My time as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints was one of the happiest times in my life. I learned the most about the gospel. I served
the Lord and my fellow man. And I grew the most spiritually. I forgot about the cares and worries of the
world and did the Lord’s work.
Then I came home and I let the world into my life. I got distracted from the things of the
Lord. I became apart of the world. And
as such have been struggling with sin and weaknesses. It seems that I have not been able to
progress because of my struggles.
Then recently I have read in Ephesians 6:13-18 about putting
on the whole armor of God. I really started thinking about it. Having the Lord’s armor protects us from the
attacks for Satan. Having on His armor,
we can protect our weak flesh and wants.
I loved this quote from the recent conference talk by Elder Kevin W. Pearson of the Seventy:
“Shortly before President Heber J. Grant passed away, one of
the Brethren visited his home. Before he left, President Grant prayed, “O God,
bless me that I shall not lose my testimony and keep faithful to the end!”
After nearly 27 years as President of the Church, this was his fervent prayer.
His example is a striking reminder that no one, at any age, is immune from
Satan’s influence.”
So how could a prophet of God have such a worry? Because the
inner man is weak. Without the armor of
God protecting him, man will fail. So
why is God’s armor so vital to us staying true and not giving in to the temptations
of the devil? Because Christ does not take off His armor when we put it
on! He is there with us—Always! He will fight our battles and we will be protected.
The key is keeping on the armor of God. It was said for Captain Moroni, in the Book
of Mormon, that “if all men had been, and were, and ever would be like unto
Moroni, behold the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever, yea, the
devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men.” (Alma 48:17) Moroni was so great because he
“did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people.” (Alma 48:12)
and “did not stop making preparations for war, or to defend his people against
the Lamanites” (Alma 50:1) He did the same in his personal life through much study
and prayer he leaned on the Lord for strength.
That is what I need to do.
I have not been diligent of making preparations for the spiritual
battles that will come because of being here on earth. I had assumed for years that praying twice a
day and reading the scriptures before bedtime would be enough. But it is not. I need to give my entire life to the
Lord. I have wasted too much of everyday
to reading social media or watching TV or other worldly pursuits that do not
strengthen my armor. A lot of them
weaken it!
I realize I need to be like a missionary and put off the
things of the world. The missionary
rules were there to help me stay on the Lord’s side of the line, to keep his
armor girded around my soul. I need to
do the same now and always. I think one
of the main reasons we go out on missions at 18-19 years old is to teach us how
to be adults. How real men act. I cannot
imagine President Monson spending much time on the Internet. I cannot imagine Captain Moroni playing video
games. I cannot imagine the Savior
spending any time on Facebook. I do see
these men teaching their families about God. I see these men helping their
neighbors or others in need. I see these men spending any free time that they
might have in the scriptures or in prayer.
And I will do the same. Putting
on the armor of God is not a once a day pursuit of reading the scriptures a few
minutes before going to bed. It is an every hour of every day pursuit. And I need to start making it so!
