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Hi all, I will be teaching lesson 16: “That we may become one.”
There are some excellent quotes already in the lesson that I’ll be drawing on. But I also wanted to include a discussion around diversity within the church membership which can still lead to unity of fellowship.
As a general topic I think it’s worth building extra resources for anyway.
If you’ve any talks or scriptures that spring to mind I’d welcome them.
Quote:“As I have loved you, love one another.”
I like to point out that Jesus actively spent his time serving (loving) the people in his society whom everyone else rejected and judged. (“the least of these” – the leper, the sinner, the publican, etc.) I then like to ask everyone to identify the people in our own society who are the outcasts and those rejected and judged by people – and especially by us as Mormons. (the poor, the immigrant, the gay, the unwed mother, etc.)
That can open a conversation that we have far too infrequently in the Church.
Just saw a link to someone’s favourite mormon quotes on diversity online: “We must realize that all of God’s children wear the same jersey. Our team is the brotherhood of man. This mortal life is our playing field. Our goal is to learn to love God and to extend that same love toward our fellowman.”
“charity seeketh not her own”,
“The Lord … doeth that which
is good among the children of men; … and he inviteth them all to come
unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come
unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile” (2 Ne. 26:33).
We read in Alma that in the Nephites’ “prosperous circumstances…..they were liberal to all, both young and old, both bond and free, both male and female, whether out of the church or in the church, having no respect to persons as to those who stood in
need” (Alma 1:30). “In other words, when converted fully to Christ, these Nephites responded to others liberally, generously, freely—and only in terms of what was relevant, their need, not what was irrelevant, their class or sex or church membership.” (Eugene England)
Chieko Okazaki. She was a Hawaiian born women of japanese descent and was the first non-Caucasian woman to serve as a general presidency member of an LDS Church auxiliary organization..
She once said: “Diversity is a strength.I attend a lot of meetings where I’m the only
woman.And I attend many, many meetings where I’m the only Asian woman…. Have you ever had the feeling that you’re the odd one, the different one? Maybe even too odd or different for this church?The truth is that you’re not odd—you’re special. When white
light falls on a wall,it makes a white wall.But when it passes through
a prism, that same light makes a rainbow on the wall. … Like God
during creation, I say “Let there be light!” All kinds of light! Red,
orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet light. We need our differences.
“In Hawaii,I was surrounded from babyhood by differences—in language, in physical appearance, in dress, in economic level, in religion, in traditional men’s and women’s roles, in education, in race, in life-styles, and in customs.I observed differences, but I did not learn
to label them as “good” or “bad.”…Being different,I internalized, is
all right. Heavenly Father wants differences. He does not make two
identical blossoms or two snowflakes that are the same.”
Another quote: “God has restored the gospel in part to provide a base and a people to “gather in one” all the lovely diversity—of race and culture and gender and perspective—that he has created and encouraged.“ (Eugene England)
If you don’t walk as most people do,
Some people walk away from you,
But I won’t! I won’t!
If you don’t talk as most people do,
Some people talk and laugh at you,
But I won’t! I won’t!
I’ll walk with you. I’ll talk with you.
That’s how I’ll show my love for you.
Jesus walked away from none.
He gave his love to everyone.
So I will! I will!
Jesus blessed all he could see,
Then turned and said, “Come, follow me.”
And I will! I will!
I will! I will!
I’ll walk with you. I’ll talk with you.
That’s how I’ll show my love for you.
I gave a talk on this subject some years ago. The link is found here: http://forum.staylds.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2542 Here are some additional qoutes that I used.
Quote:Elder Wirthlin in his landmark talk “Concern for the One” says the following, “[some] may look, act, think, and speak differently than those around them and that sometimes causes them to assume they don’t fit in. They conclude that they are not needed. Tied to this misconception is the erroneous belief that all members of the Church should look, talk, and be alike. The Lord did not people the earth with a vibrant orchestra of personalities only to value the piccolos of the world. Every instrument is precious and adds to the complex beauty of the symphony. All of Heavenly Father’s children are different in some degree, yet each has his own beautiful sound that adds depth and richness to the whole. The variety of creation itself is a testament of how the Lord values all His children.”
That one is one of Ray’s favorite talks!This applies to our church family as well. The apostle Paul spoke of this variation in explaining the diversity of spiritual gifts in his letter to the Corinthians: 1 Cor. 12: 14-18
Quote:14) The body is not one member but many.
