Conference Counsel: Gospel sharing is ‘responsibility’ and ‘opportunity’
- Elder Marcus B. Nash, a General Authority Seventy, speaks during the Saturday evening session of the 191st Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Oct. 2, 2021 in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City.
- A retro Seattle Mariners hat that includes The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as part of a patch on the side, taken during The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints night on Saturday, July 5, 2025, at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. The Mariners hosted the Pittsburgh Pirates.
- Ryan Comer

Photo supplied, Intellectual Reserve
Elder Marcus B. Nash, a General Authority Seventy, speaks during the Saturday evening session of the 191st Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Oct. 2, 2021 in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City.
I was looking on social media on July 5 when I noticed that the Seattle Mariners baseball team had just had The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints night for its game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
This is something I remember being a thing when I was growing up in the Seattle area many years ago, and I was happy to see that it was still being done.
I was even more elated to see that a special hat had been given out as part of the promotion. The retro hat featured the Mariners logo on the front and then a patch on the side that had the name of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I did some quick research and found that the ceremonial first pitch had been thrown by Elder Marcus B. Nash, a member of the Presidency of the Seventy in the church and a Seattle native. Someone on social media subsequently told me that it was “a perfect strike.” I then looked at the video of it, and indeed, the throw by Elder Nash, who was donning a Ken Griffey Jr. jersey, seemed to be right on target.
Elder Nash at general conference
Because of all of this, and because I write this weekly column on general conference talks, I decided to look up the last time Elder Nash spoke at general conference. Turns out it was October 2021, when he gave a talk titled “Hold Up Your Light.”

Photo supplied, Robby McCombs
A retro Seattle Mariners hat that includes The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as part of a patch on the side, taken during The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints night on Saturday, July 5, 2025, at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. The Mariners hosted the Pittsburgh Pirates.
“My invitation today is simple: share the gospel. Be you and hold up the light,” he said in his 2021 address, according to the written copy of the talk on the church’s website.
It was an extremely powerful talk, in large part because of the emotion that was demonstrably visible from Elder Nash, which you notice if you watch it. It’s obvious that he has practiced what he preaches and has seen blessings, both in his life and in the lives of others, and that makes his words not just compelling, but convincing.
Experiences sharing the gospel
Elder Nash shared two personal experiences at the start of his talk.
First, he talked about being seated next to someone who considered himself to be an atheist while on a flight to Peru. Elder Nash explained that he believed in God because Joseph Smith saw him and because of “personal, real spiritual experience.”
“I shared my belief that ‘all things denote there is a God’ and asked him how he believed the earth–this oasis of life in the vacuum of space–came into existence,” Elder Nash said. “He replied that, in his words, ‘the accident’ could have happened over eons of time. When I explained how highly improbable it would be for an ‘accident’ to produce such beauty and order, he was quiet for a time and then good-naturedly said, ‘You got me.’ I asked if he would read the Book of Mormon. He said he would, so I sent him a copy.”

Ryan Comer, Standard-Examiner
Ryan Comer
Next, Elder Nash talked about someone he met at an airport in Lagos, Nigeria. The person was checking Elder Nash’s passport, and after inquiring about the man’s religious beliefs, Elder Nash said that the man “expressed strong faith in God.”
“I shared the joy and vibrancy of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and asked if he would like to learn more from the missionaries,” Elder Nash said. “He said yes, was taught, and was baptized. A year or two later, as I walked through the airport in Liberia, I heard a voice call out my name. I turned, and that same young man approached with a big smile. We joyfully embraced, and he let me know that he was active in the Church and working with the missionaries to teach his girlfriend.”
‘Responsibility’ and ‘opportunity’
Elder Nash continued:
“Now, I do not know whether my atheist friend ever read the Book of Mormon or joined the Church. My second friend did. For both of them, my responsibility–my opportunity–was the same: hold up the gospel light–to love, share, and invite each of them in a normal, natural way.”
