Out of Touch - Not out of Place

Sometimes I find my efforts to live the gospel are met with resistance, not only from the world and its colorful views of life, but also from those around me. As a youth I would often force myself into molds I felt better conformed to people around me. I would bend and flex my actions and speech to be more in touch with my peers - inside and out of the church.
A little older and hopefully a little wiser, I look back and wonder what I was thinking. At the time I was sure my standing with friends and fellow classmates was absolutely essential. I had obviously missed something important when learning about the gospel.
Throughout his life, Joseph was an exemplar of living what he believed. When Potiphar's wife accosted him he ran. When the prison guard had him in their possession, he did what he'd always done and followed his religion. What I find amazing is what happened during his formative years.

Joseph was only 17 when he told his brothers and family about his dreams, which we later find to be divinely appointed. He wanted to live the gospel as he understood it. God had spoken something special and beautiful to his soul and he wanted to share it with others. Now lets pause and think about this.

He was 17. He was in his teenage years. He had a peer group of 11 brothers, 10 who were older than he. They were part of the covenant of their grandfather Abraham. They were what equates to being members of our church.
Some of these brothers had attacked a city and destroyed it using the covenant of circumcision to trick the inhabitants. Another, his eldest brother, had defiled his father's wife Bilhah by sleeping with her. Judah tries to make money off of Joseph's demise at the pit and later reveals more of his character by sleeping with a harlot.
With these examples and "friends" how does Joseph behave? Does he conform to their standards and start what we do so often today - telling dirty jokes, following only that which he felt was needful from the gospel or pretending to be something he wasn't? No. He was true as always. He made a decision to follow the Lord and shared his visions and faith with his family. He did not bend to the whims of slave masters, prison holders, even Pharaoh, when these things conflicted with his belief in God.
We must be firm in our faith. The Lord had great things in store for Joseph and has great things in store for us. We must believe that while we are out of touch with the ways of the world, we are not in the wrong place when we stand with God and do our part to follow his ways. That is where we are supposed to be and only then are we what we are supposed to be - disciples.