Standing As A Witness

Some events going on in my personal life right now have caused me to reflect on yet more gospel principles. (Yes, its quite amazing how those kinds of things cause us to do such.)

Attributed to the Irish statesman Edmund Burke, the quote "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing" comes to mind. The other thing to consider are the people that simply claim "neutrality" on specific issues in the interest of "not taking sides." By claiming "neutrality" - we are taking sides on things. Unfortunately, in many of these cases, that stance is actually more harmful than going against things.

As I further ponder the subject of standing as a witness, I am reminded of one of my more recently beloved quotes:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us.We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine we unconsciously give other people the right to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Marianne Williamson

I love that quote! It is so empowering! Further, it helps to illustrate my stance on things even more. The thing to remember however is that there are times in our lives where we will find that we must stand alone - at least mortally. Those of us with a strong testimony of Jesus Christ and His Atonement will always recognize that we will never be alone in our lives, but there will be those times when we will feel such.

As we consider this stance - we are brought to the recognition of such individuals as Alma, Amulek, Abinadi, Samuel the Lamanite, Nephi, and a plethora of other individuals from the Book of Mormon, and chiefly of all examples - Jesus Christ himself. Now, we may ask ourselves if we can put ourselves in the same category as those individuals - which most of us would probably say - no. Do we give ourselves that opportunity though, or do we "play small" to avoid confrontation?

Is this not part of the covenant that we took when we were baptized however - to stand as witnesses? Mosiah 18:9 clearly states: "Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in"

I'm not embarrassed to admit it either - but I used to have the old Young Women's theme which stated: "We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and we love Him. We will stand as witnesses of God, at all times, and in all things, and in all places, as we strive to live the Young Women's Values..." Priesthood holders of all offices are similarly mandated to do the same thing - especially those holding the sacred privilege of the Melchizedek Priesthood.

There's a great talk on the subject here:
http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=ea19db98e2b9c110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&hideNav=1

As we go about our lives, we must consider what we stand as witnesses of. We know that we shall stand as witnesses of God wherever we are at, but what does this entail? I would submit that this encompasses much more than we realize at times. My prior conversation tonight allowed me to stand up for my allegiance to the United States Government - as a loyal citizen, and as an individual that enjoys the privilege of freedom so valiantly established by our forefathers and maintained by those in the defense of liberty to this day. This of course could not be accomplished without the hand of God present in the formation of this great country. As this has been a blessing conferred upon me personally, and upon those that enjoy this privilege in our country today, we should similarly stand as witnesses of our country wherever we may be - especially against the adversary and his followers that seek to destroy or weaken the freedoms that we enjoy.

No, we will not find ourselves standing for the most popular beliefs at times. In fact, as members of the Church, we frequently find ourselves standing alone. We know that we will be blessed for it though. In the 121st Section of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord tells Joseph:

My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; though shalt triumph over all thy foes. Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands. Thou art not yet as Job; thy friends do not contend against thee, neither charge thee with transgression, as they did Job. (Doctrine and Covenants 121:7-10)

How grateful I am for the privilege I have to stand as a witness of God in my own right, and to stand up for the country and its freedoms which I so value!