Stand as a Witness

I must have recited the Young Women theme a million times before I had an experience that helped me learn to appreciate its importance.

In Young Women opening exercises, I usually recited the theme without really thinking about what I was saying. But one particular day, during my junior year of high school, those inspired words rang through my mind as I faced an important decision.

My teacher assigned our speech class group projects. Each group picked a scene from a play to perform for the class. We spent the next four days preparing for our performances, and we started to hear rumors that one group of boys had chosen a questionable scene dealing with morality issues. A lot of us were surprised when our teacher allowed them to keep their selection. He argued that it was a well-known play, and “for art’s sake,” he said, he must allow them to perform it.

On the day of the performances, our teacher again discussed the controversial play. He agreed it might be offensive. Then he added, “Those of you who feel uncomfortable have my permission to leave the room.” Jokingly, half the class stood up and pretended to walk out. Who wouldn’t want to take advantage of going to lunch early?

I began feeling a little nervous as the boys started their performance. At first, several of my classmates blushed and giggled uneasily, but as the scene went on, people began to relax. I was shocked to see no one leaving the room. I looked at a few of my Latter-day Saint friends, watching for one of them to give the signal for us to walk out together. But none of them did. I remained at my desk with my head down so no one could see my crimson cheeks. I felt very uncomfortable, but I was also afraid to leave. After all, it was art, right?

At that moment, the Young Women theme came into my mind: “We will ‘stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places’ (Mosiah 18:9).” Immediately, I knew what I was going to do. “All places” meant everywhere, even in a classroom with my friends.

Quietly, I got up and left the room. That was it. No one got up and followed me. No one applauded my valiant act. No one was converted by my example. But inside I knew I had done the right thing, even though people teased me for the next two weeks. I felt good about standing up for my beliefs “at all times and in all things, and in all places.”