Who does God use and How does he use them?

I came across a terrific verse this morning.

D.C. 39:11

11And if thou do this, I have prepared thee for a greater work. Thou shalt preach the ^afulness of my gospel, which I have sent forth in these last days, the ^bcovenant which I have sent forth to^crecover my people, which are of the house of Israel.

This verse is talking about James Covill. He had been a Baptist minister for 40 years when he found the church. "If thou do this" refers to verse 10 in which he is instructed to repent and be baptized. Then the rest of the chapter talks about how great a missionary he'll be and that he'll do so immediately. It's a great lesson about how God uses us. James is incredibly knowledgeable about the scriptures and the gospel and would have been a terrific preacher/teacher if he joined the church. Not very many members were called to preach immediately like he is in this verse (consider Hyrum Smith for instance - told to "treasure up my word" in D.C. 11).

God uses all of our past experiences for good in this life and in his work. That's why we need people from every sort of background; all of their experiences can be used for good.

Perhaps the best known example of this is Ammon and his brothers. Nephites had tried to convert Lamanites for centuries (literally centuries - see Enos 1:20 below)

20And I bear record that the people of Nephi did seek diligently to ^arestore the Lamanites unto the true faith in God. But our^blabors were vain; their ^chatred was fixed, and they were led by their evil nature that they became wild, and ferocious, and a^dblood-thirsty people, full of ^eidolatry and ^ffilthiness; feeding upon beasts of prey; dwelling in ^gtents, and wandering about in the wilderness with a short skin girdle about their loins and their heads shaven; and their skill was in the ^hbow, and in the cimeter, and the ax. And many of them did eat nothing save it was raw meat; and they were continually seeking to destroy us.

So why were Ammon and his brothers successful? I think it's because of what they'd been through. They knew that it was an incredible blessing that they had been snatched from their awful fate. Therefore, they were willing to do whatever was necessary to help the Lamanites escape their awful fate. That's why Ammon said, "I'll stay here as long as I want." Oftentimes we say that service is how Ammon opened the hearts of the Lamanites. That's not completely accurate. Service was simply the result of the willingness he had to help them for as long as possible. Also, I think they were impressed by the circumstances he found himself in and the attitude he had. Ammon wasn't just serving: he was serving among strangers with no friends and family. He was in a tough situation and living very well. Why was he willing to do that? Because of his past experiences that made him say, "I will do whatever it takes to help these people."

God uses all of our past experiences for good if we let him.