Our First Presidency Message for the month of September comes to us from the inspired mind of President Henry B. Eyring and is entitled, “Be One.” He begins his counsel by reminding us of Christ’s admonition to the members of the Church that we should be one, and that if we are not one, we are not His. He likens this to marriage and quotes the scripture that speaks of a man and a woman leaving their homes and cleaving unto each other, becoming one as husband and wife.
This commandment is not meant for this life alone, but is eternally binding. Adam and Eve were married under the authority of God before they were mortal. He placed within each of His children the desire to be united in families, to have love and be loved, and to live in peace. But after the Fall, with the introduction of sin and living in the world rather than in the Garden of Eden, these righteous desires became harder to fulfill. Satan tempted Cain, who slew Abel. Other vices were introduced and it has become difficult to live as harmoniously as we know we should. Satan’s plan is the opposite of our Father’s. Where God wants us to learn love and unity, Satan would have us learn hatred and division.
If we find that disharmony has become part of our natures, we can use the atoning blood of Christ to change our natures back to those of unity. Our Savior prayed a beautiful prayer at the Last Supper in which He uttered,
“That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”
It is possible for us to become truly one with our Father and our Elder Brother as we seek to know Their will and to do it with a heart free of selfishness. When we take upon ourselves sacred ordinances and seek to keep them with honesty, we become ever closer to becoming one with Them, and we may have the companionship of the Holy Ghost with us every moment.
As we seek this closer relationship with our Father, we will lose our desire to be contentious with our spouses and our children. A spirit of love will permeate all our relationships.
We must constantly be on our guard against those things that create barriers between us and harmony. Taking of the Lord’s name in vain, refusing to forgive, and holding on to anger will keep us separate. We must learn to act out with pure charity and love for others, putting our own needs to the side when they are less important than the needs of our neighbor. We can learn to become peacemakers. And as we do these things, we will truly learn to become one so that we may be His.
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The Family is Central to the Creator’s Plan