let us spend the day with Him.

Three days with Elder Smith

About a year into my mission, I spent three days with one of our zone leaders, Elder Mike Smith — no relation. I didn’t know it at the time, but our mission president had set it up on purpose. He had been watching me grind through the work. Going through the motions. Trying, but missing the point. Encouragement hadn’t been enough, so he sent Elder Smith.

Elder Smith didn’t preach to me. He didn’t pull me aside to fix me. He didn’t lecture me about my numbers, my attitude, or my testimony.

He just let me watch him work.

He didn’t focus on numbers. He didn’t stress about outcomes. He focused on one thing: helping people feel the Spirit. Helping them feel the Savior’s love.

After he taught, he didn’t ask, Do you believe this? He didn’t ask, Will you commit? He asked one simple question:

“How do you feel?”

When people answered with words like peace, warmth, comfort, or joy, he would gently testify: “That’s the Spirit. That’s the Savior’s love for you.”

In essence, Elder Smith’s whole approach was the same thing Jesus said in John 1.

Come and see.

He didn’t argue me into a different kind of missionary. He invited me to come watch what missionary work could be, and to feel for myself what the Savior’s love did to people. After three days, I was different. Not because Elder Smith preached at me. Because he showed me.

That is what the Savior does. That is what Lesson 5 finally taught me.

The same invitation, today

If you are reading this in a season where you are unsure — about the Church, about prayer, about whether any of this is real — the Savior’s first invitation in John is also His first invitation to you.

Not prove it.

Not defend it.

Not commit before you understand.

Just: come, and see.

Open the Book of Mormon. Go to a sacrament meeting. Ask one honest question. Pay attention to how you feel. Moroni promised that if you ask God in the name of Christ “with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost” (Moroni 10:4).

That is the same Savior who turned toward two strangers in John 1.

He is still turning.

He is still saying:

Come.

And see.

You can spend the day with Him. You can spend the rest of your days with Him. The invitation never closes.