I've been pondering something recently, and I'm curious for all y'all's imput. It relates to the commitment to "stand as a witness of God and all times, and in all things, and in all places". I recall noticing a while back something that I thought was interesting. In the same chapter that invites us to always stand as a witness (Mosiah 18), we also have the record of Alma hiding from the king and his men, and only teaching in secret. It would seem that there were limitations to his witnessing aloud.
It led me to think of the example of Abish, the Lamanitish women who was a convert of many years in which she was described as "never having made it known" that she was a believer. She didn't bear witness until she recognized the right time, then she invited others to come and see the hand of the Lord. I also thought of Esther, who similarly didn't disclose her beliefs for quite some time, but instead waited for the right time to stand as a witness.
I guess I'm wondering if at "all times and in all things and in all places" refers to hoe our lives should always reflect our commitment to God and His commandments, but if perhaps sharing our witness overtly through our words is dependent on the situation and circumstances.
As I am updating my resume and trying to figure out how to present my seminary teaching job, and as I am trying to decide how to present myself and my information on a blog I am working on, I wonder if I should first work on establishing myself so that I will have a bigger audience who has confidence in me with whom I can later share gospel-related things. Or, if I should stand as a witness now by being more overtly LDS and crediting many ideas to Gospel teachings. What do y'all think?
It led me to think of the example of Abish, the Lamanitish women who was a convert of many years in which she was described as "never having made it known" that she was a believer. She didn't bear witness until she recognized the right time, then she invited others to come and see the hand of the Lord. I also thought of Esther, who similarly didn't disclose her beliefs for quite some time, but instead waited for the right time to stand as a witness.
I guess I'm wondering if at "all times and in all things and in all places" refers to hoe our lives should always reflect our commitment to God and His commandments, but if perhaps sharing our witness overtly through our words is dependent on the situation and circumstances.
As I am updating my resume and trying to figure out how to present my seminary teaching job, and as I am trying to decide how to present myself and my information on a blog I am working on, I wonder if I should first work on establishing myself so that I will have a bigger audience who has confidence in me with whom I can later share gospel-related things. Or, if I should stand as a witness now by being more overtly LDS and crediting many ideas to Gospel teachings. What do y'all think?
I haven't had time to study this, but the first thing that came to mind was Mormon and Moroni. Moroni, for example, states that he would not deny Christ, even though it would mean being put to death (Moroni 1:2-3). But unlike Abinadi and others who died for their witness of Christ, Moroni hid (Moroni 1:1) because Heavenly Father had another mission for him to fulfill.
ReplyDeleteI think another application of this is, At what cost should we share our witness? What if it means alienating a friend or family member? Is it worth sacrificing or harming an important relationship? I think sometimes the answer is yes, because so much is at stake, but at other times the answer may be no. It's a delicate balance, and it probably depends on the situation and personal revelation. But I don't really know. I haven't found a definitive answer that satisfies me one way or another.