"Articulate Your Faith"

This may only be because I'm becoming increasingly interested in politics, but I noticed that a handful of the speakers at this General Conference at least touched on what I would consider political topics. I was surprised, however, to see that this trend started with the very first talk of this General Conference.

In her talk, Turn On Your Light, Sister Sharon Eubank counselled her fellow sisters to "Articulate [their] faith." The way she defined it, "Being articulate means to clearly express how you feel about something and why." To highlight this, she shared an experience she had on Facebook earlier this year. She saw a post that criticised Christianity. Not knowing how to respond, she scrolled past it, only to see later that someone else posted the response she wished she had made. She then encouraged us (or at least the sisters among us) to learn how to articulate our faith, testimonies, and experiences, so we will be able to share our light with those who challenge it. She said that we should follow the counsel of the apostle Peter to "be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you."

As I've said previously on this blog, I think that it's spiritually important, for everyone's sakes, for us to get involved in political discussions. They can be uncomfortable and unpleasant. We may lose a few friends. But I feel that it's important for people to speak their minds (preferably respectfully). In a world that is continuing to darken and that needs the light of Christ more than ever before, we need to be willing to turn of the lights we carry so we can shed light on the darkness in the world and illuminate a better path.

Unfortunately, this means talking to people. And, if that's not already bad enough, it means talking to them about two things that are considered somewhat taboo: religion and politics. Some would prefer to keep them separate. Some would prefer not to discuss religion at all. But when our public policies are founded on moral principles, and when many of our moral principles come from God, God must get involved in our political conversations. And we need to have and get involved in these conversations more frequently if our political situation is to get any better.

As painful and awkward as it may be, we need to learn how to articulate our faith and express it, even in the political arena. People need our light and our testimonies. We need to learn how to share them.