Walk the Walk

Mosiah 4:19

"And this he did that he himself might go forth among his people, or among the people of Nephi, that he might preach the word of God unto them, to stir them up in remembrance of their duty, and that he might pull down, by the word of God, all the pride and craftiness and all the contentions which were among his people, seeing no way that he might reclaim them save it were in bearing down in pure testimony against them."

I loved the quote that Seth May gave in Elder's Quorum yesterday. It is still resonating with me, and that is something that I have found is rare nowadays, especially with something that I didn't write down. The quote he read (and I don't remember the exact words used, just the gist of it) went something like this:

"Where ever you are, what ever you are doing, constantly bear your testimony. Bear your testimony when you are at school; bear your testimony when you are at work; bear your testimony when you are playing sports; bear your testimony no matter what you are doing. And when you feel it necessary, use words."

That really struck me. We really do have the ability to show someone who we are, simply by the way in which we act, speak, joke around; by our work ethic, what we laugh at, whom we associate with, and the choices we make in our every day lives when surrounded by anyone and everyone.  We don't need to pretend as though we are speaking from a pulpit when we bear our testmony. We say that we strive to have Christ's image in our countenance, but what does that really mean?

To me, that means that when someone looks at us, in our every day lives, they see someone who is obviously a follower of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. That if we were to be accused of being a Christian, or a Mormon, or whatever the accusation may be - that upon review of our lives, day in and day out - there would be overwhelming evidence to convict us of that accusation. 

One of the greatest offenses we can do towards another human being, is to let them witness us doing something that would be unbecoming of a member of Christ's true church. For example, and let me use fake names here to illustrate my point. Joe is a member of the church, he works with Hank. Hank is a agnostic person who never really gives much thought to religion, but doesn't reject the idea entirely. He lives a life that suits him, based on his own morals and ideals. Joe knows that Hank wouldn't care if he saw him steal something from work, and there is an item that Joe really wants to have, but wants to be able to use it more than just at work. So, Joe figures out a way that he can steal this item with the only witness being Hank, and since Hank won't really care - definitely not enough to report his good friend - Joe decides to go through with it. 

Years go by, and missionaries knock on Hank's door. They tell him about the gospel and Hank seems very receptive, but then something from his past comes to remembrance. He remembers that Joe stole something from work, and these missionaries are telling him that it is wrong to steal. However, Joe was a member of the church these missionaries are from. What kind of impression did Joe's action leave on Hank in regards to his opinion of those who are of that religion? Is Hank inclined to reject the message of these missionaries because of the actions of his good friend Joe? The answer is yes.

Committing sins in and of itself is a terrible thing, but when you commit them in the presence of others, that is one of the worst influences you can have on a person. Salvation only comes in one way, and what a terrible feeling you would have if you knew that a thoughtless act you committed a long time ago was the reason for another human being rejecting the church.

For more examples:

If you skip church to go to a party with a friend, that friend thinks that church attendance must not be very important to that person or to that religion.

If you watch a show or a movie that is obviously not something a member of the church should be viewing, your friends must then realize that your fellow church members must not take holiness and piety very seriously.

If you use foul language around your friends, your friends must them come to the conclusion that members of your church are not very respectful or thoughtful of others.

In many cases, we are the only member of our church that our friends know. We owe it to them, for their eternal destiny, for our own eternal destiny, to represent the church in the best way we know how - by living what it teaches.