3
Nephi 3:5
Badge of Courage
“The true badge of
courage is overcoming the fear of men.”—Elder Lynn G. Robbins,
“Which
Way Do You Face?”
What
5 Therefore
I have written this epistle, sealing it with mine own hand, feeling
for your welfare, because of your firmness in that which ye believe
to be right, and your noble spirit in the field of battle.
Why
Giddianhi
knew that Lachoneus was a noble and valiant man and tried to weaken
him by acknowledging that .
Pattern
Noble
Valiant, Valiantly
28 A
time to come in the which anothing shall
be withheld, whether there be bone
God or
many cgods,
they shall be manifest.
29 All
thrones and dominions, principalities and powers, shall
be arevealed and
set forth upon all who have endured bvaliantly for
the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Conference
By
Elder Lynn G. Robbins Of
the Presidency of the Seventy
“Which
way do you face?” President Boyd K. Packer surprised me with
this puzzling question while we were traveling together on my very
first assignment as a new Seventy. Without an explanation to put the
question in context, I was baffled. “A Seventy,” he continued,
“does not represent the people to the prophet but the prophet to
the people. Never forget which way you face!” It was a powerful
lesson.
Trying
to please others before pleasing God is inverting the first
and second great commandments (see Matthew
22:37–39).
It is forgetting which way we face. And yet, we have all made that
mistake because of the fear of men. In Isaiah the Lord warns us,
“Fear ye not the reproach of men” (Isaiah
51:7;
see also 2 Nephi
8:7).
In Lehi’s dream, this fear was triggered by the finger
of scorn pointed
from the great and spacious building, causing many to forget which
way they faced and to leave the tree “ashamed” (see 1 Nephi
8:25–28).
This
peer pressure tries
to change a person’s attitudes, if not behavior, by making one feel
guilty for giving offense. We seek respectful coexistence with those
who point fingers, but when this fear of men tempts us to condone
sin, it becomes a “snare” according to the book of Proverbs
(see Proverbs
29:25).
The snare may be cleverly baited to appeal to our compassionate side
to tolerate or even approve of
Conference
Bruce
R. McConkie
-quorum of the 12 apostles
Speaking
of himself and the great warfare with the world which he had won,
Paul said:
“Henceforth
there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the
righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but
unto all them also that love his appearing.” (2
Tim. 4:7–8.)
As
members of the Church, we are engaged in a mighty conflict. We are at
war. We have enlisted in the cause of Christ to fight against Lucifer
and all that is lustful and carnal and evil in the world. We have
sworn to fight alongside our friends and against our enemies, and we
must not be confused in distinguishing friends from foes. As another
of our ancient fellow apostles wrote: “Know ye not that the
friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will
be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” (James
4:4.)
The
great war that rages on every side and which unfortunately is
resulting in many casualties, some fatal, is no new thing. There was
war even in heaven, when the forces of evil sought to destroy the
agency of man, and when Lucifer sought to lead us away from the path
of progression and advancement established by an all-wise Father.
That
war is continuing on earth, and the devil is still wroth with the
Church and goes forth “to make war with the remnant of her seed,
which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus
Christ.” (Rev.
12:17.)
And
it is now as it has always been. The Saints can only overcome him and
his forces “by the blood of the Lamb, … by the word of their
testimony,” and if they love “not their lives unto the death.”
(Rev.
12:11.)
Now
there neither are nor can be any neutrals in this war. Every member
of the Church is on one side or the other. The soldiers who fight in
its battles will either, with Paul, come off victorious and win “a
crown of righteousness,” or they shall, in Paul’s language, “be
punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord,
and from the glory of his power” in that day when he comes to take
“vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel
of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2
Thes. 1:9, 8.)
In
this war all who do not stand forth courageously and valiantly are by
that fact alone aiding the cause of the enemy. “They who are not
for me are against me, saith our God.” (2
Ne. 10:16.)
We
are either for the Church or we are against it. We either take its
part or we take the consequences. We cannot survive spiritually with
one foot in the Church and the other in the world. We must make the
choice. It is either the Church or the world. There is no middle
ground. And the Lord loves a courageous man who fights openly and
boldly in his army.
“So
then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue
thee out of my mouth.” (Rev.
3:15–16.)
The summer patriot and the sunshine saint retreat when the battle
wages fiercely around them. Theirs is not the conqueror’s crown.
They are overcome by the world.
Members
of the Church who have testimonies and who live clean and upright
lives, but who are not courageous and valiant, do not gain the
celestial kingdom. Theirs is a terrestrial inheritance. Of them the
revelation says, “These are they who are not valiant in the
testimony of Jesus; wherefore, they obtain not the crown over the
kingdom of our God.” (D&C
76:79.)
As
Jesus said, “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking
back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke
9:62.)
“Be
not … ashamed of the testimony of our Lord,” Paul wrote to
Timothy, “… but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the
gospel.” (2
Tim. 1:8.)
And to the Beloved John came this divine message: “The testimony of
Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Rev.
19:10.)
The
testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. It is a gift of the
Spirit. It comes in full measure only to faithful members of the
Church. It is reserved for those whose right it is to have the
constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. It is the spiritual
endowment which sets a man apart as a prophet in fulfillment of the
prayer of Moses: “Would God that all the Lord’s people were
prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!” (Num.
11:29.)
It
is to be courageous and bold; to use all our strength, energy, and
ability in the warfare with the world; to fight the good fight of
faith. “Be strong and of a good courage,” the Lord commanded
Joshua, and then specified that this strength and courage consisted
of meditating upon and observing to do all that is written in the law
of the Lord. (See Josh.
1:6–9.)
The great cornerstone of valiance in the cause of righteousness is
obedience to the whole law of the whole gospel.
To
be valiant in the testimony of Jesus is to “come unto Christ, and
be perfected in him”; it is to deny ourselves “of all
ungodliness,” and “love God” with all our “might, mind and
strength.” (Moro.
10:32.)
unshakable
conviction. It is to know of the verity and divinity of the Lord’s
work on earth.
But
this is not all. It is more than believing and knowing. We must be
doers of the word and not hearers only. It is more than lip service;
it is not simply confessing with the mouth the divine Sonship of the
Savior. It is obedience and conformity and personal righteousness.
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the
kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is
in heaven.” (Matt.
7:21.)
Apply
continued
from Elder McConkie:
To
be valiant in the testimony of Jesus is to “press forward with a
steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a
love of God and of all men.” It is to “endure to the end.” (2
Ne. 31:20.)
It is to live our religion, to practice what we preach, to keep the
commandments. It is the manifestation of “pure religion” in the
lives of men; it is visiting “the fatherless and widows in their
affliction” and keeping ourselves “unspotted from the world.”
(James
1:27.)
To
be valiant in the testimony of Jesus is to bridle our passions,
control our appetites, and rise above carnal and evil things. It is
to overcome the world as did he who is our prototype and who himself
was the most valiant of all our Father’s children. It is to be
morally clean, to pay our tithes and offerings, to honor the Sabbath
day, to pray with full purpose of heart, to lay our all upon the
altar if called upon to do so.
To
be valiant in the testimony of Jesus is to take the Lord’s side on
every issue. It is to vote as he would vote. It is to think what he
thinks, to believe what he believes, to say what he would say and do
what he would do in the same situation. It is to have the mind of
Christ and be one with him as he is one with his Father.
Hymns
246
Onward Christian Soldiers
Children
162
I Will Be Valiant
