Unity

“Are we joining together to praise our God and King no matter the quality of our voices?” —Elder Patrick Kearon

After a recent visit to Auschwitz in Poland and Plötzensee Prison in Berlin, Elder Uchtdorf shared beautiful insights on unity and peace for all of God’s children.

We don’t need to be the best cook to offer to feed another, a medical professional to offer healing aid, or flush with cash to ease another’s burdens.

Have you ever heard of Three Sisters Planting? Here’s what it has taught me about generational love, respect, and unity.

“I don’t want my unity with others in the Church to be conditional, where in order to be unified, I’ve either got to convert someone else to my way of thinking or vice versa.”

For this year's International Day of Peace try listening to uplifting music to bring more peace into your life.

Richard Eyre’s new book, No Division Among You, tackles how we can all become more unified with those around us.

Sister Aburto’s sincere reply was, ‘Your love for your boys is a beautiful motive for you to come. I am grateful to have you among us.’

We all want to feel loved and accepted. Here are nine ideas that may help those who are unable to fully participate at church know they are welcome among their fellow Latter-day Saints.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is hosting its annual celebration of Latin American culture on Saturday, November 5.

Sister Tracy Browning, a member of the Relief Society General Board, recently spoke on the Latter-day Saint Women podcast about inclusion, unity, and loving one another better.

I think most if not all of us have experienced a hit to our mental health over the past few months. It’s hard not to think negatively in a time when disasters are dropping one after another, we have been isolated from others, and we’ve been at home with our social media more often than we might otherwise be. It is also becoming easier and easier to distrust others as we read the news, inundated with stories highlighting the volatile flaws of human nature and generating fear of interacting with others during this highly contagious pandemic.

Elder John H. Groberg and his wife, Jean, were the guests on this week's "All In" podcast.

What do we know about the final judgment? A new video from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints illustrates that all of us will return to the presence of God to be judged. As the video description elaborates, "This judgment will come only after they have a complete understanding of God’s plan and have had an opportunity to repent of their sins, which is possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. . . . God makes sure that all His children will have a fair understanding of His commandments and the consequences of our actions, whether we learn those things in this life or as spirits after death."

I receive hundreds of letters in my office, and many of them describe the heartache that results from the categories we sometimes create for each other. Below is a letter describing the pain of being single in a Church focused on family:

One of the most beautiful, intentional designs manifest in our Heavenly Father's creations is diversity. No one is exactly the same, and everyone has unique perspectives, backgrounds, gifts, and talents that enrich our lives in ways we otherwise would never experience.

Many years ago, my wife approached me and wanted to purchase flower baskets to be placed around our home to add color and beauty. At first, I was a bit resistant when she told me the cost, but as is usual in our home, I relented and quickly appreciated them for many reasons. It became my responsibility to care for these flowers and ensure that they received the water they needed. One day, my wife made a specific request. She said, “George, please remember to water the edges of the baskets. If you don’t, the flowers will die.” Little did I know how profoundly her comments would affect me.

One of our most basic spiritual needs is that of belonging. It is a fundamental need found in all cultures and all types of people.

I often overhear people talking about their fears of being more than one thing. One side of the conversation regularly goes something like this: “I can’t be both _____________ and a member of the Church.” And if they’re not saying it about themselves, they’re talking about somebody else. Sometimes it comes in the form of a question: “Can you be gay and still be a member of the Church?”

Written on meetinghouses of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints around the world are the words "Visitors welcome." But what does that simple phrase truly mean? How can we be more loving, open, and accepting so that those words also become written on our hearts? Watch this touching new video from the Church for some ideas:

The following content has been republished with permission from bridgeslds.com.

"Is she wearing her garments in that wedding dress photo?"

A while back I was invited to a fabulous party with delicious food and lovely company. I looked forward to an afternoon of meeting new people and reconnecting with old friends.

The older I get the more I realize life is an interesting journey. It is a journey that will consistently and constantly teach us if we are willing and open to learn in the areas of unconditional love and acceptance. When I was at Ricks College a long time ago, I met and fell in love with an amazing individual, Ivan. We dated until he left on his mission. Then we dated after he returned from his mission and before I left on my mission. After the missions we lost contact with each other. He went to Utah State and I went to Brigham Young University.

This is an excerpt from the book Falling to Heaven: The Surprising Path to Happiness, by James L. Ferrell.

Through my association in the Church and also in my clinical office, I have had many individuals confidentially confide in me that they feel they just do not fit in the culture of the Church. The reasons for not fitting in have ranged from personal perspectives, sexual orientation, marital status, financial issues, cultural backgrounds, age, and status in life, just to name a few. As I have listened to these various concerns, all very valid for the person experiencing them, I have realized that for most of us not fitting in comes down to the very basic human need of feeling wanted and loved.

