In the words of Elder Russell M. Nelson in April 2011 General Conference,
"Rarely in the future will it be easy or popular to be a faithful Latter-Day Saint. Each of us will be tested. The Apostle Paul warned that in the latter days, those who diligently follow the Lord 'shall suffer persecution.' (2 Timothy 3:12)
"That very persecution can either crush you into silent weakness or motivate you to be more exemplary and courageous in your daily lives."
I have already seen much in my own experience to testify the truth of Elder Nelson's message. I believe he is correct in encouraging us to continuously strengthen our faith to be ready as his words become increasingly true with every passing day.
Love it! Definitely brings back Elder Holland's talk from Stake Conference when he said that the first rule of thumb is to "Stay on the Boat!"
ReplyDeleteFaith is a gift, and like all gifts (or talents as they are referred to in the parable) if we do not use them or make the most of them they are taken away from us. It is impossible to simply remain motionless; either we are moving forward, or we're moving backward. So the choice we have (which is the choice we asked to make by coming here to earth based on your post from a couple weeks ago) is to strengthen our faith and resolve, or simply lose our faith all together.
While its certainly easier said then done, it certainly doesn't appear to be a difficult choice to make to me.
To paraphrase President Kimball, it's a lot easier choice if you make it in advance before you're in the heat of battle.
ReplyDeleteSarah and Darin could teach us all volumes about the challenges referred to in Elder Nelson's statement "That very persecution can either crush you into silent weakness or motivate you to be more exemplary and courageous in your daily lives." -- based on their experiences helping on the front lines of the campaign for California's Proposition 8. The easy thing to do would have been to believe in your heart that 8 was a good thing while talking yourself into being silent on the matter so as not to offend anyone. Even when you have the courage to go ahead and visibly stand up for what is right, there is the additional walk of faith to study and pray to know precisely what Heavenly Father would want you to say in those cases -- after all those who are opposing you are His children and He loves them too.
All the more reason that Elder Nelson's counsel is valuable, as is Elder Holland's as you point out, Josh. Thanks for your insightful comment!
Indeed! As you always like to quote...All Satan has to do to win is to get good people to do nothing. Most important part is to be the light on the hill, and not hide under the bushes. And thanks to you for getting the thoughts flowing!!
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