My Whole Armor

To my son,

                Today when we got home from Church you asked to get into the back of the van to find something. Your older brother opened the back door of the van and I went into the house. A few minutes later you came inside with a proud look on your face, announcing that you had successfully shut that back door of the van. I was quite surprised because you don’t have the strength to pull that down by yourself from the ground at only seven years old. Then you proceeded to explain how you climbed on top of the van from the front, made your way to the back on the roof of the van, and then somehow managed to push the door closed from the top (apparently it took multiple efforts). Then you dropped down from the back yourself. You never cease to amaze us, and we are glad you didn’t injure yourself in the process. Your mom and I have joked about how you should just wear a helmet all the time, but somehow you have survived without it up until this point!

While you might get away without physical protection, you and I do need to put on spiritual armor in this life. This week we talked about the armor of God which will protect us from the adversary and the challenges of life. The Lord gave us this counsel: “Wherefore, lift up your hearts and rejoice, and gird up your loins, and take upon you my whole armor, that ye may be able to withstand the evil day, having done all, that ye may be able to stand” (Doctrine and Covenants 27:15). He was referring to the teachings of Paul who encouraged the Saints in Ephesus of his day in these words: “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:14-17). From these we find six parts of armor that we should spiritually put on to “withstand the evil day”:

·         Loins girt about with truth: We can put on truth by reading the scriptures each day to learn about the Savior and His plan for us.

·         Breastplate of righteousness: Keeping the commandments of the Savior is an important protection from us. As we strive to live righteously, we will be kept from the “evils and designs” of “conspiring men” in the last days who try to trap us in sin (Doctrine and Covenants 89:4).       

·         Feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace: We will be strengthened as we strive to live the gospel of Jesus Christ and proclaim its peace.

·         Shield of Faith: We protect ourselves as we have faith in Jesus Christ, always trusting that He can help us. Faith is a power will help us make hard decisions, knowing that everything will work out for the best for those who follow Him.

·         Helmet of salvation: The helmet covers the head, and this figuratively invites us to protect our thoughts. As we focus on good things and shun bad thoughts, we will keep our head in the right place to hear the voice of the Lord.

·         The sword of the Spirit: By doing these first five things, we will have the Holy Ghost to be with us. Over this next year you will be preparing for our baptism when you can receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost and have His presence more fully in your life. This is a great blessing and I hope you will strive to put on the whole armor of God this year by striving to follow the Savior. 

I heard a powerful story this week about how a missionary was protected by the armor of God. Elder Perry related how a missionary arrived his first day on his mission to Brazil, and the members of another church started to throw rocks at him and his companion. One hit him painfully in the back. Elder Perry continued the story, “Before entering the mission field he had been quite a baseball pitcher; and in the flush of anger he wheeled around, grabbed the first rock he could find on the ground, reared back in his famous pitching pose, and just ready to let the rock fly at the crowd when suddenly he realized why he was there. He had not been sent all the way to Brazil to throw rocks at people; he was there to teach them the gospel. But what was he to do with the rock in his hand? If he dropped it to the ground, they would think it a sign of weakness and probably continue to throw rocks at them. Yet he could not throw it at the crowd. Then he saw a telephone post some distance away. That was the way to save face! He reared back and let the rock fly directly at the telephone post, hitting it squarely in the middle. The people in the crowd took a couple of steps back. They suddenly realized that that rock probably could have hit any one of them right between the eyes. Their mood changed; instead of throwing rocks at the missionaries, they began to throw them at the telephone post. After this incident, every time the elder went down that street he was challenged to a rock-throwing contest. The rock-throwing contests led to discussions of the gospel, which led to conversions, which led to the establishment of a branch of the Church in that community.” The sword of the Spirit had helped him to see what to do in that stressful moment, and great good came of it. I hope that you and I will strive to put on the spiritual armor of God so that we too can be protected. And maybe that same Spirit will encourage you not to climb on top of the van anymore! 

Love,

Dad