Carrot seeds don't look at all like carrots. They look to me like little specks of dirt. They’re not orange. They’re not shaped like carrots. You couldn’t take them to a picnic. Well, I guess you could, but there’s no way to make carrot sticks out of them, and those little seeds can sure get stuck in your teeth. I’ve tried eating carrots that way. Not satisfying. Those little specks aren’t full of vitamins and good stuff yet.

Conference Talk:

“As aspiring Christians but still imperfect saints, we may not always understand the struggles of others or know how to help, but we can always love them, creating safe spaces where others — and often we ourselves — can struggle with the ‘hard sayings’ in life,” BYU professor Eric D. Huntsman said.

What a profound insight: "A simple yet powerful commandment [Jesus Christ] told His disciples, one that He repeated three times over, 'Love one another; as I have loved you' (John 13:34-35). I am so glad this commandment didn’t include disclaimers. Can you imagine, 'Love one another, except when someone does not believe or act as you do, then please disregard this commandment'? It sounds absurd when it’s in this context, but when life gets real and loved ones disagree on personal matters, this simple but powerful statement can get lost in translation."

As an English major, I have enjoyed taking several classes on ethics and social justice that address issues like implicit bias, racism, and sexism. I love the way these classes opened my eyes to things I had never noticed before about the world around me. While I had always known that equal rights were important, I became more sensitive to the importance of these issues in a way I never had before. I felt that gaining this wisdom was invaluable—that it would make me a stronger, more sensitive voice, both in my career and in my service in the Church.

It's not always as easy as we would like to accept someone different than ourselves. But we shouldn't just accept these differences, we should embrace them.

Latter-day Saints often wonder how we can clearly stand for our faith in our modern world. While it may be tricky to navigate differences we experience in politics, in faith, at work, in our families, and at church, it is important for us to recognize other's agency is just as sacred as our own and to put first and foremost the two great commandments: "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these" (Mark 12:30–31).

Ward families provide wonderful opportunities to worship, make friends, find support, and strengthen your testimony as ward members work, learn, grow, and live together. But speaking as a former long-term member of a young single adult ward and a current member of an apartment-heavy ward with newlyweds and senior missionary couples coming in and out on a regular basis, I know that feeling support and connection at church can be a little more difficult when your ward family is constantly changing. Here are a few tips I’ve gathered that might help both leaders and members create more unity in an ever-changing ward.

Conflict and disagreeing opinions in themselves are not a bad thing. In fact, studies show these can have a positive impact, which means we may need to change the way we see disagreements as we try to create church environments where people can feel comfortable sharing their experiences and ideas.

In a historic event, the Church celebrated the 40th anniversary of the priesthood revelation at the "Be One" event last Friday.

Sister Cristina B. Franco, the second counselor in the Primary general presidency, shared a video called "Love in Our Hearts" on her Facebook on how our differences allow us to learn from and strengthen each other.

During the Church's "Be One" event celebrating the 40th anniversary of the priesthood revelation, touching stories were shared of the black pioneers in the Church who remained faithful despite painful priesthood and temple restrictions. President Dallin H. Oaks acknowledged, “I observed the pain and frustration experienced by those who suffered these restrictions and those who criticized them and sought for reasons. I studied the reasons then being given and could not feel confirmation of the truth of any of them.” He also shared the touching moment when he sat down and cried for joy learning of the priesthood revelation. President Russell M. Nelson added, "Differences in culture, language, gender, race, and nationality fade into insignificance as the faithful enter the covenant path and come unto our beloved Redeemer." Read President Nelson's full remarks here, and President Oaks's full remarks here.

In a very moving Facebook post at the end of April, Elder D. Todd Christofferson wrote, "It breaks my heart if someone comes and is very vulnerable and says, 'I want to try it, I want to be here,' and then gets a cold shoulder or a lack of interest. And that's tragic. We have to be better than that."

I don't think anyone ever told me the telestial kingdom specifically, but I do remember growing up with the belief that anyone who died by suicide wouldn't make it to the celestial kingdom.

When frustrations, hatred, divisiveness, conflict, or differences arise between us and another, do we ever give ourselves a moment to stop and remember the fact that our Savior gave His life for them? Do we understand our Heavenly Parents look at them with infinite love and understanding their infinite potential?

"I say unto you, be one," a new Church website reads, quoting Doctrine and Covenants 38:27.

President Russell M. Nelson has already met with Latter-day Saints in the U.K., Israel, and Kenya during his global tour that began April 10, but his messages have been reaching people across the world. Along the way, President Nelson has been sharing his thoughts and insights on Facebook.

I struggled writing this. First of all, I didn't want to come off as jaded. Second, I didn't want to sound like I was trying to encourage discord within ward families.

While we as members of the Church are familiar with the yellow Mormon Helping Hands vests, we also recognize that Mormons are not the only group of people working to make the world a better place. In fact, a brighter world is born in reaching across boundaries and working with those of other beliefs and backgrounds to champion the greater good.