Christian Courage

Lately I have been feeling lots of anxiety over all the hatred toward our Church resulting from the passing of Proposition 8 in California. I have spent time on my knees praying for a way for these feelings to go away. I just don't know how to act when I'm feeling attack about my beliefs. Then today an answer. I came across this conference talk by Robert D. Hales. I love it. It is exactly what I needed to hear to help me forgo these feelings of being scared for our members there and for our sacred Temple grounds. You can find the entire talk on lds.org and then search under "Christian Courage." Here is just a few quotes I really liked.

"We have gathered together as one, we have taken upon us the name of Jesus Christ, and we are Christians. One of the questions we would ask: why then, if we have that love of the Savior, would someone want to be an antagonist or to attack us?"

In such moments, we may want to respond aggressively—to “put up our dukes.” But these are important opportunities to step back, pray, and follow the Savior’s example. Remember that Jesus Himself was despised and rejected by the world. And in Lehi’s dream, those coming to the Savior also endured “mocking and pointing … fingers” (1 Nephi 8:27). “The world hath hated [my disciples],” Jesus said, “because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” (John 17:14). But when we respond to our accusers as the Savior did, we not only become more Christlike, we invite others to feel His love and follow Him as well."

To respond in a Christlike way cannot be scripted or based on a formula. The Savior responded differently in every situation. When He was confronted by wicked King Herod, He remained silent. When He stood before Pilate, He bore a simple and powerful testimony of His divinity and purpose. Facing the moneychangers who were defiling the temple, He exercised His divine responsibility to preserve and protect that which was sacred. Lifted up upon a cross, He uttered the incomparable Christian response: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).

We can take advantage of such opportunities in many ways: a kind letter to the editor, a conversation with a friend, a comment on a blog, or a reassuring word to one who has made a disparaging comment. We can answer with love those who have been influenced by misinformation and prejudice—who are “kept from the truth because they know not where to find it” (D&C 123:12). I assure you that to answer our accusers in this way is never weakness. It is Christian courage in action.

This is not to suggest that we compromise our principles or dilute our beliefs. We cannot change the doctrines of the restored gospel, even if teaching and obeying them makes us unpopular in the eyes of the world. Yet even as we feel to speak the word of God with boldness, we must pray to be filled with the Holy Ghost (see Acts 4:29, 31). We should never confuse boldness with Satan’s counterfeit: overbearance (see Alma 38:12). True disciples speak with quiet confidence, not boastful pride.

Without guile, true disciples avoid being unduly judgmental of others’ views. Many of us have cultivated strong friendships with those who are not members of our Church—schoolmates, colleagues at work, and friends and neighbors throughout the world. We need them, and they need us. As President Thomas S. Monson has taught, “Let us learn respect for others. … None of us lives alone—in our city, our nation, or our world.”3

I feel so much better now that I read that. Such great words of council from an Apostle of God. We can not retaliate by being mean spirited. We must defend Christ by being Christ-like. Every situation will be different. Some times we will have to stand up for our beliefs in a loving way and some times we will have to simply say nothing and walk away. I think this is something that we will all have to put into practice as the latter-days roll on. One thing that Elder Hales says is the most effective way to stand up to those that attack us is to bear our testimony:

I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true. I know that every blessing that I have ever received is because of my membership in this church. I know that the Savior is the living Christ and died for me so that I may return to live with Him again if I am true and faithful to the covenants that I have made with Him in the Holy Temple. I know that families are forever and if I strive each day to keep the commandments that I will live with my little family in the eternities. I know that Jesus Christ is the only way to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. My testimony is not centered in what the world thinks, but is centered in what my Savior thinks of me. I know that each and every time I pray He hears me. I know that my struggles and trials in this life are meant to refine me and make me the person the He knows I can be. I know that Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ and restored the priesthood on this earth. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a true and living prophet called of God to lead our church under the direction of the Savior. I know that I was saved to come forth during this time on earth because Heavenly Father knew that I would stand up for what I believe and fight for His cause. I know that the Savior will come again and "every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ." In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen