Becoming One

“I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine” (Doctrine and Covenants 38:27). This commandment was given by the Savior to the Church in 1831. It was given to help the saints understand that they must have one purpose and one goal: to help the children of God return to His presence. However, becoming one is not that easy. In fact, today we see that as a church we aren’t quite there yet. In “One in Christ“, Elder D. Todd Christofferson helps us understand how to become one.

In Christ’s Intercessory Prayer, He prays, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 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” (John 17:20-21).

Being In

In the above scripture, what does it mean when Christ says that “as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee”? This does not mean that Christ and the Father are the same entity. It does mean that They are “on the same page” as one another with regard to God’s plan for His children. They are so in tune with one another that when one speaks, it could be said that the other is speaking as well.

I love sports, that’s no secret. I see the above as something akin to a sports team “running like a well-oiled machine.” You know what I mean. The team is so in tune with each other that they know intuitively where everyone is and where everyone will be during the run of play. I think of the Lakers and Celtics of the NBA in the 80s and currently Manchester City (although as a Manchester United fan, it pains me) of the English Premier League. These teams understand their ultimate goal and purpose and have worked to be one in achieving the prize.

When God spoke to Moses he stated “For behold, this is my work and my glory – to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). If it had been Christ speaking to Moses, He would have said the same thing. The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are one in this purpose. They are “in” each other as they are perfectly aligned with this goal and the execution of the plan.

How Do We Become One?

“Becoming one is a recurring theme in the gospel of Jesus Christ and in God’s dealing with His children.” But how do we accomplish this?

First, we must start with ourselves. That means we have to “achieve unity within” before we can be one with others. When I think about achieving unity within, my mind reflects on the words of Nephi in Second Nephi chapter four. Starting in verse 16 and going to the end, Nephi recounts the great and marvelous things the Lord has done for him. He also discusses his shortcomings and how they can bring him into despair. He then gives us the key to achieving unity within:

O then, if I have seen so great things, if the Lord in his condescension unto the children of men hath visited men in so much mercy, why should my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow, and my flesh waste away, and my strength slacken, because of mine afflictions And why should I yield to sin, because of my flesh? Yea, why should I give way to temptations, that the evil one have place in my heart to destroy my peace and afflict my soul? Why am I angry because of mine enemy? Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul. Do not anger again because of mine enemies. Do not slacken my strength because of mine afflictions. Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation.

2 Nephi 4:26-30

I love the phrase “Awake, my soul!” Within each of us, we can awaken the love of God and align ourselves to His will. As we praise and rejoice in God forever, we can achieve unity with Him. He can be in us just as He is in Christ. This also means that Christ can be within us and we within Them. In turn, our work and our glory will be to “bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man”.

Elder Christofferson states, “Drawing upon the light and the grace of Christ, we strive to give our spirit – and the Holy Spirit – dominance over the physical. And when we fall short, Christ, by His Atonement, has given us the gift of repentance and the opportunity to try again.” Unlike Christ, we are imperfect. We will fall short. However, God’s plan has taken that into account and Christ’s Atonement allows us to overcome those shortcomings and remain one with Them.

The second thing we can do is to “put on Christ”. We do this by following the first great commandment, loving God with all our heart, might, mind, and strength. This in turn leads us to keep His commandments.

How else can we “put on Christ”? In my life, I try to do things that will keep the Holy Ghost present. Yes, there are the Primary or Sunday School answers of prayer, scriptures, and attending church. However, we can and must do more. I have made it a goal to study the scriptures more and pay attention to the Come Follow Me lessons. I also try to keep the things of God in the forefront of my mind. Usually, I do this by keeping a hymn in my head. Most recently “I Need Thee Every Hour” is my goto hymn. The second verse states, “I need thee every hour; Stay thou nearby. Temptations lose their power when thou art nigh.” I find strength in this verse and it has become a prayer to have Him near to help me at all times.

Finally, to become one we must live the second great commandment. “Unity with our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ grows as we heed the second commandment – inextricably connected to the first – to love others as ourselves. And I suppose an even more perfect unity would obtain among us if we followed the Savior’s higher and holier expression of this second commandment – to love one another not only as we love ourselves but as He loved us. In sum, it is ‘every man seeking the interest of his neighbor, and doing all things with an eye single to the glory of God.’”

