The Whole Armor of God

"It is important that we make up our minds early in life as to what we will do and what we will not do" counseled President N. Eldon Tanner in the April 1979 General Conference. "Long before the moment of temptation comes we should have determined that we will resist that cigarette, that drink of whiskey, that act of immorality, or anything that will keep us from enjoying the companionship of the Spirit of the Lord. We all have different weaknesses and temptations, and we should examine our lives to find out what those weaknesses are and where we should put on extra armor so we can do what is right and not submit to temptation."

The talk can be found here:

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/1979/04/put-on-the-whole-armor-of-god?lang=Eng&clang=eng

It is my belief that when a member of the Quorum of the Twelve or of the First Presidency is speaking, past or present, we should be paying attention.

In October 1975, President Spencer W. Kimball addressed the General Relief Society meeting.  His talk contains counsel that can apply to all members, including missionaries.  "Temptations are great," said President Kimball. "Satan tells us that black is white. He lies to us; therefore, we must be prepared to make a bold stand before Satan, who is without flesh and blood, and against principalities and powers and the rulers of darkness. We need the whole armor of God that we may withstand. We must quench the fiery darts of the wicked with the shield of faith."

This talk can be found here:

http://www.lds.org/ensign/1976/03/the-blessings-and-responsibilities-of-womanhood?lang=eng

In the April 1974 General Conference, Elder L. Tom Perry spoke about how his parents clothed him each day.  "We were dressed in our home each morning, not only with hats and raincoats and boots to protect us from physical storm, but even more carefully our parents dressed us each day in the armor of God. As we would kneel in family prayer and listen to our father, a bearer of the priesthood, pour out his soul to the Lord for the protection of his family against the fiery darts of the wicked, one more layer was added to our shield of faith. While our shield was being made strong, theirs was always available, for they were available and we knew it."

That talk can be found here:

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1974/04/build-your-shield-of-faith?lang=eng

In the October 1986 General Conference, President Gordon B. Hinckley quoted President Wilford Woodruff, who said, “There are two powers on the earth and in the midst of the inhabitants of the earth—the power of God and the power of the devil. In our history we have had some very peculiar experiences. When God has had a people on the earth, it matters not in what age, Lucifer, the son of the morning, and the millions of fallen spirits that were cast out of heaven, have warred against God, against Christ, against the work of God, and against the people of God. And they are not backward in doing it in our day and generation. Whenever the Lord set His hand to perform any work, those powers labored to overthrow it”

President Hinckley went on to say, "The victims who fall are as precious as those who have fallen in the past. It is an ongoing battle. . . . The war goes on. It is waged across the world over the issues of agency and compulsion. It is waged by an army of missionaries over the issues of truth and error. It is waged in our own lives, day in and day out, in our homes, in our work, in our school associations; it is waged over questions of love and respect, of loyalty and fidelity, of obedience and integrity. We are all involved in it -- men and boys, each of us."

President Hinckley's talk can be found here:

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1986/10/the-war-we-are-winning?lang=eng

Excerpts from some of these talks were used in this video:

Missionaries, just like the rest of us need to put on the whole armor of God.