Mission Callings
Safeguard 3


“Safeguard 3,” Safeguards for Using Technology (2015)

“Safeguard 3,” Safeguards for Using Technology

Safeguard 3

Be Disciplined

In 2 Nephi 2:26, Lehi teaches, “Because that they are redeemed from the fall [the children of men] have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon.” Use your agency to be disciplined and make righteous choices regarding how you use technology. Regarding the connection between agency and discipline, Elder D. Todd Christofferson has said, “Moral discipline is the consistent exercise of agency to choose the right because it is right, even when it is hard” (“Moral Discipline,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2009, 105). Since discipline is strongly connected with agency, make a conscious effort to choose to be disciplined as you use mobile devices in your missionary work.

Develop the discipline to use your mobile device only when it is appropriate to do so. When you are talking face-to-face with people, do not check messages or answer calls. Take control of how you use these tools. Do not let them control you. You may know people who are addicted to their mobile devices. They seem oblivious to the social environment around them as they send and check text messages, engage in video games, or do other activities on their devices.

As a missionary, do not become distracted by your mobile devices. President M. Russell Ballard taught: “Handheld devices, such as smartphones, are a blessing, but they can also distract us from hearing the ‘still, small voice.’ They need to be our servants, not our masters” (“Be Still, and Know That I Am God” [Church Educational System devotional, May 4, 2014], lds.org/broadcasts).

Image
two sister missionaries studying on phones