The Goliaths in our lives?

This is the river valley where David found the rounded, soft stone which instantly killed Goliath. I still can't believe I was actually THERE!


Hear no evil. See no evil. Speak no evil.


This picture is post rock-release. Its harder than it looks...


Here I am practicing my slinging skills in the valley of Elah. This is the actual place David nailed Goliath:

And this is the 9ft Goliath that Miriam, Richelle, Chris and I made. Wow, was he intimidating! Try not to confuse Goliath with our teacher Br. Wilson. (He's pretty scary too :)

This event in 1 Samuel chapter 17 has become more than a story to me. Here is an excerpt from my journal entry at the Valley of Elah:

"I sit between 2 ridges, the campsites for the Philistines and the Israelites as they went to war with each other. I watch the still valley between where so many years ago, David's youthful integrity, confidence, inspiration, revelation, courage, strength and most importantly, faith in himself and his Savior contributed to his killing Goliath and winning the Philistines as servants. Goliath, from Gath, was a man whose height was 6 cubits and a span. That makes him a little over 9 feet tall! Intimidated by his height, King Saul and the Israelites were afraid to go against him. It was then that David convinced King Saul to let him fight the giant. He took off the armor weighing down his small frame and fought Goliath with armor of faith and 5 smooth stones.

There are Goliaths all around us; giants with evil intent to destroy. These are not nine-foot-tall men, but attractive yet evil things that challenge, weaken and can potentially destroy us. Goliath's are most definitely sin and obvious evil around us, but I think for me, Goliath's are even temptation for impure thoughts, desires, and behavior. Goliaths can even be a sense of satisfaction that slowly but surely lures me away from being my best self.

In the church, we are lucky to be warned, taught and counseled as to avoid evils in the world and refrain from exposing ourselves to damaging media and violence. As President Gordon B. Hinckley once taught (according to Br. Wilson) we have the stones of virtue, honor and integrity to use against the enemies in the world that seek to conquer us.

I submit that as faithful members of His church, we hit those Goliath's "between the eyes!" We can triumph over giantous evils and temptations by disciplining ourselves to avoid them. We can do more than avoid sin, we need to shun it as we see it in our lives. We can greet the Goliath's in our lives with the response David gave Goliath: “Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.”

We are children of God and have HIs power within us. We have the right and privilege of calling upon Heavenly Father to protect us and guide us as we are tempted by seemingly-overwhelming forces of evil. Every Goliath can be defeated. I know that as I follow David's stalwart example of courage and faith, I too can overcome the Goliath's in my modern-day life."