CHAPTER 12
We stand as lights on a hill, an example of those who know, trust and believe in Christ. This is our great responsibility as ones who have a knowledge of the truth.
1 In Timothy, we are admonished to be an example of the believers. (See 1 Tim. 4:12.) A believer is someone who follows and knows the teachings of Christ not only in his mind but also in his heart and whose actions are a witness of that belief. It isn’t easy to be an example of the believers. We don’t usually wake up in the morning and say, “Today I’m going to be an example of the believers!” Yet we can say, “Today I will be kind and thoughtful, or considerate, or honest, or whatever quality I need to work on.” And then we will try hard all day to make a conscious effort to do so. That we can do! We can live in such a way that people can look to us as their examples. To be a good example of a principle, we must not only understand it but we must live that principle. It should become such a part of our everyday living that without consciously thinking about it, the principle is reflected in the way we live.
2 Each member can be an example of the believers. As followers of Jesus Christ, each of you can live in accord with His teachings. You can have “a pure heart and clean hands”; you can have “the image of God engraven upon your [countenance].” Your good works will be evident to others. The light of the Lord can beam from your eyes. With that radiance, you had better prepare for questions. The Apostle Peter so counseled, “Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you.”
3 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
4 Standing as a witness in all things means all things--big things, little things, in all conversations, in jokes, in games played and books read and music listened to, in causes supported, in service rendered, in clothes worn, in friends made.
5 For each of us, our righteous examples may seem small, but by influence they are great. To all within your sphere of influence, “be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (1 Tim. 4:12). Let others feel the peace and joy that gospel living brings you. Invite your friends not of our faith or less-active members over for family home evening. Bring them to church and set an example of reverence for them. Let them see that you avoid movies or television shows or Internet sites that would drive the Spirit away and thus make us less-effective instruments.
6 “Feast upon the words of Christ” (2 Ne. 32:3) by consistently studying the scriptures every day and by following the counsel of the living prophets. Particularly make the study of the Book of Mormon a lifetime pursuit and daily sup from its pages. Be an example in your Church activity--honor the Sabbath day, attend your meetings, observe the Word of Wisdom, pay your tithes and offerings, support your leaders, and otherwise keep the commandments. Serve cheerfully and gratefully in every calling you receive. Live worthy of a temple recommend and enjoy the sweet, sacred spirit that comes from frequent temple attendance. Dress and groom yourself in a way that reflects your lifelong commitment to share the gospel with others.
7 Do all things without murmurings and disputings: that ye may be blameless and harmless, the children of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.
8 We must have patience in order to withstand pain and grief without complaint or discouragement, which detract from the Spirit. It’s necessary to have patience in the face of tribulation and persecution for the cause of truth, which sets an example because the manner in which we bear our cross will be an influence to others to help lighten their load.
9 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps.
10 Then we have a mission in the world: each man, each woman, each child who has grown to understanding or to the years of accountability, ought to be an example to the world. They ought not only to be qualified to preach the truth, to bear testimony of the truth, but ought to live so that the very life they live, the very words they speak, their every action in life will be a sermon to the unwary and to the ignorant, teaching them goodness, purity, uprightness, faith in God and love for the human family. Let every man’s life be so that his character will bear the closest inspection, and that it may be seen as an open book, so that he will have nothing to shrink from or be ashamed of. Let all men who are elevated to positions of trust in the Church live so that no man can point to their faults, because they will have no faults; so that no man can justly accuse them of wrongdoing, because they do no wrong; that no man can point out their defects as ‘human’ and as ‘weak mortals,’ because they are living up to the principles of the gospel, and are not merely ‘weak human creatures,’ devoid of the Spirit of God and the power to live above sin. That is the way for all men to live in the kingdom of God.
11 And now, my beloved brethren, I know by this that unless a man shall endure to the end, in following the example of the Son of the living God, he cannot be saved.
12 Verily I say unto you all: Arise and shine forth, that thy light may be a standard for the nations;
13 The instructions are clear. We must teach, and we must be an example of those teachings; but many times in our zeal to persuade others to righteousness we begin to use force, which results in rebellion. Attempting to force others to accept our way of thinking will cause them to close their minds to our teachings and ultimately reject our words. They have their free agency.
14 It is interesting to note that we choose the examples we follow. We exercise our own agency through our choices. Examples are not forced upon us. We choose which ones we want to emulate and which ones we want to ignore or disregard. The choice is ours, and so is the burden of the consequence.
15 Ammon, the Nephite missionary, provided an example for us. He had chosen to serve the Lamanite king and was sent to watch the flocks of Lamoni. When a band of renegades attacked and scattered the sheep, Ammon’s fellow servants had fear and began to weep. What did Ammon say? “Be of good cheer and let us go in search of the flocks, and we will gather them together and bring them back unto the place of water” (Alma 17:31).
Now, we may read this as a story about some shepherds trying to round up some missing sheep, but the message is much more powerful and significant than that. Ammon was a missionary with noble intentions to bring the king and his kingdom back to the fold of righteousness, to the well of living water. The challenge looked daunting to those who could see only, in everyday terms, sheep strung out on hillsides and not enough manpower to round them up. They were discouraged and fearful that the king would discover their loss.
Ammon not only led the force to recapture the sheep, he drove away the evil men who caused the problems; and his heroic efforts persuaded the king to follow him and to follow the Savior. Ammon teaches us that no matter our circumstances, we can be an example to others, we can lift them, we can inspire them to seek righteousness, and we can bear testimony to all of the power of Jesus Christ.
16 May we have that testimony, that desire in our hearts, to teach others, to explain what we believe, and to live lives of righteousness, to live the good life, to be an example to mankind, and to be able to spread this work not only by what we say but by the way we act, the way we live, the way we represent the Church, and the type of example we are to mankind.
Younger Elder Brooksby
1-Be Thou an Example by Ruth B. Wright, October 1991 General Conference
2-Be Thou an Example of the Believers by Russell M. Nelson, October 2010 General Conference-Edited
3-Matthew 5:14-16
4-Stand as a Witness by Margaret D. Nadauld, April 2000 General Conference
5-We Are Instruments in the Hands of God by Mary Ellen Smoot, October 2000 General Conference
6-To the Single Adult Brethren of the Church by Ezra Taft Benson, April 1988 General Conference
7-Philippians 2:14-15-Edited
8-Patience in Affliction by Angel Abrea, April 1992 General Conference
9-1 Peter 2:20-21
10-The Meaning of Morality by Victor L. Brown, April 1971 General Conference
11-2 Nephi 31:16
12-D&C 115:5
13-“Born of Goodly Parents” by Dallas N. Archibald, October 1992 General Conference
14-Be Thou an Example by Ruth B. Wright, October 1991 General Conference
15-“When Thou Art Converted, Strengthen Thy Brethren” by Robert D. Hales, April 1997 General Conference
16-Faith, Devotion, and Gratitude by David B. Haight, April 2000 General Conference
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