5 Ways Mormons Can Defend Their Faith With
“Musket Fire"

In August of 2021, Jeffrey R. Holland, an Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, delivered a speech to new and returning students at Brigham Young University about the importance of defending the faith. His remarks were delivered in response to a variety of ongoing public attacks to the Church of Jesus Christ and its members specifically. In his speech, Holland, reminded not only the students at this university but all members of the Church, the inherent responsibility they have in defending the Church’s name and most importantly, the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. To express this reminder, Holland endorsed the metaphor of “musket fire”. Saying that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints need use musket fire to defend the faith. This metaphor drew criticism from those within the church’s community, those who once belonged to the faith and from news outlets all across the country. Within this blog post, I will list 5 ways members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can stand up against religious disclination with friendly musket fire.

1. Publish Your Opinions and Beliefs

Publish Your Opinions Members of the church that live in the United States of America have a unique and blessed opportunity to share their beliefs and opinions freely online due to the freedom of religion and speech. With the emergence of social media platforms in the last couple of decades, it has never been easier for members to share their opinions. Making the choice to publish your beliefs and opinions on social media can be scary and awkward. Although it might be a difficult choice to make, it can be easy to fulfill. A simple tweet, reposting something published by the church or sharing a personal religious experience can all state your belief and stance on an issue and it can be a beautiful thing to be a part of. Arguments have been made against publishing your beliefs on social media because “it isn’t the right space” or “nobody wants to see that.” While this argument is fair, it can only be accepted as valid if you have the same stance as to whether or not it is acceptable for women to breastfeed in public. The line that draws public spaces between private spaces will continue to dissipate as people gain confidence to break down those barriers and thankfully, most members of the church have the opportunity to be a part of that change.

2. Stop The Spread of Misinformation Online

Recently, HULU released a TV drama series called, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. This TV drama features a group of girls from the state of Utah that associate themselves with a “Mormon- based culture.” These women publicly share their personal struggles with sin, rebellion, and inability to trust the Church of Jesus Christ. As this series was released, a flood of misinformation was sent into the social media sphere as to what the Church supposedly expects of its members, what the Church’s stance is on forgiveness, and what an accurate representation of a “Mormon wife” truly is. Members can stop the spread of misinformation online by following a similar guideline as mentioned in the first suggestion. Members can flood the online sphere with love, kindness, and testimonials of what good the Church and Jesus Christ have actually done for them. Doing such acts must require courage, faith, and charity for those around them. It can be a scary feat, but if members can hearken to the words of the Philippians in the New Testament, the same hope applies to those today, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

3. Preach The Gospel

Soon after the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the remainder of His faithful disciples were gathered and given a mission and responsibility to share the gospel. The gospel that they swore to share was to have faith in Christ, repent in His name, be baptized in His name, receive the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end. These gospel truths are still the same principles that members promised to share when they chose to be baptized. Sharing these truths does not mean that one must travel into distant lands or meet with kings and queens in hopes of persuading them to join the Church of Jesus Christ. Preaching the gospel means to share with your neighbors, the good news that Christ lives, that He loves us, that He wants to bless you, and that he has a plan for you. If members of the Church can exercise this responsibility, their ability to withstand the opposing forces will be strengthened and the opposing forces will subsequently feel the genuine love that you and Christ have for them.

4. Pray For Your Own Individual Inspiration

Pray for Inspiration Since the restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was established in the year 1830, much growth has happened in membership, leadership, and doctrine/policy. The Church is no longer a Utah-based or America based religion, with more than half of its 16 million members located outside of the United States. Although members will be participating in the same Sunday worship services, what every member experiences throughout the week are unique to their culture and country. The missionary work that goes on in the Democratic Republic of Congo will be different from what is done in Japan, and both of which will be much different than what is done in Salt Lake City, Utah. Because of these differing circumstances, members can seek the same uniform source of inspiration through prayer to find find answers as to how they can defend their faith with ‘musket fire’. Prayer is simple; by addressing God, you can simply ask for help in finding ways to defend the faith based on your unique circumstances. The God that members of the Church of Jesus Christ pray to is a loving and understanding God. Surely this God can answer the prayers of His children in helping them to safeguard their testimony, strengthen the testimony of others, and help others to feel the loving grace that He so freely gives.

5. Love One Another

A popular hymn sung by children in Sunday school classes is Love One Another by Luacine C. Fox. This hymn is a staple in the church as it echoes the 2 most important commandments that members should follow: Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. This popular phrase is not just a song lyric, it is a statement and an admonition given to all people. You should love everyone by treating others with kindness, respect, and charity. In doing such, arguments can be settled, trust can be established, and hate can be distinguished. If members want to settle arguments and defend their faith, they can make the first move by choosing to love. Disagreement and hate are fueled by opposition and powerful egos, so if that can be settled from the beginning, much progress can be made.

Conclusion

Every member is unique; unique in the strength of their testimony, unique in their personal circumstances, and unique in the way that they show their love to God. Because of this, the way that members choose to defend their faith will be vastly different, but these 5 ways can be universal ideas for everyone. By publishing your opinions online, stopping the spread of misinformation online, preaching the gospel, praying, and loving others, members of the Church can successfully defend their faith. Defending the faith will take work and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland is aware of the hard work that it demands, which is why he used such strong language in expressing his admonition to members of the Church. His speech received a lot of media coverage as it was deemed offensive or out of line. With such strong language as this, it was made clear to members of the Church that they must defend their faith against all opposition.

Bio Statement

Conner Taylor As a student in the English major, I have the unique position of being somewhat of an oddball. In a state that is predominantly Christian and Conservative, it seems that I am one of only a few who hold these positionalities in my English classes. I choose to take these English classes so that I can broaden my opinions, develop greater understanding of others, and to break down any false preconceived notions. I also choose to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because of the blessings that I receive from having faith in Christ and following His teachings. My belief in Christ and membership in the Church establishes this manifesto as being severely biased, but not unreliable or false in any perceivable way. The credibility of this manifesto is found in my personal experiences. As has nearly every member of this Church, my faith in Christ has been tested, my trust in Church leadership has been tested and my desire to remain faithful as well. These tests all had a similarity in the fact that they came to me from external sources; external sources that tried to question my faith. The way in which I responded to those tests is what sparks my interest in writing this manifesto.

5 Ways Mormons Can Defend Their Faith With “Musket Fire"