"He granteth unto men according to their desire"

A recurring message in the scriptures is "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."  (Matthew 7:7-8)  When we need something from Heavenly Father, if we ask faithfully He will give it to us.  Often, he will answer our prayers through His servants here on this earth.  Sometimes, if we are truly seeking to serve Him, we are blessed to be the instruments by which He blesses others.

I certainly hope to bless others' lives.  I believe that the most important way I can help others is by sharing the restored Gospel with them.  While it's good to serve in many ways, such as by providing food or doing physical labor, if we can share true knowledge and inspire others to live according to that truth, then for the most part they will be able to provide what they need for themselves and dedicate themselves to service as well.  So I love to testify of the restored gospel.

I find myself frustrated in my desire sometimes, though.  While I would love to declare the joyous truths of the restored gospel with everyone, that isn't how God works.  He gives to those who ask.  Or, as Alma said, "O that I were an angel[...]that I might go forth[...]with a voice to shake the earth, and[...]declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth.  But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me.  [...]I know that he granteth unto men according to their desire[...]yea, I know that he allotteth unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their wills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction."  (Alma 29:1-4)

I doubt that Alma met people who intentionally sought spiritual destruction, but many who heard him definitely did choose that path through their refusal of the true gospel.  Similarly, we run into people who, while professing to live life just like anyone else, reject the glad message of the restored gospel.  Despite my great desires to share the gospel, if someone doesn't want it, I should "give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you."  (Matthew 7:6, interestingly spoken by Jesus right before the passage above.)  I hesitate to call anyone "swine" or "dog", but I recognize that many will find no value in the treasures I share and will instead mock them and me.  Thus, I should reserve my great treasure for those who seek it.

I have found that even when someone asks a question about my religion they may not merit a lengthy response, depending on whether they ask with a real desire to know.  Just because someone throws out a simple question, I should not seek to provide every answer to every question.  The other day I spoke about the restored gospel for several hours with a friend, but in hindsight, I see that I was more eager to share the truths of the Restoration than he was to learn them.  The result was that, despite my testimony of the Book of Mormon, he still didn't want to read it.  Without doing so, he cannot gain a testimony for himself.  Even if he did read some of it, if he did not ponder the words and ask God "with a sincere heart, with real intent" (Moroni 10:4), he would not receive an answer from God.

Last thoughts for now:
I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone and is a joyous, wonderful thing.  I know that I should "be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh [me] a reason of the hope that is in [me]".  Yet, I should guard the treasure of my testimony, and as I seek to serve God I should seek to share my testimony and knowledge only inasmuch as others truly seek it, just as "He granteth unto men according to their desire".  And like Alma, "I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me."  And, though it won't always happen at the speed I would like, measure by measure, those who listen to the voice of the Shepherd will be gathered into Zion.