"You may wonder if it is worth it to take a courageous moral stand in high school or to go on a mission only to have your most cherished beliefs reviled or strive against much in society that sometimes ridicules a life of religious devotion. Yes, it is worth it, because the alternative is to have our 'houses' left unto us 'desolate'---desolate individuals, desolate families, desolate neighborhoods, and desolate nations."
Though no longer a youth of the Church, I still took this challenge personally. This is my motivation behind why I post a lot of things I post on social media; because there are a lot of "false and vain and foolish doctrines" all around us to lead people astray, just as Nephi prophesied (2 Nephi 28:9) If we don't teach the truth to others and to the next generation, the wolves in sheep's clothing will teach them their dogma in its place.
Elder Holland later concluded his talk with the admonition:
"Be strong. Live the gospel faithfully even if others around you don't live it at all. Defend your beliefs with courtesy and compassion, but defend them."
And therein lies the great challenge---defending our beliefs, but "with courtesy and compassion."
I haven't always been successful at this in my social media experience. It's caused me to lose sleep on more than one occasion after a discussion turned contentious.
The thing of it is: No one was ever won over to a cause by an argument, anger, or contention.
In the Doctrine and Covenants, we are taught:
"No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virture of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;
"By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile---"Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;
"That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death.
"Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.
"The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever" (D&C 121:41-46; emphasis added).
As in so many other things, the gospel and the scriptures show us how to treat others and to love our fellow men.
The only point in my life in which I consistently was been able to see people change was through these very principles and it was, of course, the two years of my Church mission. On a regular basis, I got to help others feel the Spirit, identify His presence and witness, and then invite them to make very significant changes in their lives. Though many did not ultimately make these changes, even after feeling this powerful witness, some did---and miracles came as a result.
The Spirit and the truth did this; I didn't. I was just the messenger. As Paul said: "I have planted ... but God gave the increase" (1 Cor. 3:6).
If there are any who are reading this with whom I've had a disagreement at any point, I'm sorry. I was not my best self then. I'm still not, but I'm working to be a better self every day, even as I make mistakes. Odds are, so are you.
The gospel means everything to me, and I have a lot of opinions both about that and about current affairs that you'll see from time to time if we're connected on social media. Friendship also means a great deal to me. And, fortunately, having beliefs/opinions and friends with whom you disagree on some issues is not a mutually exclusive choice.
An added bonus: There is the option on many social media sites to hide certain posts from those people that are bound and determined to argue no matter what (while still letting them see other posts), even if you simply post something as horrifying as, say, "The sky is a beautiful blue today!" (They'll find a way somehow---trust me.) The importance of this option cannot be understated.
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