bring it on

For a while lately I have been feeling hurt and picked upon as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I am a mormon and my faith is precious to me--without price. It is the reason I am every good thing I am, and the reason I am always trying to be better. It is my connection to God, to the divine, and to Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. Nothing is more sacred and dear to my heart. To have others mock or viciously criticize my religion hurts my heart, the way it would hurt my heart to see this done to a close family member or friend.

Even so, I am grateful for persecution. I am grateful for it, because it has made it impossible for me to remain neutral. It has forced me to firmly decide where I stand. It has refined me as dross in a refiner's fire. It is turning my testimony and my heart into gold.

In response to this persecution, a friend recently posted the Standard of Truth. My first companion (trainer) on my mission had me memorize this--along with D&C 4 and two other quotations. Every morning at 6:00 a.m. we would sit on our beds and sleepily recite these words. They became dear to me during my initial struggles with the language, the new culture, the heat and the homesickness. Now when I am far from my heavenly home, in the midst of mobs, persecutions and calumnies, these words again have brought me profound peace.

“The Standard of Truth has been erected. No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing. Persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame. But the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, until the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the Great Jehovah shall say, ‘The work is done.'”

I know that God lives. I know His hands guide the destiny of this world. I know that His humble servants have nothing to fear.
It is our choice if we will be on the side of truth speaking, charity, and compassion. If we will seek after praise worthy things, or if we will wallow in the mires. But regardless of our individual choices, there is no earthly thing that can be said or done, that will sway the work of God.