When I think about this question I
think about missionaries and how their tags have their names and the Savior's
name. My sister, Laura who went on a mission two years ago, once told me that
on her mission a lot of people told her how horrible it was to take off your
missionary tag when you get home, because you feel like you have been stripped
of your title as a representative of Christ. Once Laura came home and took off
her tag, she felt horrible and worried that no one would know that she is a
missionary. But then she realized that she can show others that she is a
representative of Christ by her actions, the way she dresses, and the way she
talks. Her experience reminds me of story that Elder Holland told in the April
2014 General Conference:
"For example, a sister missionary recently wrote to me: “My companion and I saw a man sitting on a bench in the town square eating his lunch. As we drew near, he looked up and saw our missionary name tags. With a terrible look in his eye, he jumped up and raised his hand to hit me. I ducked just in time, only to have him spit his food all over me and start swearing the most horrible things at us. We walked away saying nothing. I tried to wipe the food off of my face, only to feel a clump of mashed potato hit me in the back of the head. Sometimes it is hard being a missionary because right then I wanted to go back, grab that little man, and say, ‘EXCUSE ME!’ But I didn’t.”
Being a representative of Christ means that you are living the way you feel about this gospel and not doing things that would make people think anything else. My young women leader once told a story about when she was at college. She was invited to a party and when she walked in a man said, "Drinks are in here, music is in there." She knew exactly what kind of drinks he was talking about, and thought to herself that if she went inside she could just avoid that certain room. But then she remembered back to an experience she had in Beehives, where they all stood up and made an oath to abstain from drugs and alcohol. So she decided to leave because even if she avoided the drinks, she didn't want people to think that she didn't have high standards, or that she wasn't a representative of Jesus Christ because she was at that party.
"For example, a sister missionary recently wrote to me: “My companion and I saw a man sitting on a bench in the town square eating his lunch. As we drew near, he looked up and saw our missionary name tags. With a terrible look in his eye, he jumped up and raised his hand to hit me. I ducked just in time, only to have him spit his food all over me and start swearing the most horrible things at us. We walked away saying nothing. I tried to wipe the food off of my face, only to feel a clump of mashed potato hit me in the back of the head. Sometimes it is hard being a missionary because right then I wanted to go back, grab that little man, and say, ‘EXCUSE ME!’ But I didn’t.”
Being a representative of Christ means that you are living the way you feel about this gospel and not doing things that would make people think anything else. My young women leader once told a story about when she was at college. She was invited to a party and when she walked in a man said, "Drinks are in here, music is in there." She knew exactly what kind of drinks he was talking about, and thought to herself that if she went inside she could just avoid that certain room. But then she remembered back to an experience she had in Beehives, where they all stood up and made an oath to abstain from drugs and alcohol. So she decided to leave because even if she avoided the drinks, she didn't want people to think that she didn't have high standards, or that she wasn't a representative of Jesus Christ because she was at that party.
"DARE to be a Mormon. DARE to
stand alone.
DARE to have a purpose firm. DARE to make it known."
-This
article was written by Kaylee Adamson, a youth in the Ward