Come Follow Me Personal Thoughts: Doctrine & Covenants Lesson # 43 “Take upon You My Whole Armor”

Doctrine & Covenants Lesson # 43

“Take upon You My Whole Armor”

Introduction

One of the things we talked about in our last lesson was the flood of modern revelation, and one of those currents was For the Strength of Youth. And also going along with ongoing revelation, the website devoted to this pamphlet contains many more articles than were originally printed. The lesson manual suggests referring to this if we are teaching the youth, but basically these principles apply to us all, no matter how old or young.[1] Some that are particularly relevant to the Whole Armor of God are

“Sexual Purity” (pages 26–28).
“Dress and Appearance” (pages 14–16).
“Entertainment and the Media” (pages 17–19).
“Music and Dancing” (pages 20–21).
“Honesty” (page 31).
“Language” (pages 22–23).

Now the women of the Church are not, thankfully Stepford Wives, nor do we conform to a particular hairstyle or mode of dress. We have our agency. But we can see from the Book of Mormon how well the Lamanites fared with their scant loincloths against the well-armored Nephites. So maybe pushing up against the boundaries on any or each of these areas is dangerous. And during this coming week, I will commit to looking at my life and see if I am starting to flirt with danger.

Elder Maxwell said:

“Quite frankly, brothers and sisters, we should be preparing now to live in a better world. This life is so vital, but it is such a small moment. And if we are too quick to adapt to the ways of this fleeting and flawed world, that very adjustment will maladjust us for our life in the next—a life that will last forever! No wonder those who break this commandment ‘lacketh understanding.’ By denying ourselves some appetites altogether, by governing other appetites, and by losing ourselves in service—we find ourselves (see Alma 39:9; 3 Ne. 12:30). We simply cannot make a difference in the world if we are just like the lost people of the world. Remember, if the salt loses its savor … (see Matt. 5:13)! We must resist the wrong fashions of the world. The thirteenth article of faith does not say that we believe in all things that are popular, fashionable, ugly, and sensual, and that we seek after these things! Rather, “We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men” (A of F 1:13). And these attributes depend on each other.”[2]

Regarding Honesty, Elder Bednar explains:

“Honesty is the quality or condition of being truthful, sincere, candid, and worthy of honor. The word honesty is related to other words with the same root such as honor and honorable These expressions share the notion of being genuine, trustworthy, upright, respectable, and decent. As President James E. Faust, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, has taught: “We all need to know what it means to be honest. Honesty is more than not lying. It is truth telling, truth speaking, truth living, and truth loving.”[3]

Language is a hard one, not necessarily for us, but in coping with the world around us. Profanities we would never utter, divine names that we hold sacred, are commonly used all around us. How do we armor ourselves against that? I don’t have the answer, and that is something I am going to ponder this week. We must be in the world, mustn’t we? We inevitably will hear things that hurt our ears, heart, and soul. It isn’t a new problem. Pres. Kimball tells us:

George Washington … set us a good example in this regard. When he learned that some of his officers were given to profanity, he sent a letter to them on July 1, 1776, from which we quote: “The General is sorry to be informed that the foolish and wicked practice of profane cursing and swearing, a vice heretofore little known in our American army, is growing into fashion. He hopes the officers will, by example as well as influence, endeavor to check it and that both they and the men will reflect that we can have little hope of the blessing of heaven on our arms if we insult it by our impropriety and folly. Added to this, it is a vice so mean and low, without any temptation, that every man of sense and character detests and despises it.

He goes on to warn us

Let us rededicate ourselves to reverential attitudes, toward an expression of gratitude to our Lord for his incomparable sacrifice. Let us remember the modern command, “Wherefore, let all man beware how they take my name in their lips” (D&C 63:61) .[4]

Thanks for reading. I know Kara will lead us in some wonderful discussions about all this next Sunday.

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