In 2011, Thomas S. Monson counseled us all to “dare to stand alone.” What can we learn from his words 15 years later?
My high school in San Diego, California, had nearly two thousand students. Around 15 of those were members of the Church, including my brothers and me. Throughout my high school experience, I had a tendency to keep my beliefs quiet because people would regularly mischaracterize, misunderstand, or make light of my faith.
President Thomas S. Monson’s famous talk from 15 years ago, “Dare to Stand Alone,” has always been a place I’ve looked for counsel. As I get older, his words about needing confidence to stand alone in our faith only ring truer.
While recounting his first Sunday in Navy boot camp, President Monson says, “I felt completely alone. Courageous and determined, yes—but alone.” Catholic, Jewish, and Protestant believers had been released to meet together for religious services. Since he was part of none of these groups, President Monson remained on the drill ground, seemingly alone.
It was only when the officer said “And just what do you guys call yourselves?” that he realized he wasn’t really alone.
“Since that day, there have been times when there was no one standing behind me and so I did stand alone,” President Monson says. “How grateful I am that I made the decision long ago to remain strong and true.”
Growing up in a place with so few members of the Church meant that I, too, often stood alone. Whenever I did mention my faith, I was almost always met with awkward discomfort or silence.
This is why President Monson’s recounting of a rhyme he’d been taught in Primary means so much to me:
“Dare to be a Mormon;
Dare to stand alone.
Dare to have a purpose firm;
Dare to make it known.”
Growing up surrounded by people with different beliefs and lifestyles than mine pushed me to be determined in my faith; I had to choose to have a strong conviction of the restored gospel.
Feeling alone in faith is not a rarity. Almost anywhere we find ourselves, we may be in the religious minority. If you feel misunderstood in your faith, take courage in President Monson’s message that we can find strength in ourselves and our faith.
Read President Thomas S. Monson’s words in his October 2011 general conference talk, “Dare to Stand Alone.”
Source: General Conference
—Ellie Lewis, Latter-day Saint Insights
FEATURE IMAGE BY KEVIN LEE
Find more insights
Watch “Dare to Stand Alone,” a short video based on President Thomas S. Monson’s message.
To learn more about sticking up for your faith, read the Latter-day Saint Insights article “Upholding Your Standards When Others Might Mock You” by Elise Green.
To understand Christ’s relationship to us as we struggle, read the Latter-day Saint Insights article “We Do Not Walk Alone” by Camila Roldan.
Read about how we are never truly alone in the Latter-day Saint Insights article “We Are Never Alone: God Knows Us and Loves Us” by Amanda Buxton.