For many, rejection is at the heart of why they don’t share the gospel. Maybe they haven’t shared the gospel because they are afraid of being rejected. Maybe they’ve been rejected before.
But the message Elder Nash is delivering is that sharing the gospel isn’t about whether there is a certain result. Sharing the gospel is about just that: sharing the gospel. That is the “responsibility” and “opportunity.”
Elder Nash went on to highlight blessings that sharing the gospel brings into people’s lives, which he has experienced. Those blessings include:
- Joy and hope
- God’s power in our lives
- Protection from temptation
- Healing
‘Sharing the Gospel Brings Joy and Hope’
Elder Nash spoke of the plan of salvation, how we lived with Heavenly Father before coming to earth and how our time here is our “opportunity to obtain a body, gain experience, learn, and grow in order to receive eternal life–which is God’s life.”
Because suffering and sin are part of mortality, Heavenly Father sent his son, Jesus Christ. Because of Christ’s “‘matchless life’ and infinite atoning sacrifice,” forgiveness, healing and wholeness is possible.
“To know these truths is life changing!” Elder Nash said. “When a person learns the glorious purpose of life, comes to understand that Christ forgives and succors those who follow Him, and then chooses to follow Christ into the waters of baptism, life changes for the better–even when the external circumstances of life do not.
“A radiantly happy sister I met in Onitsha, Nigeria, told me that from the time she learned the gospel and was baptized (and now I use her words), ‘everything is good for me. I am happy. I am in heaven.’ Sharing the gospel kindles joy and hope in the souls of both giver and receiver. Truly, ‘how great shall be your joy’ as you share the gospel! Sharing the gospel is joy upon joy, hope upon hope.”
A memorable moment from my Latter-day Saint mission occurred a couple months after I arrived in Taiwan. I was riding my bicycle down a road I had ridden many times, with my two companions for the day behind me. I turned my head to see how far back they were and the next thing I remember I was lying on my back on the ground and a number of Taiwanese people were huddled around me. I took an ambulance ride to the hospital, which I don’t remember, and drifted in and out of consciousness as I was wheeled into the emergency room. I had crashed into a truck and suffered a concussion.
The only thing that was going through my mind as I was in this half-conscious state was that I was going to be sent home from my mission, and I was terrified by the thought. I didn’t care about whether I was OK. I just did not want to go home. I loved being in Taiwan and I loved being a missionary. I literally wanted nothing else in my life in that moment but to be able to stay in Taiwan. What I was doing brought me joy and hope.
Thankfully, I recovered and was able to complete my mission.
‘Sharing the Gospel Brings God’s Power into Our Lives’
Second, Elder Nash spoke of the blessing of receiving the power of God. He pointed out that when baptized, we covenant to serve God and keep his commandments, which includes always standing as a witness of him.
“As we ‘abide in’ Him by keeping this covenant, the enlivening, sustaining, sanctifying power of godliness flows into our lives from Christ, just as a branch receives nourishment from the vine,” Elder Nash said.
How was I able to learn Chinese on my mission? Because I was a missionary. After two years of French in high school without retaining anything, I knew I was no language savant. Yet I learned Chinese sufficient to serve a mission. How is that explained any other way? I had God’s power in my life because I was a missionary. He sent me to Taiwan to teach the gospel, and he made sure that happened.
‘Sharing the Gospel Protects Us from Temptation’
Next, Elder Nash spoke of temptation. He quoted 3 Nephi 18:24-25, that warns that those who don’t hold up the light, which is Christ, put themselves in position to be tempted.
“Choosing to not hold up the gospel light moves us to the shadows, where we are susceptible to temptation,” Elder Nash said. “Importantly, the converse is true: choosing to hold up the gospel light brings us more fully into that light and the protection it provides against temptation. What a tremendous blessing in today’s world!”
