Friday, September 19, 2014

Miltons and Shakespeares

           "We will yet have Miltons and Shakespeares of our own. God's ammunition is not exhausted. His brightest spirits are held in reserve for the latter times," said Orson F. Whitney.

This statement from Orson Whitney is true in all aspects. Many latter-day-saints have become literary giants. In reading "Added Upon" by Nephi Anderson, I would say he was one of them. This is purely opinion, but many would say that the act of stepping forward, putting your beliefs on the line, now that is being a revolutionary. Orson Whitney also said, "All must be preached to... and whither we cannot go, we must send; where we cannot speak we must write; and in order to win men with our writings we must know how and what to write." Half the battle then is getting the word out, being bold enough to share what we know to be true. Nephi Anderson did that. 

Many church members know what its like to share our beliefs with others, we have served full time missions, we have talked to a neighbor or a friend about the gospel, and we know how hard it is. We know the difficulty arrises from what people with think of us. We ask ourselves, "What if they reject what I hold so dear to my heart?" What would you do if someone you love rejected something you love so dearly? It would be like giving your best friend a puppy, and them not accepting that gift. 

So, to go along with what Orson Whitney said, we need to do all we can to spread what we know to whomever we can, and that is exactly what Nephi Anderson did with his novel, "Added Upon."

1 comment:

  1. I agree the Nephi Anderson did well at putting his beliefs out there and trying to spread the gospel. He was published and I'm sure many people read this when it came out. Think of Deseret Book, and Seagull Book. Think about how Nephi Anderson set the example for us to have stores where Mormon's sell their books! It's amazing how many books Latter Day Saints are publishing and selling. I think it is hard to put what we believe out there, but by being bold, these books are changing thousands of lives, whether they be members or non-members.

    ReplyDelete