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Audrey Knudson
Communications 122
4/11/2015
SPREAD HOPE BY COMMUNICATING WITH OTHERS
Putting our trust in the Lord, and submitting to his will, moves us forward in life.
When I was baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I
agreed to take the name of Christ upon myself and become a representative of the values that the
Lord has given to his children. To avoid taking the name of Christ in vain I must not willfully
do aught that is in defiance of his commandments. (Talmage, 2002). In order to prevent myself
from acting in defiance of the commandments, I must align my will with the Lords. When I
align myself with gospel truths, I will be able to communicate with others in a way that allows
Christ like love and compassion to shine.
For all have not every gift given unto them; for there are many gifts, and to every man is
given a gift by the Spirit of God. To some is given one, and to some is given another, that all may
be profited thereby. (Doctrine and Covenants, 46:11-12) Throughout most of my life I had been
a rather closed off person that isolated myself from others. I refused to acknowledge the fact that
Heavenly Father blesses all his children with unique gifts or talents. Declining to accept my
talents and share them with others was living in defiance of Gods wishes. We are supposed to
use our gifts to bless the lives of others. Interpersonal Communications helped me to realize that
I have talents that I had never recognized before. My exclusive blend of personality traits utilizes
strengths others might not have, but would benefit from.

One of the abilities I have that I discovered through Communications class is my ability
to consistently treat people in a similar manner. That used to mean that I would consistently
ignore people. However, I have since learned a better way to put this skill to use. Instead of
frequently rejecting people I can learn to frequently accept people. When I examine my
relationships with others I will not pretend that I am any better than them, or that they are not
worth my time. I can weigh their problems in my mind as if they were my own to come up with
ideas of ways to help them. Christ was an advocate for the cause of accepting others and
withholding harsh judgments. By utilizing my ability to consider everyone an equal, I can
embrace Christian ideals and act in a manner that shows my respect for my Heavenly Father.
I am able to visualize the future in great detail, this talent is identified as futuristic by the
Strengths quest assessment. This talent of looking forward to the future is often passed off as idle
day dreaming. Yet, when it is combined with conviction for a cause it becomes a driving factor
that one can use to achieve their goals. This ability to visualize the steps that need to be taken
along a path of action has always come naturally to me, but I am now realizing that others may
not have this ability. I am now trying to learn how to communicate my thoughts with others in a
way that allows them to see what I can. I am concentrating on voicing the patterns of behavior
needed to move forward in the plan of salvation. It is easy to become sidetracked by worldly
vanity, and if I can find a way to add a perspective that would help others avoid that I am going
to do it. Testimony of how the gospel can bring peace during the times of eventual struggles is a
message of hope that needs to be shared by those who have it. The light of these testimonies can
go forth and glorify our Heavenly Father. (Matthew, 5:16)
And thus he flattereth them, and leadeth them along until he draggeth their souls down
to hell; and thus he causeth them to catch themselves in their own snare. (Doctrine and

Covenants, 10:26) Choices that seem like every day decisions can have a dramatic impact on the
direction our lives take. If we are not careful the little decisions we make add up to seemingly
irreversible damage. An ability I have been blessed with is to be able to deliberately analyze
virtually all the decisions I make. I can see how small slip ups would eventually lead me down a
path that was not intended for me by my Heavenly Father. Many people can be impulsive and,
what I would call, reckless with their decision making process. While it may not always be
needed, I would like to be able to help being balance into the lives of others by assisting them to
scrutinize their choices when they reach out for help. This requires the ability to listen to what
another person is saying and think about the way they may feel and what they really need out of
the conversation. When the actual meaning behind the conversation is determined, I will be able
to show compassion and empathy that can bring about a solution to the presented question.
I used to discount the idea that others may need my opinions or sympathy. I lived in a
world where everybody was on their own, and would just have to figure out their problems
themselves. This was a selfish and unfortunate point of view. I denied others access to my
talents, which in turn cut me off from the valuable contribution of others. As I was able to
collaborate with a variety of people throughout the semester, I was able to learn how much we
can all benefit by accurately communicating our needs with each other. This discovery put me
on the path of a person who is able to spread faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The ideas that I hold as values come from my firm belief in gospel principles. Due to the
teachings and experiences I had in my communications class, I now believe the messages I send
to the world should reflect upon the truths that I know. The will of the Lord is for us to share our
beliefs in a way that will edify and uplift others. Gods counsel aligns us and conjoins us with
the great realities of the universe; whereas sin empties, isolates, and separates us, confining us to

the solitary cell of selfishness. (Maxwell, 1985) Aligning myself with the will of my heavenly
father leads to valuable communications with others that share the love of Christ that can be felt
through the gospel.

References
Maxwell, N. A. (1985, April). Willing to Submit. Retrieved from LDS.org:
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1985/04/willing-to-submit?lang=eng
Talmage, J. E. (2002). Doctrine And Covenants Student Manual Section 63 "For This Is A Day
Of Warning, And Not A Day Of Many Words". Retrieved from lds.org:
https://www.lds.org/manual/doctrine-and-covenants-student-manual/section-6068/section-63-for-this-is-a-day-of-warning-and-not-a-day-of-many-words?lang=eng