I knew that the words I said to others mattered, but what about how I talked to and about myself?
A few years ago, I had a unique opportunity to work as an actor in the Missionary Training Center (MTC) for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Basically, I pretended to be someone who didn’t know about the Church so that missionaries could practice teaching me. Listening to the missionaries was generally an uplifting experience, but
Photo by K Chang
after a few weeks, I noticed something felt wrong. Even though it wasn’t true, saying that I “didn’t believe in God” multiple times a day was hurting my spirit.
In his general conference address “Words Matter,” Elder Ronald A. Rasband emphasizes that words are powerful tools of communication that can be used to either uplift or degrade. Because words are so influential, Elder Rasband implores us to listen to the words of the Lord and the prophet, and to be cautious in the words we say to others—especially those we love. As he says, “We are Heavenly Father’s children and He is our God, and He expects us to speak with ‘the tongue of angels’ by the power of the Holy Ghost.”
My experience at the MTC taught me that what I tell myself also matters. Changing my self-talk began with awareness. As soon as I realized that my role at the MTC was bad for my spiritual health, I adjusted my persona and started telling missionaries that I believed in God, but just wasn’t sure about the Church. In this case, I replaced something negative with something positive: I was saying multiple times a day that I do believe in God.
I found that affirming my beliefs to myself helped me feel a deeper connection to the Spirit—helping me hold on to truth. Similarly, as we replace other negative words with positive ones, such as when we recognize self-criticism and replace it with compliments and self-compassion, we can hold on to our divine potential as Heavenly Father’s children. We can become more confident and see ourselves as God sees us, because words really do matter.
Read the rest of Elder Rasband’s thoughts about how important our words are in his address “Words Matter.”
Source: General Conference
—Elizabeth Walker, Latter-day Saint Insights
FEATURE IMAGE BY THIRDMAN
Find more insights
Read the Latter-day Saint Insights article “Words Matter: The Hurting and Healing Power of What We Say,” by Brianne Barrus, to learn more about the power of words.
To learn more about positive self-talk, read Craig Manning and Joshua J. Perkey’s New Era article “How You Talk to Yourself Matters.”