It was the summer of 2021. Within a couple of weeks, two prophets, men I loved and sustained, were thrown into the social media line of fire. The stones, in the form of horrible words, came from within the Church.
Amid the attacks, public support for the prophets was noticeably minimal, which deeply troubled me and led me to my personal version of the sacred grove: a dusty desert trail. There, in response to my desperate prayer about the growing hostility, the Lord led me straight into the middle of the online contention to “help women stand.”
At the beginning of this journey, I felt very alone in my declarations of support for the prophets, the restored gospel, and women’s divine role within His church. Eventually, I found my people, a few women whose goal in sharing their faith online aligned with mine, which made it easier to face the ever-present opposition.
But the social media landscape has drastically changed since then.
Where I once wondered why so few online voices were rooted in truth, a thriving community of apologists now passionately defends the faith and speaks out against cultural ideas that pull people away from it.
I appreciate that more messages grounded in gospel truth are now visible. The courage these people show in defending their faith in a hostile environment truly astounds me.
But sometimes, the messages and the comment sections that accompany them feel contentious to me. They frequently involve members of our church arguing over doctrine or culture and accusing each other of being the problem.
I often ask myself what good comes from this battle, especially on a public stage where onlookers outside our faith get a front-row seat to how we treat each other as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Admittedly, I have always been extremely sensitive to contention. Since childhood, when an argument arises, I want to hide under my covers until it subsides. Ironic, I know, for someone who feels called into the social media arena. (Also, why I originally thought the Lord might have chosen the wrong person for this particular work.)
Several months ago, I tried a version of hiding under my covers: unfollowing or muting most faith accounts in my feed. I left a few visible that always uplifted me, but that list was very small.
Almost instantly, my feed was filled with beautiful food and home décor, sprinkled with funny reels and a few inspirational posts, mostly from official church accounts.
Truly, it was glorious. I could get on social media without feeling bombarded by the latest church controversy.
But after deciding to get back in the arena after a long break, I determined I couldn’t hide forever. So, over the past few weeks, I have slowly added many of the muted accounts back into my feed.
Unsurprisingly, controversy and contention have returned, leaving me wondering (again) how to move forward in this volatile landscape without surrendering my peace of mind.
A few months ago, I felt similar frustration with how defensive much of the online Latter-day Saint space felt to me. The Lord then taught me something through a thought I was not expecting:
“We are in the final inning before the Savior returns, and I need the whole team on the field, both the offense and the defense. Don’t worry about the defense. Their job is important. I need you on the offense to strengthen the members, so just focus on your job, and let me handle the rest.”
Correction received.
While I don’t believe the Lord ever inspires contentious interactions, I also don’t know the details of what He is inspiring others to do and say as we move closer to His Second Coming. Defending the faith is clearly important, even if this kind of content isn’t my personal preference.
So, sometimes, I need to remind myself to keep my eyes on my own paper and focus on the call He gave me five years ago on a dusty trail: help women stand firm in their faith amid the (largely unavoidable) chaos and noise of this final inning.
Yes, we can and should do our best to avoid contention in all our interactions, especially online, where it’s easy to react impulsively to things that challenge or trigger us. But even with our efforts, contention will still exist, as Satan, the father of such, does all in his power to turn people away from Jesus Christ. Contention has a sneaky way of doing that without us fully realizing it.
But when we focus on Jesus Christ and reach for him through the chaos, we can be peaceful, steadfast, and sure despite the noise. He is the Prince of Peace, after all, even if we’re still greenies figuring it out as we go.
And sometimes making mistakes.
And sometimes wanting nothing more than to crawl under the covers until the fighting stops and He comes again to sort it all out.
But choosing to keep going anyway.
As disciples of Jesus Christ, lucky enough to be on the team assigned to help prepare the world for His return, we all have a role to play.
Some are called to defend.
Others are called to strengthen.
All of us are called to testify – to show the world, through our words and actions, what it means to be a true disciple of Christ.
For me, that boils down to choosing to walk with Him every day, joyfully living my covenants and inviting people to do the same. I want people to know Christ because they know me, which brings me back to an invitation from God on a dusty desert trail: help women stand.
Following that invitation, He showed me what that could look like: a group of women standing together, bathed in light, amid a sea of chaos and contention. Their eyes were fixed on the horizon, unaffected by the contention on every side, as they peacefully awaited the Savior’s return. They were ready for Him.
Those women represent you and me and all who are trying to hold to their covenants while navigating the treacherous days leading up to the Lord’s return. We live in a sea of escalating chaos and contention, with a battle raging in every direction. Often, it feels disheartening and heavy, and we wonder if we are up for the challenge.
But we were born for such a time as this.
That does not mean, however, that we need to join every online conversation. What we need most is the Spirit, who will help us determine when to speak up, when to stay silent, and when to simply listen with compassion.
When the world feels wearisome, we can remember the battle is the Lord’s, not ours, and we can trust Him with the outcome. We can resolve to stand for truth by living it – covenant discipleship in action.
As we do so, we can become peacefully steadfast and ever sure, no matter how much contention rages around us, because we know in whom we trust. And He will return soon to bring peace to a weary world.
