Elder Oaks hit me pretty hard. I am a political animal and tend to get really involved in that stuff. It is very easy to get worked up. When you believe that you know what is right for the country and you believe that the other side is ruining it, it becomes easy to think badly of the other side. Even if it is true that they are doing harm to the country, the truth is that they believe they are doing what's best for the country as well. Now Elder Oaks didn't say we had to agree with people that disagreed with us. No, he said simply keep our criticisms to the policies and don't let them get personal. Besides, if you're right on the policies, you don't need to get personal. You only need to go there if you can't stay in the fight with reasoned arguments on facts, right?
I think of Alma who was "weighed down in sorrow, because of the wickedness of the people," (Alma 8:14) Alma was not angry because of the way he was treated by the people. He was concerned for the welfare of the people and their eternal state. Could you not argue that the people of Ammonihah not only threatened Alma's life personally, but that their destructive ideas, if they were allowed to propagate, could have put in danger the entire Nephite civilization. If anything, Alma had more reason to hate and be angry with those people than we have against our own political foes today. Nevertheless he savored the opportunity to return to the city and meet with a man that the Lord had been preparing to spread the gospel in that great and wicked city. Many souls were saved. The converts were kicked out or killed and the city later destroyed, but many had a chance to repent.
In the Sermon on the Mount the Lord commands us to "Love... those that hate [us] and pray for those that despitefully use [us] (Matthew 5:44)." I know I have a long way to go in this area. My blood pressure goes up when I hear the other political side. Not to mention the fact that I have had heard plenty of people on the other side talk about how bad and dangerous I am and how I'm ruining the country. That certainly can get infuriating, but we must be true followers of Christ and learn how to love, especially those who disagree with us fundamentally.
It was made perfectly clear in Elder Oaks' talk and elsewhere in conference yesterday, though, that we have to stand up for what we believe is right and can not use wanting to be peaceful as an excuse for not standing up for what is right. We just have to stand up for what is right with love in our hearts.
Of course that was just a small part of what was said by Elder Oaks. He said many other important things, but that is what I think I needed the most so that's what hit me the hardest.
So what hit you the hardest? What talks from conference were the ones meant to pierce your heat and help you change your life for the better? After all, isn't that what conference is there for in the first place? Leave your comments and let me know what you think.