BULLYING : STOP IT

I saw this going around on facebook last night and felt inclined to share it. Bullying has been a hot topic the last few years. We have seen young adults make headlines across the nation because of bullying. Bullying has always been around, but I do feel we have seen an increase with the rise of the internet and social media. The internet is an amazing tool, and while it sounds totally cheesy, it can be used for good and evil. Unfortunately we have people who feel powerless behind their multiple devices and use it as a space to hurt others. When at the hand of insecure teenagers, this can be disastrous. Of course adults aren't immune to this behavior either, and this unfortunately is something that I feel has become a huge problem.

Dieter F. Uchtdorf counsels us that when it comes to hating, gossiping, ignoring, ridiculing, holding grudges, or wanting to cause harm—stop it!

Something that I have been trying to do, which has really helped me, is when or if I feel inclined to say something rude, or mean about someone - I take a step back and ask myself why I am going to that place. I take the focus off that person and ask myself why I feel the need to say something, or why do I feel this way? We can learn a lot about ourselves by doing this, and know that we can become better people because of it, because I have grown from it. This also works the other way around. When someone has said hurtful or mean spirited things to me, I can't hold on to that. It will only bring you down and make you an unhappier person. I know this from experience as well! You have to LET IT GO. Or as Uchtdorf say, STOP IT. You just can't keep that energy inside and be happy. The person who hurt you may never say they are sorry, heck, they might not even know how much they have hurt you. Their apology shouldn't be what makes you move on and be a happy person.

We have all at one point in our lives been affected by gossip and hurtful comments. We have also probably been involved in participating in that behavior ourselves. 

We all need to forgive, and ask for forgiveness.



9 comments

  1. Such a great post that relates to my life right now. Its so hard to hear others gossiping and not join in. Always important to think before you speak. I know people and have personally been a victim of bullying and is something that can be so easily avoided.

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  2. Thank you for sharing this, Alycia. =) Such a powerful message.

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  3. Yes, yes, and yes. A lot of little actions can cause a huge movement!

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  4. So truuue that you need to ask yourself why you're feeling the need to talk about someone before you open your mouth and say something nasty about someone.

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  5. My kids watched this video the other night, and I watched it with them. I'm glad you are posting this. I think his advice is simple and poignant. What I also think the video captures well is the frustration in that all of these schools seem to be taking the right steps with bullying posters (the video pans across the bullying posters a number of times), seminars, what have you, yet it's happening in unprecedented numbers. It' s disturbing, but I'm thankful for the prophet and his apostles for their wisdom and direction that serves to guide us and to help us be better and to maybe have the courage to stop some of this vicious cycle. Thanks again for sharing.

    Shauna :)

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  6. I loved this talk initially, and I'm so glad that they made this video so his message can be spread far and wide in both religious and secular settings. It's such a timely message. With technology to hide behind, it seems more people than ever are willing to lash out and hurt others. It's so cowardly.

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  7. I love this movie and thought it great it's become mainstream not just in Mormonland. It was such a great talk and I love how real they were about bullying. No sugarcoating, at all. Amazing.

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  8. My husband is a film producer for the church and he actually wrote the script for this one. He is trying very hard to get them to make more videos like this one, ones that will reach more than just a mormon audience. Im glad you liked it and shared it here.

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