Comment

Activated

I was baptized when I was ten years old, but in my early teenage years, I became inactive in the Church. I had many problems and I didn’t think there were any solutions. But, because my mother was the Church magazine representative, we always had many copies of the Church magazine at home, and I never stopped reading the Liahona (Spanish).

Articles like President Spencer W. Kimball’s “Absolute Truth” and Elder Boyd K. Packer’s “Candle of the Lord” helped me decide to return to the Church and change my life to be more like Christ.

The Liahona blessed my life on other occasions, too. I have a friend who had tried to commit suicide and was confined to his bed. I took him a copy of the Liahona which contained an article about suicide and we talked about the Church. He was soon baptized.

I am now serving a mission in my homeland of Mexico and my friend is preparing for a mission. None of this would have happened if I had not continued to read the Liahona while I was not active in the Church. I am grateful to my Heavenly Father for the Church’s publications.

Juan Luis Cano Rico
Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
Puerto Rican Missionary

A Privilege

The name of the Church magazine in Spanish, the Liahona, reminds us of the Liahona received by the Nephites (1 Ne. 16:10) to guide them through the wilderness, and the magazine is truly a guidance in our lives. Within its pages, we find the latest instructions and warnings, given us through the Lord’s prophet, President Ezra Taft Benson. By applying these messages to our lives, we can learn to live righteously.

President Benson’s message in the June 1989 Liahona entitled “Think of Christ” touched me greatly. It states that we are responsible for our thoughts since, at the end of our mortal lives, everything we have done will be a collection of our thoughts. For that reason, we must be careful of what we do, and of what we think.

Raul Fuentealba
Santiago, Chile

Unrighteous Dominion

The recent article “Unrighteous Dominion In Marriage,” (June 1990) was all too timely and needed. However, there is one area that wasn’t really discussed—teasing.

Teasing isn’t recognized as abuse. It’s “just for fun.” But to be effective, it has to cause at least a small amount of embarrassment, discomfort, or pain. If none of these elements are present, the teasing is unsuccessful. And what are the teaser’s purposes? He or she usually doesn’t realize it, but they are working out their own frustrations or anger on someone whom society won’t let retaliate.

It would do us all well to evaluate our actions and to remember that a few things should never be the subject of teasing: anything personal—name, age, ethnic group, religion, personal appearance, place of residence, occupation; any endeavor in which a person is not doing well; any handicap or deformity; any family problem; or anything that requires a painful decision.

There are probably occasions where gentle, impersonal teasing would be all right. We do need humor. But any time it hurts someone, it isn’t funny.

Name Withheld