I actually really hate it when I hear people use profanity and don't understand why people feel that every other word needs to be a curse. Because I feel we can always use some encouragement and maybe also learn something new, I thought I'd upload a copy of Salele's talk ,,,,
Brothers
& Sisters Talofa ! I have been given
the topic Using Good Language. In
Ephesians 4:29 it says “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth,
but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto
the hearers.”.
How we communicate
should reflect who we are as a son or daughter of God. Clean and intelligent
language is evidence of a bright and wholesome mind. Good language that uplifts, encourages, and
compliments others invites the Spirit to be with us. Our words, like our deeds,
should be filled with faith, hope, and charity.
A father was
working with one of his young sons on a project in their home when the young
boy hurt his hand and let fly a string of profanity. His mother and sisters
looked on in shocked silence.
The father,
an active high priest, asked to know where the boy had learned such foul
language. The boy’s unhesitating response mortified the father:
“I learned
it from you, in the barn last week.”
The boy
probably had trouble remembering his times tables. His ability to recite the
Articles of Faith was likely limited. But he learned well that lesson on
profanity his dad had given him, unintentionally, in the barn.
The father
learned a lesson that day, too. He resolved never again to be the source of
vulgar or profane language.
Elder Dallin
H. Oaks has observed, “The nature and extent of profanity and vulgarity in our
society is a measure of its deterioration.” (Ensign, May 1986, p. 49.)
As this
problem has mushroomed, Church leaders have reached out to youth to counsel us
to overcome negative influences on our language.
Among the
counsel we have received is this: “How you speak and the words you use tell
much about the image you choose to portray. Profane, vulgar, or crude language
and inappropriate or off-color jokes are offensive to the Lord. They harm your
spirit and degrade you. Don’t lower yourself to use such language or jokes,
even if people around you do.” (For the Strength of Youth, Salt Lake City: The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1990, p. 10.) We know that
the brain controls what words are spoken, but when we allow a profanity to find
a place in our vocabularies, the profanity, and not the brain, often seems to
be in control.
President
Joseph Fielding Smith states: “Profanity is filthiness. A person is known as
much by his language as he is by the company he keeps. … Filthiness in any form
is degrading and soul-destroying and should be avoided.” If we are
not most careful with our thoughts and speech, the words we use will use us.
Language has its own ethics, and one who communicates truth is like a bright
light in the darkness. We must nurture language like that.
Members of
the Church, young or old, should never allow profane or vulgar words to pass
their lips. The language we use projects the images of our hearts, and our
hearts should be pure. As the Savior taught: “Out of the abundance of the heart
the mouth speaketh.
President
Gordon B. Hinckley urged us to choose the Savior as our role model, he said: “I
know that the Lord is pleased when we use clean and virtuous language, for He
has set an example for us. His revelations are couched in words that are
affirmative, that are uplifting, that encourage us to do what is right and to
go forward in truth and goodness.”
In conclusion
I’d like to bear my testimony (talk about how using good language) …..
I say these
things in the name of Jesus Christ – Amen !
