Are You Willing to Gather?

This morning as I was driving Little C to basketball camp I asked 

him if he had chosen to follow President Nelson’s counsel to have a 

seven-day social media fast. He replied, “Yep, I deleted Snapchat 

and Instagram last night.”

My mom heart sang a little song.

There is no better gift a mother can receive than having her child

obediently follow the counsel of the Lord.

 His friend in the back seat said, “I deleted mine last night too and

then when I went to click on the icons this morning, out of habit, 

there was nothing there. That was weird.”

I then asked, “So, what did you do instead?”

He said, “I read my scriptures.”

What??!!!! That’s incredible!! My mom heart (FYI-my mom heart 

umbrellas all children) performed another  song and maybe did

a jig, while my outward appearance played it cool. 

Little C told his friend he was a good boy! Haha. J

I love these young people.

What a powerful invitation from President Nelson – inviting the 

youth of the world to enlist in the Battalion of the Lord to help 

gather Israel. He called it the greatest cause on Earth.

He challenged them to:

  

     1. Have a seven day fast from social media

     2. Make a weekly sacrifice to the Lord for three weeks

     3. Keep on the covenant path

     4. Pray daily for all to receive the blessings of the gospel

     5. Stand Out. Be Different. Be a Light.

   These cool kids will begin this great work by refining themselves 

first. And maybe a social media fast feels like the destroyer of 

teenage life, but hopefully they’ll find comfort in the scripture, 

“The son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save 

them.”  (Luke 9:56) Everything is going to be okay. But the great 

thing is these faithful teenagers already know that.

In John 7:17, “If any man will do His will, he shall know of the 

doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.”

The youth are doing His will by following the prophet, 

the mouthpiece of God. As they fast from social media and as they 

make a weekly sacrifice to God, like replacing a golf game with a 

little family history work (Pres. Nelson's example), they will find 

opportunities to live the gospel more fully. They will learn the 

doctrine as they live it.

By challenge three they’re set up perfectly to stay on the covenant 

path. In Mark 9:43 it reads, “And if thy hand offend thee, cut it 

off…” The first two challenges have prepared these young minds 

for some serious self-reflection and by the third challenge they’re 

already on the path of determining which bad habits they need to 

cut off. Habits that may not be horrible, but habits that offend and 

prohibit their potential in life. Habits that stop them from being the 

best that they can be, and habits that they can now replace with 

better ones.

Then, in challenge four, there’s a commitment that arises. A 

commitment to pray to the Lord everyday for all to

receive the blessings of the gospel. Their focus has shifted from 

inward to outward.

And now -They’re ready To Gather. To Be Different. To Stand Out. And To Be a Light.

Because They know Him a little Better. They are His sheep.

And they are invested in gathering all of His sheep.

“And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, 

and the sheep follow him: for they know His voice.” (John 10:4)

So, I guess this means peace out social media, for seven days at 

least! I’m going to follow the example of one of my favorite 

people - my kid who’s been my kid the longest – Little C.