Effective and Inspiring Diction

When I was younger, I thought teaching and sharing the Gospel meant simply communicating (essentially, speaking) the doctrines and principles we believe to those around us.  I memorized the Articles of Faith and many of my favorite prophetic quotes and scripture verses.  I tried to share these bits of knowledge with my friends, but I did not have much success.  As I grew up, however, I started to realize that I needed to broaden my idea of communication to include personal testifying and heartfelt connections, not just rote memorization.  How does one effectively learn how to do this?

Instead of just reading the assigned speech by Jeffrey R. Holland, I decided to listen to the devotional while I read it.  I know that I tend to understand the content differently (and better) than if I just try to read, because I get distracted… 

One thing of literary rhetoric importance that really stuck out to me while I listened to President Holland’s speech from the 1988 BYU Devotional was his diction.  As he began his devotional, he set the mood for his serious topic by establishing a personal, private connection with his audience.  President Holland’s use of diction helps establish both ethos and pathos.  His tone, attitude, and dialect helped his listeners connect with him and realize how much he cares for them and his topic, sexual purity.

The definition of diction is, “the distinctive tone or tenor of an author’s writings… Diction is usually judged with reference to the prevailing standards of proper writing and speech and is seen as the mark of quality of the writing.” (http://literary-devices.com/content/diction)  When I read this, I realized that Holland’s diction and tone are a mark of the quality and importance of his words.  His style of speaking shines through in his writing, and leaves a distinct feeling of awe and respect towards Holland and his prophetic instruction.

I was very inspired by listening to this devotional.  I would strongly advise that everybody (and I mean EVERYBODY) listen to President Holland’s original audio of this BYU Devotional!!