The word bulletproof is something of a misnomer. The fact is, there are too many different kinds of guns firing too many different kinds of projectiles at too many kinds of angles and velocities for there to be one solution that covers every possible kind of attack. So, what we are really looking for is something that will give the most protection for the widest range of scenarios. I think we all have an intuitive sense that something hard and solid like a steel or ceramic plate might be able to stop a speeding bullet. But we might be more skeptical if someone told us to wear a piece of fabric and stand on the wrong end of a loaded pistol. And yet, fabric is what most bulletproof vests are made of. At the end of the day, Kevlar, for all that it has five times the tensile strength of steel, is really just a kind of thread. That thread gets woven into sheets, those sheets are then layered on top of each other, and somehow, this collection of individual threads working together can stop a high velocity bullet more effectively than a plate of hardened steel. Metal might be stronger from certain angles but not effective at all from others. The advantage of kevlar is that you have thousands of threads supporting each other and overlapping one another’s weaknesses and vulnerabilities. If we are to make ourselves bulletproof from temptation so that we may withstand the fiery darts of the adversary, then we can’t simply turn ourselves into a plate of hardened steel by ourselves and hope to get the job done. “And he commanded them that there should be no contention one with another, but that they should look forward with one eye, having one faith and one baptism, having their hearts knit together in unity and in love one towards another.” (Mosiah 18:21). “That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death.” (D&C 121:44). As we weave threads of faithfulness, unity and love with each other, not just once, but over and over again, from different angles and overlapping layers, then we build up this bulletproof armor of God that can protect us from almost anything that life can throw at us. We might think that opening our hearts to others makes us more vulnerable, but as long as we build mutual bonds of love and service with each other, we will end up much more fortified and secure than we would ever be by trying to go it alone.
