"11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."12 for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."13 where fore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with the truth, and having the breastplate of righteousness;"15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;"16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked."17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:"18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;"
Let's work on figuring out the meaning of each piece of the armor and see if we can't figure out how we can make sure that we have each piece of the armor on...
How do we have our "loins girt about with the truth"? What is this girth that we are to use? It is of my own personal opinion that this girth that we should use is our testimony. If you think about it, how can you begin to defend the truth if you do not have a testimony of the truth?
What is the "breastplate of righteousness"? This, I would think, would be our worthiness. If we are to defend the truth, after having a testimony of it, we must also follow God's commandments and be strive to be worthy. Repenting when we do make mistakes.
What about having our "feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace"? Well, you can also think of this as the roots of a tree. A tree can grow to be big and tall, but if its roots are shallow, when the winds blow, it will fall down. In this case, study the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is a gospel of peace, so that we can dig our roots deep.
"The shield of faith" is just that, a shield. When we have faith in Jesus Christ, and when we increase that faith in Him, it becomes a shield that protects us from the powers of the fiery darts that are being thrown at us every day, from every direction.
"The helmet of salvation". After all we do, if we have tried our best to follow God's commandments, we shall have salvation.
"The sword of the Spirit". This is our best offense. If we can have the Spirit with us, and if we can make sure that we do everything that we need to do to have the Spirit with us, I have no doubt that we will (to use President Christianson's word) astonish those who watch us. And I see no reason why this shouldn't happen if we have the Spirit with us. "The sword of the Spirit", as its says in Ephesians, is also the word of God. We must follow the word of God, if we are to have the Spirit with us. One thing that God's tells us that we need to do, which He says in verse 18, is to Pray always. We must pray always with prayer and supplication.
So, my dear brethren and sisters, "put on the whole armour of God." I promise that as you do this, as you strive to follow all of God's commandments, and help Him defend the truth against those who wish to destroy it, you will receive so many blessings. So many, that it is impossible to count. So many that there will not be enough room in your heart to hold them all.
It is my testimony that I know that this work that God has asked us to do is not the work of men, but the work of God that we do. Just as Joseph Smith, the Prophet, has said:
"The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; Persecution may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame; but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, until it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done."-Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 4:540