Doesn’t it just make sense? If God’s ‘work and glory’ is ‘to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man,’ and ‘the worth of souls is great in the sight of God,’ then it follows that sharing the gospel is going to bring you closer to him, and if you are closer to him, then you’re going to have more of his protection from all that is bad for you.
‘Sharing the Gospel Brings Healing’
Sharing another story as he explained the fourth blessing, Elder Nash spoke of a sister who chose to support the missionaries even though she was dealing with “very heavy personal struggles, including questions about her faith.” Elder Nash reported that she recently informed him the decision to support the missionaries “has renewed her faith and sense of well-being.”
Imagine that. We have such a tendency to turn inward when we’re going through struggles. We think that is what we need, because to worry about other people will just bring us more stress or problems. This sister’s example is evidence, of which I know from personal experience as well, that what really helps is to turn outward.
“In her words, ‘Missionary work is so healing,'” Elder Nash said.
“Joy. Hope. Sustaining power from God. Protection from temptation. Healing. All of these–and more (including forgiveness of sins)–distill upon us from heaven as we share the gospel.”
‘Our great opportunity’
As he neared the conclusion of his talk, Elder Nash spoke of sharing the gospel as “our great opportunity.”
He highlighted Doctrine and Covenants 123:12, which says people are kept from the truth only because they don’t know where to find it,
“The need to hold up our light has never been greater in all human history. And the truth has never been more accessible,” Elder Nash said.
He mentioned a man named Jimmy Ton, who grew up Buddhist but studied the gospel by himself online and read the Book of Mormon on the app after being “impressed by a family who shared their life on YouTube.” That family was a part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Jimmy met with missionaries in college, was baptized and, at the time of this talk, was serving a full-time mission himself.
“He and his fellow missionaries around the world are the Lord’s battalion–to quote our prophet,” Elder Nash said. “These missionaries buck the trend of the world: while surveys report that Gen Z is turning away from God, our stripling warrior elders and sisters are turning people to God. And increasing numbers of members of the Church are uniting with the missionaries in sharing the gospel, helping more and more friends to come unto Christ and His Church.
“Our Latter-day Saints in Liberia helped 507 friends enter the waters of baptism during the 10 months there were no full-time missionaries serving in their country. When one of our wonderful stake presidents there heard that the full-time missionaries may be returning, he remarked, ‘Oh good, now they can help us with our work.’
“He is correct: the gathering of Israel–the greatest cause on this earth–is our covenant responsibility. And this is our time! My invitation today is simple: share the gospel. Be you and hold up the light. Pray for heaven’s help and follow spiritual promptings. Share your life normally and naturally; invite another person to come and see, to come and help, and to come and belong. And then rejoice as you and those you love receive the promised blessings.”
Jimmy’s story teaches us that sharing the gospel can have silent yet monumental impacts. That family that was sharing their life on YouTube took advantage of an opportunity it had, and that choice didn’t just bring one person to the gospel, but who knows how many others, especially given that Jimmy became a full-time missionary.
Conclusion
When Elder Nash threw out the first pitch at the Mariners game, he was following his own counsel by holding up his light. I don’t know if the Mariner Moose, who was shown getting ready to high-five Elder Nash at the end of the video, is going to be entering the waters of baptism any time soon, but the point is, Elder Nash was fulfilling his responsibility. He was taking advantage of an opportunity.
That is his counsel for all Latter-day Saints – to find ways to hold up their light.
“I know that in Christ these good tidings are preached to the meek; in Christ are the brokenhearted bound up; in Christ is liberty proclaimed to the captives; and in Christ, only in Christ, are those who mourn given beauty for ashes. Hence, the great need to make these things known!” Elder Nash said.
“I testify that Jesus Christ is the author and the finisher of our faith. He will finish, He will complete, our exercise of faith–however imperfect–in holding up the gospel light. He will work miracles in our lives and in the lives of all He gathers, for He is a God of miracles.”
Contact Ryan Comer at rcomer@standard.net.