Be One

I've decided that I need to have some kind of incentive to motivate me to study the Gospel more regularly. I try to read my scriptures every day, but I get distracted easily (or interrupted, whichever happens first.) I've found that it helps me to focus on a topic and gain more from it when I type out my thoughts as I study it. So you may start seeing more spiritual stuff on my blog. This is more for my own benefit, so if you don't want to read them, feel free to skip over those posts! I'll never even know :)

The first presidency message this month is called BE ONE, written by President Henry B. Eyring. This is an awesome article about unity. There are so many things that stand in the way of being unified, as families, friends, church members, Americans, co-workers... you name it. Usually it all boils down to pride in some form or another. The words that come out of our mouths can destroy unity, as well as reacting to things that other people say.

"If we are to have unity, there are commandments we must keep concerning how we feel. We must forgive and bear no malice toward those who offend us....We do not know the hearts of those who offend us. Nor do we know all the sources of our own anger and hurt. The apostle Paul was telling us how to love in a world of imperfect people, including ourselves, when he said, 'Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil' (1 Corinthians 13:4-5).

Here's something else that stood out to me. He talked about how the Lord "conveys authority through His prophet to his humble servants." All of us in the church are humble servants. We are lead in our wards by people who are not perfect but are doing their best and learning as they go. It's always so amazing to see what happens when a humble ordinary person accepts a calling and serves in faith, no matter what the calling is. Their mantle comes almost immediately and before long, you stop seeing their limitations and start respecting them and appreciating what they have to offer and what is in thier heart. I see this time and time again with people who are called to serve with me in the primary. Sometimes it takes a little while for them to "take on" that mantle, but it comes as they learn to love the children they teach and accept the importance of what they have been asked to do. I loved what President Eyring said about our callings:
"Faith can turn our call as a home teacher or a visiting teacher into an errand from the Lord. We go for Him, at His command. An ordinary man and a teenage junior companion go into homes expecting that the powers of heaven will help them assure that families are united and that there is no hardness, lying, backbiting, nor evil speaking (see D&C 20:54). Faith that the Lord calls servants will help us ignore their limitations when they reprove us, as they will. We will see their good intent more clearly than their human limitations. We will be less likely to feel offense and more likely to feel gratitude to the Master, who called them."

I've never been reproved by a home teacher, but that's a great way to think about them. I'm going to listen more intently to what they have to share with us from now on. I'm also going to work on putting more prayer into my calling as a visiting teacher. I forget how important that calling is sometimes.

I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the way that it is set up to bring us all together. I love that other people are genuinely interested in the welfare and spiritual growth of my children, too. It's such a blessing to know that there's someone else who's there, backing us up, believing in our kids and showing them love. I suppose that's how Heavenly Father feels, too. Grateful when we mentor and love each other, as opposed to judging and speaking unkindly. Though He's all-knowing, he needs our help. He can't do it without us, and we can't do it without Him, or each other.