Because I feared the great multitude,Though this verse was written for a different purpose, it also captures a situation that full-time missionaries can face each day when they have to go out and seek for people to teach. How easy it is to "dread the contempt of families" and instead "not go out of the door." In our "normal" lives, how easy it is to keep silent and not let others know what we believe and stand for, fearing the misunderstanding and even contempt that sometimes comes (though contempt may be imagined more often than actually faced).
And dreaded the contempt of families,
So that I kept silence
And did not go out of the door—
One thing, though, should motivate us to forget ourselves and stand as witnesses of God in appropriate ways: love. Our love for others and our love for the Savior can give us courage to rise above the fears of then natural man, that natural coward, and become Saints who share and testify of the truth. We will each have our own style, but when we are prompted to do something, to say something, that is the time to take a risk and open our mouths, in love and respect, but with courage.
"Perfect love casteth out fear." (1 John 4:18) May we seek the miraculous gift of charity, the perfect love of Jesus Christ, that we may be useful instruments in the hands of God in serving and blessing others in this brief mortal journey.
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