15) If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body: is it therefore not of the body?
16)And if the ear shall say, because I am not the eye, I am not of the body: is it therefore not of the body?
17)If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole body were hearing, where were the smelling?
And now verse 18)
But now hath God set the members, every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. The New International Version of the Bible renders this same verse as follows, “
But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be.” And later in the same letter, Paul wrote, (1 Cor. 15: 10) …”by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain”
Quote:Elder Uchdorf spoke about one aspect of the diversity that makes him different, that of his family’s faith heritage. He said, “I marvel at the different backgrounds of members of the Church. You come from all walks of life—all cultures, languages, political circumstances, and religious traditions.
This multiplicity of life experiences has caused me to reflect on the message of one of our hymns, “Faith of Our Fathers.”
The faith of our fathers—I love that phrase…. When my own family contemplates the phrase “faith of our fathers,” often it is the Lutheran faith that comes to mind. For generations our ancestors belonged to that denomination. In fact, my son recently discovered that one of our family lines connects back to Martin Luther himself.
We honor and respect sincere souls from all religions, no matter where or when they lived…We embrace them as brothers and sisters, children of our Heavenly Father….
As the restored Church of Jesus Christ blossoms throughout the globe—now with more than 13 million members—”the faith of our fathers” has an expanded meaning. For some, it could refer to their family’s heritage in one of the hundreds of Christian faiths; for others, it could refer to Middle-Eastern, Asian, or African faiths and traditions.” Faith of Our Father (Apr 2008)
Because our individual testimonies come through varied experiences and at different stages, it is to be expected that there should be some variation and nuance in how each of us experience the Restored Gospel. (See also Elder Donald L. Staheli of the Seventy Saturday, Oct. 9, 2004 ) Elder Uchdorf says, “A testimony is very personal and may be a little different for each of us, because everyone is a unique person.” [The Power of a Personal Testimony (Oct 2006) Uchdorf]Johari shared some great quotes on another thread: Quote:The subject and lesson was from Elder Uchtdorf April Priesthood 2013 talk on “Four Titles.”
I hope you can take comfort as I share a few of the words read in our HP lesson. (I’ve added a few of my comments how I and others interpret Elder Uchtdorf words)
Ephesians 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God. (That we no longer make others feel like strangers and foreigners regardless of their circumstances or who they are – we are not the church structure – we are all brothers and sisters – regardless of membership or views.)
Elder Uchtdorf words continued: “Unfortunately, none of us quite lives up to everything that this title implies, “for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Let the first one without sin cast the first stone).
“We have all seen a toddler learn to walk. He takes a small step and totters. He falls. Do we scold such an attempt? Of course not. What father would punish a toddler for stumbling? We encourage, we applaud, and we praise because with every small step, the child is becoming more like his parents.
Now, brethren, compared to the perfection of God, we mortals are scarcely more than awkward, faltering toddlers.” (Whether one accepts baptism or not, or may accept baptism but is not yet ready for their next “toddler step” we need not be the judge where someone needs to be in their progression in life.)
“Remember that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is built not for men and women who are perfect or unaffected by mortal temptations…” (Unfortunately, those affected by mortal temptations are made to feel like strangers and foreigners.)
“This is the place for you to be. I hope you can feel the brotherhood that unites us, and I pray that here, among your brothers; you will find belonging, support, and friendship.” (Unfortunately, this is not the case in the church today – this is why we have men like Elder Uchtdorf delivering the message (tactfully) to the rigid judgmental members and leadership.)
(The last words I’ll share from the HP lesson is, in my opinion, a direct effort to move people in the church the right direction. If we get hung up on trying to change the basic church structure – we may be barking up the wrong tree – however, I believe it is possible to let the church be the church and people need to become people, i.e., Christ like).
“But while the Atonement is meant to help us all become more like Christ, it is not meant to make us all the same. Sometimes we confuse differences in personality with sin. We can even make the mistake of thinking that because someone is different from us, it must mean they are not pleasing to God. This line of thinking leads some to believe that the Church wants to create every member from a single mold—that each one should look, feel, think, and behave like every other. This would contradict the genius of God, who created every man different from his brother, every son different from his father.”
“It also contradicts the intent and purpose of the Church of Jesus Christ, which acknowledges and protects the moral agency—with all its far-reaching consequences—of each and every one of God’s children.”
“The Church thrives when we take advantage of this diversity and encourage each other to develop and use our talents to lift and strengthen our fellow disciples.”
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