Here is a talk I gave a while ago about president Monson's talk Dare to Stand Alone:
As we go about living from day to day, it is almost
inevitable that our faith will be challenged. We may at times find ourselves
surrounded by others and yet standing in the minority or even standing alone
concerning what is acceptable and what is not. Has that happened to you? Do
we have the moral courage to stand firm for our beliefs, even if by so doing we
must stand alone? As holders of the priesthood of God, it is essential that we
are able to face—with courage—whatever challenges come our way. Remember the
words of Tennyson: “My strength is as the strength of ten, because my heart is
pure.”
Increasingly, some celebrities and others who—for one reason
or another—are in the public eye have a tendency to ridicule religion in
general and, at times, the Church in particular. If our testimonies are not
firmly enough rooted, such criticisms can cause us to doubt our own beliefs or
to waver in our resolves. - Pres. Monson
In Lehi’s vision of the tree of life, found in 1 Nephi 8, Lehi
sees, among others, those who hold to the iron rod until they come forth and
partake of the fruit of the tree of life, which we know is a representation of the love of God. And then, sadly, after they partake of the fruit, some are
ashamed because of those in the “great and spacious building,” who represent
the pride of the children of men, who are pointing fingers at them and scoffing
at them; and they fall away into forbidden paths and are lost. What a powerful tool of the adversary is ridicule and mockery! Again, brethren,
do we have the courage to stand strong and firm in the face of such difficult
opposition?
President Benson:
“In all ages, prophets have looked
down through the corridors of time to our day. Billions of the deceased and
those yet to be born have their eyes on us. Make no mistake about it—you are a
marked generation. …
“For nearly six thousand years, God
has held you in reserve to make your appearance in the final days before the
second coming of the Lord. Some individuals will fall away, but the kingdom of
God will remain intact to welcome the return of its Head—even Jesus Christ.
“While this generation will be
comparable in wickedness to the days of Noah, when the Lord cleansed the earth
by flood, there is a major difference this time: [it is that] God has saved for
the final inning some of His strongest … children, who will help bear off the
kingdom triumphantly.”
Said President Gordon B. Hinckley:
“You cannot afford to do anything
that would place a curtain between you and the ministering of angels in your
behalf.
“You cannot be immoral in any sense.
You cannot be dishonest. You cannot cheat or lie. You cannot take the name of
God in vain or use filthy language and still have the right to the ministering
of angels.”
“We are never alone when we stand with our Father in Heaven.”
There is a certain type of people that I call "fence sitters". They are at a place in their life spiritually where they
consider themselves in the middle. Doing just enough to get by and justify that
they are on good terms with the Lord. They go through the motions of attending
church or reading scriptures but then talk bad about others or have poor
integrity.
Becoming casual in the gospel or doing things that you know are
wrong outweigh the good and please Satan in more ways than one. You may despise
Satan and all he stands for and would never dream of following him. However you
are doing just that when you “ride the fence”.
Often times when we are not serving the Lord we are not
doing it deliberately. We are not trying to rebel or purposely sin, or hurt the
Lord. Most often we just aren’t thinking about the repercussions our choices
have. We aren’t understanding the grand scheme of things or looking at our life
with an eternal perspective. We are just living in the moment for the here and
now.
I always say, “If only I knew then what I know now… I would
have handled that situation better, chose differently.” Use that as the faith
to avoid temptation and ride the fence. After this life, you will pass through
the veil and remember everything! You will look back on your life….and possibly
say “If only I knew then what I know now… I would have..” Avoid that sorrow and
live your life so that instead you’ll rejoice and say, “I knew it! I knew it
was true!”
You see, that’s what a testimony is. It’s what we know to be
true. If we really know the gospel to be true – all of it, our lives will
reflect that. When we don’t understand the gospel to its fullest, our lives
reflect that.
What is your attitude about the gospel? I love learning the
doctrine. I love to read and study the deep subjects of the gospel. I want to
know the mysteries of God. This is exciting to me. However, I can know the
doctrine inside and out but it doesn’t do me any good if I don’t understand the
basic principles of the gospel and apply them in my life.
They go hand in hand. The more I study the doctrine the more
I am reminded about the importance of the principals. The more, I am reminded
the more I want to live them. The more I live them the more I am blessed and
strengthened so that when the time comes to stand alone, I have the faith,
strength and courage to do so.
In the hymn “Who’s on the Lord’s
Side?” the chorus sings
“Who’s on the Lord’s Side Who? Now
is the time to show. We ask it fearlessly; who’s on the Lord’s side? Who?”
The battle of good and evil has been
going on since the beginning of time. This battle is real and we are all in it
whether we choose to be or not. We know from the scriptures that eventually the
battle will end and good will prevail. We should all want to be on the Lord’s
side and help fight the fight.
In any battle, a soldier that let’s
down his guard our sits on the sidelines will eventually meet his fate. Don’t
let that happen to you. Stand up for what you know is right. Live what you
believe. Serve the Lord faithfully in all you do. Don’t sit on the sidelines,
fly below the radar or ride the fence. You are not defending or serving the
Lord when you do this. This is not a situation you want to find yourself in.
When you are not strong you are weak. When you are weak you are vulnerable to
the influence of the adversary.
Many people knowingly serve Satan while others serve his
purposes without understanding how they are doing so..
Ok, so why is this
message so important and how can we make sure we are on the Lord's side?
In our time music and the media is
Satan's biggest weapon. There are so many top 40 songs that contain lyrics that
completely defy God and all He stands for. The melodies are catchy and popular
and its so easy to want to tap your feet to the beat and get these songs stuck
in your head. There are so many movies with great reviews from the critics, and
they receive awards, praise and recognition by the world but they are full of
questionable content that also defy God and all He stands for.
When we bring these
"weapons" into our homes and minds we are unknowingly fighting
against the Lord. lWe are serving Satan and supporting his purposes. Filthy
language, pornography, premarital sex, vulgar talk , jokes and imagery are all
things that even if we don't personally participate in them we are supporting
them by watching them and laughing at them.
If they are offensive to Him they are offensive to me. We
should be more careful that we do not become desensitized by all of this. We
should find these things offensive.
Doing our best to stand up for righteousness even if it means standing alone, will bring us great blessings as we show our love and obedeince for the Lord and his commandments. I say this in the sacred name of Jesus Christ amen.
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