If we go back to the sports team analogy, we can see that those teams that work together to understand one another along with the philosophy of the coach end up “loving” one another. This “love” then permeates throughout the team and gives them the opportunity to execute the plan to win the prize. For us, we can work together with others along with God’s plan to build a unity where the goal of immortality and eternal life can be achieved by all of God’s children.

Spreading of Peace

Becoming one has another beneficial side effect; it will also spread peace on this earth. Having a common goal of eternal life means that we can put aside our differences and find ways to work together. President Nelson has told us that “None of us can control nations or the actions of others or even members of our own families. But we can control ourselves. My call today … is to end conflicts that are raging in your heart, your home, and your life.” As we achieve unity within, put on Christ, and love our neighbors as Christ loves them, we can end conflict and achieve peace.

Spreading peace starts in our homes and can snowball outward. We can spread peace in our neighborhoods, which then can spread to our towns and cities, then to our states, nations, continents, and to the world. Some people may call this a pipe dream, but we have at least two examples in the scriptures where this actually happened. The first is the city of Enoch who achieved oneness and peace to a degree where they were all taken up into heaven.

The second example is the people of Nephi after the Savior visited them. We read in Fourth Nephi verses two and three the following:

And it came to pass in the thirty and sixth year, the people were all converted unto the Lord, upon all the face of the land, both Nephites and Lamanites, and there were no contentions and disputations among them, and every man did deal justly one with another. And they had all things common among them; therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly gift.

4 Nephi 1:2-3

As we can see, peace can be achieved throughout our lands. However, we must start with ourselves and our homes and then work to spread it outwards.

Our Way or God’s?

Unity comes when we understand and do the will of God. This means that we must align ourselves with God’s will and not do things “our way”. This is difficult. We are naturally inclined to think that we know what to do and when to do it. We also like the feeling of control and comfort that doing things our way brings. “Unity does not mean simply agreeing that everyone should do his or her own thing or go his or her own way. We cannot be one unless we all bend our efforts to the common cause. It means … submitting to the authority of God.”

“Unity does not require sameness, but it does require harmony.” This is key to understanding how we can be one, and yet retain our individuality. God doesn’t want us to be robots programmed to do everything the same way. He wants us to be unique and yet be willing to follow His plan. Each of us has different talents that can be used together to become “the body of Christ” as Paul puts it (see 1 Corinthians 12).

Elder Holland puts it this way:

Brothers and sisters, we live in a mortal world with many songs we cannot or do not yet sing. But I plead with each one of us to stay permanently and faithfully in the choir, where we will be able to savor forever that most precious anthem of all—“the song of redeeming love.” Fortunately, the seats for this particular number are limitless. There is room for those who speak different languages, celebrate diverse cultures, and live in a host of locations. There is room for the single, for the married, for large families, and for the childless. There is room for those who once had questions regarding their faith and room for those who still do. There is room for those with differing sexual attractions. In short, there is a place for everyone who loves God and honors His commandments as the inviolable measuring rod for personal behavior, for if love of God is the melody of our shared song, surely our common quest to obey Him is the indispensable harmony in it. With divine imperatives of love and faith, repentance and compassion, honesty and forgiveness, there is room in this choir for all who wish to be there. “Come as you are,” a loving Father says to each of us, but He adds, “Don’t plan to stay as you are.” We smile and remember that God is determined to make of us more than we thought we could be.

Songs Sung and Unsung, General Conference, April 2017

Conclusion

Becoming one is what God and Christ want us to be. We can do this by achieving unity within ourselves, putting on Christ, loving others as He loves them, spreading peace, and doing things God’s way. As we strive to be one, the Holy Ghost will enter into us and help us. The Comforter also reassures us that we are on the right path. In the end, becoming one will ensure that God’s work and glory in bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man will be accomplished.

Tips for Teaching

When teaching on becoming one, you might want to consider:

1. Discussing what Christ meant when He said the Father is in Him and He in the Father. What does it mean to be “in” someone else?
2. Ask the participants what achieving unity within looks like. Do they know someone who has achieved unity?
3. Why is it important to love God as the first great commandment? Why is loving our neighbors the second?
4. Discuss how the class can spread peace in their homes, neighborhoods, towns, states, and country.
5. Why is it important to do things God’s way? How can we overcome our natural instinct to rebel against God’s way?