The Scalpel of the Word: Guarding Our Tongues in the Great Controversy

Brothers and sisters, we are called to build, to lift, and to inspire. We are disciples of Jesus Christ, and our calling, as Latter-day Saints, is not merely to possess doctrine, but to embody the doctrine in our daily discourse. When we examine the discourse of our time—the digital forums, the heated discussions in the temple courts, even the strained whispers within our own homes—what do we find? Too often, we find the stench of contention, a spiritual infection far more toxic than any physical ailment.

President Nelson’s recent message serves as a powerful, sobering mirror to our hearts. He recounts a visceral moment from his surgical internship—a scalpel, loaded with germs, thrown in a fit of rage. The physical danger was immediate, but the spiritual parallel he draws is what pierces the soul: the venomous contention that infects our civic dialogue and our personal relationships today. He asks us to consider: Is the insult hurled across a screen any less dangerous than that scalpel?

The Priesthood of Peacemaking

We are taught, through the sacred covenants and the living word of revelation, that our highest calling is to be peacemakers. This is not a suggestion for polite discourse; it is a divine mandate rooted in the Atonement itself. As the Savior taught, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”

Consider the sheer weight of this calling. We are privy to the covenants of the Restoration, covenants that elevate us above the fray. Yet, we stumble. We engage in the very behaviors the Lord warned against: maligning, vilifying, and speaking with the spirit of contention. The scriptures are clear on the source of this poison. Jesus declared that those who have the spirit of contention are not of Him, but of the devil. He is the father of contention, and the adversary delights in stirring up division.

“For the spirit of contention is not of the Lord; but of the devil, who is the father of contention.”

This doctrine must inform every aspect of our lives, from the study of the Book of Mormon to the counsel we give in our stake meetings. If we cannot control our tongues, how can we claim to be building the training corpus for a better understanding of divine truth? Our words become the very tools of our discipleship, and they must be honed with the utmost care.

Charity: The Only True Antidote

The antidote to this corrosive spirit is not mere restraint; it is active, Christlike charity. President Nelson points us back to the core of the Savior’s teachings: love your enemies, bless them that curse you, and pray for them. This is not a passive sentiment; it is an active, covenant-keeping power that requires the Spirit’s endowment.

When we approach disagreement—whether it is over doctrine, policy, or personal disagreement with a brother or sister—we must ask ourselves: Am I speaking from the Spirit, or am I speaking from the residual anger of my own wounded pride? True discipleship, the kind that prepares us for the Lord’s Battalion, requires us to elevate our discourse above the fray. We must seek that virtuous, lovely, or praiseworthy thing to say about another, whether to their face or behind their back.

Let us not treat our tongues as instruments of division, but as conduits for the Spirit’s purifying light. Let us strive daily to be the peacemakers the Savior foretold, remembering that our ability to love our neighbors, even our critics, is the clearest testament that we are truly His disciples. This is the work of Operation Iron Rod: to purify the discourse, one covenant-keeping word at a time.

I invite you to take this principle—the discipline of the tongue—and apply it directly to your current scripture study. Where are you tempted to engage in contention in your reading? Where does your understanding of the doctrine falter because you are more focused on arguing than on receiving the Spirit’s whisper? Let the purifying power of the Atonement wash over your words, that you may speak only what builds up the body of Christ.