When I was 18 years old, one of my favorite things to do was contend with the opponents of the Church. I was serving as a youth guide at the Mesa Arizona Temple Visitor’s Center and had frequent opportunities to speak with those who opposed the LDS Church.
I prided myself on having a reasonable command of the scriptures, sufficient to put down the enemies of the Church and show them the error of their ways.
Much of my scripture study prior to my mission focused on proving how we were right and how they were wrong.
My scriptures became a weapon and my tongue became sharp and unwieldy in the face of opposition.
To combat the opposition, I also turned to a series of books written by a local Arizona author, Robert L. Brown, “They Lie in Wait to Deceive.” The books exposed the lies and fabrications of many notable adversaries of the Church and provided me with a double-barreled weapon that blew away many a novice critic.
While I endeavored to show these opponents the error of their ways, I found myself steeped in contention and often spoke by memory, and not with the aid and comfort of the Spirit. Accordingly, neither party felt uplifted and edified by the conversation, rather, both left with an increased rancor and rage toward one another.
Thankfully, my mission provided an environment where understanding and building on common beliefs nurtured an increased spirit of love for all men in my heart. Conversion, I learned, came through the fruits of the spirit and not the sharp attacks of contention.
On one occasion early in my mission, my companion and I found ourselves engaged in a heated discussion with a minister of another faith. My command of the Portuguese language was not sufficient to understand and respond to the man’s various contentions, but words of testimony flowed from my tongue.
I bore a simple testimony to the man, stating that I was an ordained minister of Jesus Christ and came to Brazil teach the restored gospel truths. The yelling ceased and my companion and I soon left. The Spirit burned in my bosom that night and I felt a calm assurance that the minister understood my simple words of testimony.
My success as a missionary grew from having the Spirit with me as I taught. I remembered the words from the missionary guide about the Spirit being the most important tool in missionary work, and I understood clearly that the Spirit converts, not missionaries.
While serving as a ward mission leader, I accompanied the missionaries on a visit with someone who feigned interest in the Church. The Elders explained that this individual posed many difficult questions on prior visits and expressed concerns with several points of doctrine.
During my meeting with this individual, the Elders and I answered many of her difficult doctrinal questions, which she read off a prepared list. We probed further to gauge her actual interest in investigating the Church with the possibility of baptism at some future date. She evaded the probing questions and asked instead to set a date for a future appointment.
We bore simple testimony to her and extended the invitation to take Moroni’s challenge to search, ponder and pray about the truthfulness of the gospel message we preached. Instead of setting a date for a future appointment, we thanked her for listening to our answers to her questions, but said we would only set an appointment to teach a lesson. Not surprisingly, she declined.
Today, my scriptures are no longer a weapon of attack and I temper my tongue with the influence of the Spirit, even when I have occasion to speak with those opposed to the Church. The fruits of the Spirit are much sweeter than bashing someone with the scriptures.
A prominent enemy and critic of the Church once quoted D&C 71:7 to me-
“Wherefore, confound your enemies; call upon them to meet you both in public and in private; and inasmuch as ye are faithful their shame shall be made manifest.”
He then asked-
“So, are you willing to meet with me so you can confound me like Joseph Smith said you should?”
My reply to him is in verse 10 of the same section-
“And if any man lift his voice against you he shall be confounded in mine own due time.”
“We have met today in public, and I look forward to the day when the Lord will confound you as He has promised to do.”
I then quoted 3 Nephi 11:29-
For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.
“So long, you devil,” I said with a smile and walked away.