Lacking Celestial Motivation

Before leaving on my mission I spent several evenings teaming up with the missionaries in our ward to see how they taught and to gain a general feel for mission life. I still recall teaching one investigator a lesson on the role of Jesus Christ, part of which included a discussion on the resurrection–how it was a free gift and that we would gain a perfect body, etc. There wasn’t anything special about the lesson that still keeps it in my mind today; rather it was the investigators reaction and the lack of a compelling response on the part of the missionaries that I’m occasionally reminded of. When asked about how she felt about the resurrection, she replied that she found it extremely disconcerting. The prospect of having a resurrected body–something she felt would be useless in the next life–bothered her.

My purpose here isn’t to raise issues about a bodily resurrection; rather, I’d like to pose the question of how we handle situations where our LDS world-view is not particularly inspiring. I think we have a series of answers for situations where  those involved in seeking after the rewards of an LDS lifestyle want it but lack the strength to seek after it–they should pray, read, come to church, etc. But what happens when people simply do not want those rewards? What happens, for instance, when celestial glory does not seem so “glorious”? Or an eternal family does not seem so enticing?

How do we respond when those investigating our faith are simply not motivated by what we have to offer? And, perhaps more importantly, how do we cope with situations where we may not be especially motivated to seek after the eternal rewards of Mormonism?