Armed with righteousness, we can do so many things

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Sunday Afternoon Session of the April 1993 Conference.

For the sake of variety, I keep trying NOT to choose Elder Maxwell's talks to write about. There are often other good talks too! But…there's just something about the things Elder Maxwell chooses to talk about. They always seem so fresh and relevant! I can't not choose them. So, here are some great quotes from "Behold, the Enemy is Combined."

Granted, occasionally a few defectors or dissidents may try to vex us as they hyperventilate over their particular concerns, but it is the engulfing effects of that deteriorating world on Church members which is the “clear and present danger.” “Evils and designs” really do operate through “conspiring [individuals] in the last days.” The Lord has even announced, “Behold, the enemy is combined.”…

Scary! But it feels true. I've been thinking so much about the alienation and despair of these times we live in. I was reading a comment thread (I know, it was a mistake) where people were discussing their loved ones who had fallen away from religion or the church, and reaffirming the reasons why it was better to choose NOT to leave their faith. Then someone else chimed in saying how hypocritical it was to discuss a loved one's "invalid" reasons for leaving instead of just loving that person and trying to understand. I guess I see that perspective, but for me it's so disturbing and sad when those I love can't seem to SEE and FEEL the joy I see and feel in the gospel. I can't help going over it in my head: what went wrong? How can I avoid it? How can I help my children avoid it? How can I help EVERYONE I love avoid it? To me, Elder Maxwell's quote perfectly encapsulates all that is left when faith (and even "faith community") is abandoned: 

What of neighboring? Long ago, Tocqueville anticipated how individualism, unenriched by family and community, could produce the “lonely crowd,” saying:

“Thus not only does democracy make every man forget his ancestors, but it hides his descendants and separates his contemporaries from him; it throws him back forever upon himself alone and threatens in the end to confine him entirely within the solitude of his own heart.”

I just want so much more for myself and those I love. I want us to be joined forever! And one with the Savior! Elder Maxwell goes on to say:

Even with its flaws, the family is basic, and since no other institution can compensate fully for failure in the family, why then, instead of enhancing the family, the desperate search for substitutes? Why not require family impact studies before proceeding with this program or that remedy, since of all environmental concerns the family should be first? Hundreds of governmental departments and programs protect various interests, but which one protects the family?

Then he gives some comfort (or at least a plan of action!):

Only reform and self-restraint, institutional and individual, can finally rescue society! Only a sufficient number of sin-resistant souls can change the marketplace. As Church members, we should be part of that sin-resistant counterculture. Instead, too many members are sliding down the slope, though perhaps at a slower pace.

In a “wheat and tares” world, how unusually blessed faithful members are to have the precious and constant gift of the Holy Ghost with reminders of what is right and of the covenants we have made. “For behold, … the Holy Ghost … will show unto you all things what ye should do.” Whatever the decibels of decadence, these need not overwhelm the still, small voice! Some of the best sermons we will ever hear will be thus prompted from the pulpit of memory—to an audience of one!

It's encouraging to remember that we do have the Holy Ghost on our side when we seek Him. I can certainly do more to become a "sin-resistant soul" myself, no matter what others choose! And I like  these other things Elder Maxwell says we can do to combat the enemy too: 

With the enemy combined, it is so vital to keep “in the right way.” Orthodoxy in thought and behavior brings safety and felicity as the storms come, including “every wind of doctrine.” Happily, amid such winds the Holy Ghost not only helps us to recognize plain truth but also plain nonsense!

Orthodoxy ensures balance between the gospel’s powerful and correct principles. In the body of gospel doctrine, not only are justice and mercy “fitly joined together [for] effectual working,” but so is everything else! But the gospel’s principles do require synchronization. When pulled apart from each other or isolated, men’s interpretations and implementations of these doctrines may be wild.…

Even during these difficult times, members “armed with righteousness” can do so many things. We can have love at home, even though the love of many waxes cold in the world. We can have inner peace even though peace has been taken from the earth.

Yes, “the enemy is combined,” but when we are combined with the Lord’s “chariots of fire,” then “they that be with us are more than they that be with them”!