A Prophet's Counsel

From Elder Holland:

Please learn to write well and to speak the language with some precision. If it is not too startling to you may I announce, for example, that at BYU the verb "go" is not synonymous with the verb "say" as in the conversation "I go, 'Watcha doin'?' and she goes, 'Nothin,' and I go, 'Let's do somethin,' and she goes, 'Sure.' " That's too much goin' and not enough saying. And the writing from some of us is too often worse than the speaking. If I have one overwhelming disappointment in my professional life as an educator it is the general inability I find in college-educated people to write well. Edward R. Murrow once said that Winston Churchill won the Second World War by "mobiliz[ing] the English language and send[ing] it into battle" (Edward R. Murrow, I Can Hear It Now [1933­1945], Columbia Records). Perhaps it will help you win your battles, or get a job, or change a nation. The prophets of God have known that the impact of the inspired, compelling word, spoken or written, is among the most powerful forces on earth. You should discover that too. It has moved their mountains. It will move some of yours. It will illuminate your path. "In the beginning was the Word," and "God said, Let there be light: and there was light" (see John 1:1 and Genesis 1:3).