I Am Not Ashamed

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I am not ashamed of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ! I pray daily for the miracle that God will give me the wisdom and the words to speak so that I might never lose control of my emotions and never speak words in anger no matter how ugly the words coming at me are.

I want to defend my faith and teach the doctrine I love without landing myself in the toxic soup of venomous contention that infects civic dialogue today. This era of polarization and passionate disagreements presents perhaps the greatest challenge #LatterDaySaints have faced in seeking to follow Christ as peacemakers.

Our world is saturated with words of insult, condemnation, and vilification. I hope that God will inspire me when and how to speak, that I may build, lift, encourage, persuade, and inspire. No matter how difficult the situation. I pray for discernment, even foresight, to know what interaction might lead to contention and pray that my words won’t foster that contention, for I know contention is of the devil, and when it arrives the Spirit is fled.

Hardest of all, but of most importance, I pray for Charity. Especially Charity under fire. In situations that are highly charged and filled with contention, I try to remember Jesus Christ and say a silent prayer to have the courage and wisdom to say or do what He would — especially when “turn the other cheek” and remain silent is what the Spirit directs.

I will not be perfect, I will make mistakes, I will forget my righteous desires under pressure; and I will repent and try again. I will try to be humble enough to be able to recognize when I am in the wrong. If you help remind me when I lose my way, I will be grateful — if not at first — then on second thought.

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