Edified: Insights for LDS Women
Ep 21--Modern Day Defenders of Truth

Just a few short months ago, we had the privilege to hear from the Lord’s prophet, and from those called as prophets, seers, and revelators.

To some, our leaders spoke words of inspiration and motivation. To others, they spoke comfort and encouragement. But to all of us, and to the world, they spoke words of truth--they stood in defense of truth and virtue. 

Over the past couple of years, I have felt the Spirit prompting me to be more actively engaged in sharing my testimony of the Savior with the world. And as many of you know, I have felt the call to do this through social media posts, blogging, YouTube videos, and this podcast. It didn’t take long, however, before I discovered that sharing my testimony with the world through social media opened a lot of doors to a lot of criticism. Before long, I found myself second-guessing every message before posting an inspirational thought or sharing quotes from our leaders. I would pause and ask myself who might be offended or uncomfortable with what I had to say, and little by little, I allowed the voices of opposition and the fear of criticism or ridicule to close my virtual mouth. Instead of speaking up, I played it safe, sharing only fun memes and family updates.

Then one night, I watched a video clip from President Nelson that my daughter had shared on Facebook. I clicked on the “like” button, but I didn’t “share” the post. As I began to scroll down to the next post, the thought came to me, “Will you not stand with the prophet in defending truth?” And then, just as clear as ever, the former Young Women’s Theme flooded my mind. 

So I clicked on the “share” button, and in my post, I added, “I will stand as witnesses of God at all times, and in all things and in all places.” I had to decide if I had the courage to stand with Jesus Christ, or if, out of fear, I was going to be one of those people who hide their light under a bushel. This was an uncomfortable moment for me. But I determined then and there that if I was going to engage in this great work our prophet has invited us to engage in, then I needed to be willing to be a voice for truth, a voice for virtue, and a voice for Christ in social media. Come what may, and love it! 

The pattern of preparation that Moroni used to strengthen the Nephites and prepare them to defend against Lamanite aggression can be examined in four phases: REVIEW, RENEW, REMODEL & REINFORCE, and these four phases parallel counsel given to us by our prophet, President Nelson. 

Can’t you just see President Nelson raising the standard of liberty for all of us to see? 

Four things we need to do to become modern-day defenders of truth and virtue: 

1. Before we can defend truth, we first need to obtain the truth for ourselves. 
   
   
2. Before we can defend virtue, we first need to live virtuous lives. We must stand in holy places, and, “make holy the places where we stand.” 
   
   
3. We need to establish a game plan for defending our faith. In order to do this, we must be aware of the enemy’s strategies for deceiving mankind. 
   
   
4. We need to be proactive in becoming a voice for virtue. 

DO ONE THING Invitation

Post a scripture or a quote from one of our leaders on social media. Do something each day this week to promote the cause of Christians. By doing so, we will be lighting the world around us and the world within us. 

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Music: "Keys of Moon, Be Inspired" Free music download.

Have a great week everyone :-)