Invitation is a divine pattern integral to the Plan of Salvation.

While Heavenly Father’s plan honors agency by lovingly inviting each of His children to follow Him and His Son Jesus Christ, the adversary sought to destroy that agency and take the glory and power of God for himself. Satan’s approach would have necessarily trampled on the principles of invitation and agency and replaced them with coercion and compulsion. In that light, the idea of invitation and agency directly opposes the approach of the adversary. With Heavenly Father’s Plan of Happiness, invitation is key. It is fundamental to the plan and is the central method by which His purposes are accomplished.

Upon Earth, there are no ordinances of salvation carried out by any of Heavenly Father’s children without an invitation being extended first. As such, being effective at gathering Israel, and helping others to progress spiritually, will always involve the use of invitation. Becoming gatherers, therefore, involves learning how to invite others.

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf outlined key invitational concepts when he shared these phrases:

Come and see.
Come and help.
Come and stay.

The Savior himself expressly uses the divine principle of invitation when He says, "Come unto me.” Further, He invites:

And,

We gather Israel by extending invitations. However, with our friends, it is unlikely that our first invitation is to be baptized this coming Saturday. More likely, an initial invitation will be to interact with you more, have deeper conversations with you, feel of your love and interest, and to become a part of your circle, helping them to feel a sense of belonging.

The soon-to-be apostle Andrew, brother of Peter, listened intently to John the Baptist speak of Jesus as the Messiah. Interested, Andrew and his companion discretely followed Jesus one day as He walked. Jesus, recognizing that He was being followed, turned and asked, “What seek ye?” Andrew, perhaps out of curiosity and an indescribable feeling of attraction, responded with, “Rabbi (master)… where dwellest thou?” The Savior responded by inviting them to “Come and see”. They spent the day with Him in his simple abode. By being in the presence of the Savior, in such a simple circumstance, they came to recognize that this was the Christ. No sooner than they recognized who He was, the Savior vanished before them. Returning back to his brother Peter, Andrew would report, “We have found the Messias”. Their discovery of the Savior began with the Savior’s simple invitation, “Come and see.”

Keeping in mind that an invitation may be as simple as inviting someone to your back yard for a meal, or participating with you in local community service, opportunities to invite arise naturally and plentifully. Likewise, we can initiate conversations, interactions, and situations that create opportunities to invite others to come close - to come and see, to come and help, to come and stay.

President Nelson said anything you do to help others come closer to the Savior is gathering Israel. Coming closer to the Savior is really about helping others get close enough to hear His voice. Others recognize His voice through the love and acceptance you convey by inviting them to be around you, your family, your home, and your church (church family). This is the way others will hear and recognize His voice above the chaotic voices of the world.

Not infrequently, in Sunday meetings and gospel doctrine classes, we may hear others express the idea that being a good example is doing missionary work. This is not incorrect, though it may be incomplete as we frame our understanding of gathering Israel. Such an appraoch lacks invitation. Some may say that being a good example and loving others is planting seeds for the future (which is always an appropriate thing to do), but we must remember that it is a time to harvest. Harvest is synonymous with invitation. There are many around us who are the elect and are ready to follow the Savior.

Recall the unequivocal proclamation made in the fourth section of the Doctrine and Covenants:

In these passages, the Savior is suggesting that you are a candle to the world. With your righteous efforts to live and progress along the covenant path, you emit a kind of spiritual light. Heavenly Father’s children are drawn to that light. Even though they may do so unconsciously, people move toward light. As you live and keep covenants and apply the principles of the gospel in your life, others observe the way you live and something about that feels familiar to their souls. Others will see and feel the light within you, not because of you alone, but because of your connection to Jesus Christ. Your central purpose, in the way you live, is to allow your light to shine. Once they see the light, only by invitation can they be brought home, back into Heavenly Father's presence.

Don't overthink it. Simply invite. This is a key in helping others feel like they belong with us.

We not only want others to come and see, we want them to come and stay. Whether you've invited someone, or you notice someone you have not seen before in church or at an activity, you can help others desire to stay.

What then is the role of living good, Christ-centered, exemplary lives? For what purpose are we candles that remain visible to all (not hidden under a bushel)? In answering this question, one may ask, “After others are drawn to my light (which is the light of Christ), what then? Does being drawn to the light, by itself, constitute meaningful spiritual progress?”

Being drawn to the light, which is Christ, is key. However, by itself, the attraction does not automatically lead to making vital covenants and receiving ordinances of salvation, including baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and those special ordinances performed in the temple. With this in mind, being a good example, emitting light and love to all, is the foundation that prepares others to receive and accept the invitation. We can, therefore, assert that attraction to the gospel (and its people) does not yield the full results without our willingness to invite others to act, to come closer, to feel that they belong with us and Christ’s church.