This week I listened to Elder Ballard’s commencement address at BYU Hawaii about using new media to join the ongoing conversation about the Church. He encourages us to have blogs and use them to share our testimonies, answer questions, and work to dispell misconceptions about who Mormons are and what we believe.

So, I’m going to post a talk I gave a little over a year ago. Elder Eyring came to our Stake Conference in November 2006 and I was asked to speak in the Saturday evening session. The topic I was assigned was “There is no Substitute for Personal Righteousness” and I had just finished reading and writing about and discussing Jane Eyre.

I love Jane. Small, quiet, plain, and all alone– she knew herself and what resonated with her soul as good and right. And when the promise of pleasure and even love seemed hers, it just didn’t sit right. Charlotte Bronte’s story illustrates the profound truth that there are universal principles that apply whether we acknowledge them or not– and when we live contrary to truth we can only be miserable. Joy comes in doing what we know is right no matter how hard it is.

If you want to read it, here’s my talk: Plant Your Feet

Happy Sabbath!