Standing for Truth

Standing for truth and right is not solely a Sunday thing. Every day our neighborhoods and communities are in desperate need of our support and our commitment to safety and law and order.

Joseph F. Smith was 19 when he returned from his mission in Hawaii. As he traveled from California to his home in Utah, he was confronted one morning by a “wagonload of profane drunks … , shooting their guns, yelling wildly, and cursing the Mormons.” One of the drunks, “waving a pistol,” came toward him. Although Joseph “was terrified, he felt it would be unwise and useless to run … , and so he advanced toward the gunman as if he found nothing out of the ordinary in his conduct. ‘Are you a — — — Mormon?’ the stranger demanded. Mustering all the composure he could, Joseph answered evenly while looking the man straight in the eye, ‘Yes, siree; dyed in the wool; true blue, through and through.’ Almost stunned by this wholly unexpected response, the gunman stopped, dropped his hands to his sides, and, after looking incredulously at Joseph for a moment, said in a subdued tone, ‘Well, you are the — — pleasantest man I ever met! Shake. I am glad to see a fellow stand for his convictions.’ So saying, he turned and walked away.”

^{We might not all be faced with the challenge of standing true with a gun in our face, but we do have many other challenges that are very real in the world we live. We still need to have the courage that Joseph F. Smith had and stand for what we believe in. I know that not only will it help you, but it could also help the person that you have talking to. I have learned that when I stand up for what I believe in those around me respect the things I believe in and will do what they can to be respect full. I have also had friends that will say," Well Rebecca doesn’t do that.” or “Don’t talk about that around Rebecca." and it really shows me that my friends are true friends and respect me and my beliefs.}

Box Of Crayons

Like a box of crayons, We are very similar but each person is also very unique.

The shade people bring to the world is all their own. … We each have our own individual strengths and weaknesses, personal longings, private dreams. But together, they blended into a color wheel of amazingness.

We need to remember that even though people are different than us we still need to be kind to them. We need to always build others up. Everyone is different, no two people are the same. We tend to catogarize people and put them where we think they will go, even if we do not know them very well.

I have learned that if I get to know someone before I judge them, it is much easier to find out who they are as an individual. Not only does it help me keep an open mind I am sure it makes everyone else happy when they know that they are  not being judged, wether on how they look, dress, or talk. It is sometimes hard to be kind or even just not mean, to those that are different than us. We just need to remember that to others we are different and we do not want to be looked down on because that does not feel good either.