In Doctrine & Covenants 38 the Lord warned, "If ye
are not one, ye are not mine."
Unity is the great hallmark of the Lord's chosen people. Unity is built on thousands of
interconnecting relationships and perspectives.
It is forged from equality and love.
Humans often erect mental barriers between themselves and
others that divide and subdivide the world into groups of "us" and
"them." This happens so subtly
and indistinctively that we often have no idea what we are doing. A recent example from my sociology class will
illustrate.
Recently we have been discussing racism in class. One talking point was that preceding the
Civil Rights Movement, many African Americans displayed just as much hostility
towards to white Americans as Caucasians did to them. Both groups of people despised the other;
Caucasians looked down on African American's skin color and African Americans looked
down on Caucasians' discrimination. Both
populations saw themselves as being higher than the other. While the two races were not equally culpable
for the situation, both sides created
the division. Additionally, as a society
that decries racism, we tend to look down on racists as much as the racists
themselves look down on people of other ethnicities. If we hate racists as much as racists hate
other ethnicities, are we really doing any better than them?
What things cause you to look down on others? Searching inward, I see a propensity to
mentally demote those that don't live up to the same moral standard that I do,
or who don't understand the principles of the Gospel as clearly because of a
lack of diligence on their part. For me,
it isn't that I don't love them. In
fact, I pray for some of them by name almost every day. It isn't that I don't respect them or the
good things that they do. It isn't that
I don't desire their happiness. I simply
don't live perfectly up to the council to "esteem [my] brother as
[myself]." I see myself standing
above them trying to pull them up to my level when in reality they are already
there. We are all inherently,
unchangeably, equal.
This doesn't mean that our choices don't have temporal and
eternal consequences. What it does mean
is that our brother's choices should not affect his standing before us. Whatever he does, we should always see him as
the same as us. Because he is.
Elder Oaks gave one most accurate statements on equality
that I know of when he said, "At this conference we have seen the release
of some faithful brothers, and we have sustained the callings of others. In
this rotation—so familiar in the Church—we do not “step down” when we are
released, and we do not “step up” when we are called. There is no “up or down”
in the service of the Lord. There is only “forward or backward.”
He also said, "In the eyes of God, whether in the
Church or in the family, women and men are equal, with different
responsibilities."
I doubt any of you disagree with either of those two
statements, but what we say often that undermines the foundations of both. For instance, we seem to believe that general
authorities were called to their positions because they live the Gospel at
least as well or better than any other member of the Church. Of course these men have used their agency
well throughout their lives, but their standing before God is not necessarily
any better than another faithful member.
And their worth is certainly not
any greater.
In the Church we do not believe that men are better than
women. However, often statements are
made that suggest that we believe the reverse is true. How often have you heard the following in a
talk? "I met my wife in a student
ward almost twenty years ago. I asked
her to marry me and to my surprise she said yes! I still wonder sometimes what she was
thinking."
Women are rightfully portrayed as being spiritually strong,
mentally smart, and sensitive to the needs of others. However, men unrighteously criminate themselves
as blundering oafs that are more of a burden to their wives than a
blessing. People who talk this way about
themselves do not understand the sacred character of the person who they're
demeaning. Much of the time the
description is downright untruthful.
Further, such a worldview undermines modern-day revelation that "fathers
and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners."
It is good for men to praise and to serve women. It is part of their God-given role. But such service does not diminish either
gender's equality. Even the fact that men
tend to be less faithful to the Savior than women cannot destroy that
equality. It stands independent of all
earthly action.
This post is not meant to condemn any specific group of
people for looking down on others.
Rather, its purpose is to help each one of us recognize the specific
ways in which we do so. Next week, I'll
talk about how God can mend the rifts we so often tear between ourselves and
others. For now, take comfort in knowing
Christ's goal for each of us personally,
D&C 76:92, 94-95: And thus we saw the glory of the
celestial, which excels in all things—where God, even the Father, reigns upon
his throne forever and ever...they see as they are seen, and know as they
are known, having received of his fullness and of his grace;
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