What a great talk! I really enjoyed reading it, and I think it went along with the feelings that I had from the rest of General Conference...that even though there are so many scary and evil things happening in the world, we are on the winning side.
One quote that got me thinking was from President Monson, "None --whether young or old or in-between--is exempt from exposure to those things which have the potential to drag us down and destroy us." This made me think of the standard, obvious things we need to avoid: pornography, drugs, alcohol, etc. But then the word "potential" stuck out to me. Pornography, drugs and alcohol will drag us down, but what other things have the potential to drag us down?
Matt and I had a discussion about this, and as we discussed this, we were reminded of Elder Oaks talk of "Good, Better and Best". We also concluded that anything that we spend too much time on and forget our other obligations and responsibilities is something we should avoid. We discussed technology as well. Technology is something we are all exposed to, but I think it depends on how we choose to use it. For instance, I think Facebook is a great way to stay in contact with family, but if we use it excessively it could drag us down and distract us from what we should be doing.
Another quote I enjoyed was, "We cannot allow ourselves to be confused by popular messages that are easily accepted by the world and that contradict the doctrine and true principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Many of these worldly messages represent nothing more than an attempt of our society to justify sin." One thing that has been surprising to me (especially since moving to Utah) is how we as members of the Church have so many opinions on how the Church should or shouldn't be doing things. With the big social movements of the day, it has been surprising to me that people that I thought would hold the same beliefs as me, actually don't. I think that at times this can make life very confusing. I think Elder Soares said it best when he stated, "My dear brethern, because of the wave of confusion and doubt spreading throughout the world today, we must hold ever more tightly to our testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then will our ability to defend truth and justice greatly increase. We will win the daily battles against evil, and, rather than fall on the battlefields of life, we will rally others to the Master's standards."
What a great talk! I really enjoyed reading it, and I think it went along with the feelings that I had from the rest of General Conference...that even though there are so many scary and evil things happening in the world, we are on the winning side.
ReplyDeleteOne quote that got me thinking was from President Monson, "None --whether young or old or in-between--is exempt from exposure to those things which have the potential to drag us down and destroy us." This made me think of the standard, obvious things we need to avoid: pornography, drugs, alcohol, etc. But then the word "potential" stuck out to me. Pornography, drugs and alcohol will drag us down, but what other things have the potential to drag us down?
Matt and I had a discussion about this, and as we discussed this, we were reminded of Elder Oaks talk of "Good, Better and Best". We also concluded that anything that we spend too much time on and forget our other obligations and responsibilities is something we should avoid. We discussed technology as well. Technology is something we are all exposed to, but I think it depends on how we choose to use it. For instance, I think Facebook is a great way to stay in contact with family, but if we use it excessively it could drag us down and distract us from what we should be doing.
Another quote I enjoyed was, "We cannot allow ourselves to be confused by popular messages that are easily accepted by the world and that contradict the doctrine and true principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Many of these worldly messages represent nothing more than an attempt of our society to justify sin." One thing that has been surprising to me (especially since moving to Utah) is how we as members of the Church have so many opinions on how the Church should or shouldn't be doing things. With the big social movements of the day, it has been surprising to me that people that I thought would hold the same beliefs as me, actually don't. I think that at times this can make life very confusing. I think Elder Soares said it best when he stated, "My dear brethern, because of the wave of confusion and doubt spreading throughout the world today, we must hold ever more tightly to our testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then will our ability to defend truth and justice greatly increase. We will win the daily battles against evil, and, rather than fall on the battlefields of life, we will rally others to the Master's standards."