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.
Your blog post is simple, and yet it describes everything you need. I really enjoyed reading it. Personal experience at the beginning drew me in and going above and beyond the assignment (listening to it) definitely helped you define your own authority and knowledge.
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