Doctrine and Covenants 38:27
"I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine."
After several years of prosperity among the Nephites, the Lamanites come against them again to take away their lands. And this time, the Lamanites start to succeed. You want to know WHY they succeeded? Because the Nephites were not unified.
Shortly before the Lamanites invaded, a group of Nephites (who came to be known as the king-men) decided that they did not agree with the leader of the land on a law and wanted to establish king instead to rule over the land. Having a king had serious consequences throughout the land, most of which had to do with removing the freedoms the people had.
As the Lamanites began marching into the land for war, the king-men said they would teach the Nephites all a lesson and not fight against the Lamanites. At that point, the Captain of the Nephite army, Moroni, had a choice to make. March to fight off the Lamanites or take care of the problems of dissenters within his own land. He opted for the latter. His army defeated and "humbled" those dissenters that did not lose their lives in the process.
Because Moroni was forced to take so much time, resources, and energy to fight this battle with the king-men, the Lamanites had time to take over several of the fortified Nephite cities. If the king-men would have been unified with the rest of the army, this may not have happened.
What can we learn from this in our lives? Well, I'm reminded of a recent conference talk by President Eyring in which we spoke about having our hearts knit as one. (You can read the full talk HERE.)
Although we all live in different circumstances and have different opinions and beliefs, it is very important that we remain unified and forgiving. Satan wants us to be angry. He wants us to hate others for their beliefs and perspectives that differ from our own. God wants us to seek for understanding in others, not hate. He wants us to serve and help others, even (and maybe ESPECIALLY) those whose beliefs differ from our own. As we are seeking to understand each other and find common ground, we WILL become more unified. Our lives will improve as will the lives of those around us.
2 comments:
I had an experience about a week ago that really taught me about this. For the first time in my life, I felt the true, absolute, and all-encompassing love of Christ toward a stranger. The details are complicated, but this feeling of love was of an unimaginable depth. I truly felt this person's pain; I wanted to weep with them as they wept, and their prospects at joy filled me with excitement. I know that this is the way Christ sees us, the way He feels toward us. And this is the way that He wold have us feel toward one another. I wish I could say that this brief experience has changed my normal behavior...but I can't. I wish I could say that I now feel this way about all of my brothers and sisters...but I don't. But, I am very thankful that the Lord allowed me to see what that "oneness" He asks of us is really like! I pray that I can find these things in me again. Thanks for your thoughts Sarah.
Here is another twist on the scripture
Doctrine and Covenants 38:27
"I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine."
How the Lord has been blessing me…
Friday 3/13/2009 my bank had sent away the automatic draft for my mortgage payment and that would put me approx. 900.00 over draft… I wasn’t worried though, because I was going to finish a job and pick up a check to cover it… as long as I got it into the bank by 2pm that day. So around 9:30 am I finished the work and went to the door to get the check, however the customer wasn’t home! I began to worry that I would be late getting the check into the bank. I called the customer who never has his cell phone on and I left him a message that I needed to get the money and deposit it into the bank by 2pm. After that I drove around to a condo he owns to see if he was there, and then past one of his friends condos to see if he was over there playing cards… etc. I didn’t see his van at either of those locations and began to worry again.
Earlier in the week on Tuesday, I had the opportunity to pick up one of the missionaries and drive him around to visit prospects during which we visited a lady (Marion) who is a cancer survivor recovering from breast cancer and the effects of chemo –therapy. She showed me her garden of which she was very proud, rightfully so. We talked about all she had planted as well as the amendments to her garden soil etc… she was especially proud of how well her collard greens had grown this season and offered to give me some… I told her I could hardly take food from her… and then I remembered to allow others to give in order that they too might be blessed… so I told her to “ please just give me a mess enough for one”, she replied “ oh, I thought you was mo than that… that you was married”… “ oh I was” I assured her, only now that I am divorced am only one. So she bent down and began to break me off some collards to take home with me… I was touched by her willingness to share with me of that little of which she had and gave her a hug as we left.
Now after I had left a message on my customers phone and driven around to where I thought I might encounter him, I began to worry about the thought of a bounced check, bad credit report… etc. However, I just got this feeling to go get some meat of some kind to take to Marion. I only had 20 dollars in my wallet and thought I might need it to tide me over… however I went to this little store called Save a Lot and found young tender chickens not yet frozen and bought two for 10 bucks. I called the missionaries to get her address and took those chickens over to her home… she was at a doctor appointment so I gave the chickens to her brother who was there at the time. He just looked at me like … what?
I felt good inside and as I drove away not even a block… my cell phone rang and it was my customer telling me if I could be over to his home in five minutes he would have a check waiting… then a small voice in my mind said “ Be ye about my Father’s business…”
My testimony is that if we would put aside our own worries and begin to address the worries of our brothers and sisters, the Lord will then bless us with that in which we have need. Be ye about your Heavenly Father’s business of tending to His sheep, worry not for that in which ye have need, for it shall be prepared and laid out for you waiting.
Doctrine and Covenants 38:27
"I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine."
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