My dear brothers and sisters, I love you. You are an awesome sight. Watching you make your way into the I-Center this morning, I was reminded of a line from the British poet Robert Buchanan: “A few strong spirits, in a race that binds / Its body in chains and calls them Liberty, / And calls each fresh link Progress, stood erect / With faces pale that hunger’d to the light.” [1]
That’s a pretty good description of what I see when I look at you. Strength of spirit. Proper moral posture. An orientation of faith. A hunger to, and for, the light that is so evident in your expressions and your actions. I commend you for your goodness. I love you all the more for it. I pray that you will always stand unshackled from the chains of this world.
Before I begin my remarks this morning, I’d like to invite you all to participate in a brief exercise. Now, I haven’t asked permission to do this, so, if you’ve ever wondered who they call in when the attorney steps out of line, we may be just about to find out. If you would, I’d like to ask each of you in the audience to please stand up. Now I’d like you to do two things.
First, I want you to take a good look around and sear this image into your mind and heart. BYU-Idaho exists to develop disciples of Jesus Christ who are leaders in their homes, the Church, and their communities. [2] This is what it looks and feels like to stand shoulder to shoulder with thousands of devoted, courageous, covenant-keeping disciple-leaders. [3] As you journey along the covenant path, there will be times when each of you will need the strength that comes from knowing that you do not stand alone. Perhaps remembering this moment will help in those moments.
Second, I want you to take another good look around. Do you see how many empty chairs there are, especially on the periphery? Each chair represents someone who is missed, and is missing out, because they are not here. And, by “not here” I don’t mean not here at devotional today. I mean those that are not as present, and engaged, and active in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ as they could be or once were. [4]
Thank you. You may sit down.
Now that you are sitting down, take a moment to think of those you know who are not here. Those who are missing out on the peace, guidance, and fortification that come through daily prayer, scripture study, attending meetings, and paying tithing. Those who are deprived of the joy of the service of the Master because they decline callings and assignments they deem “unimportant.” Those whose faith and hope and optimism for the future is waning because they have become casual, or even critical, in their attitude toward prophetic counsel. Those who are living beneath their privileges and being kept from the choicest blessings the Lord desires to give them because they have made covenants but no longer make an effort to keep them. Those who have gradually drifted so far from what they once believed and lived that they are now indisputably adrift, though they may remain physically proximate to the safety of the gospel shore. Even at BYU-Idaho, we all know someone who is “not here.”
The next time you notice an empty chair—at devotional, in Sunday School, at a ward activity, or in a temple session—I hope you will remember that friend or neighbor or classmate or coworker who is “not here.” When you do, I invite you to offer a silent prayer and ask what specific thing you can do to be an instrument in the Lord’s hands to help them reengage, recommit, and reclaim the joy and blessings of being fully present in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.
With that, I’ll turn in earnest to my prepared message.
The Call for Workmen of All Kinds
In August 1831, the Lord commanded a small but growing assemblage of His Saints to begin buying up land on what was then the westernmost frontier of the United States. [5] It was His will, He said, “that the disciples and the children of men should open their hearts, even to purchase this whole region of country, as soon as time will permit.” [6] He then [7] instructed, “And again, inasmuch as there is land obtained, let there be workmen sent forth of all kinds unto this land, to labor for the saints of God.” [8]
And sent forth they were – blacksmiths and shoemakers and masons and tanners and farmers [9] and all manner of skilled and unskilled laborers. Men and women and children. Colonists and former slaves and converts from every place the gospel had been preached. [10] Old and young, rich and poor, [11] they gathered in Missouri to lend their individual talents to the work of building Zion.
Brothers and sisters, my message this morning is simple: just as the Lord needed workmen of all kinds in those early days of the Restoration, He needs workmen and women of all kinds—of your kind—in our day.
To be clear, I am not speaking of the need for occupational diversity—although the Lord does need accountants, animal scientists, web designers, welders, and everything in between. [12] When I say the Lord needs workmen and women of all kinds, I mean there is a place in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ for you with your unique interests, abilities, perspective, personality, style, taste, talents, gifts, challenges, anxieties, fears, foibles, physical characteristics, thought processes, life experiences, and all your other distinctions and differences.
You are known, and numbered, and needed by your Father in Heaven. [13] He loves you [14] and understands [15] you perfectly. He has a plan for the happiness [16] and salvation [17] of all His children. There is a place for you in that plan. You are not insignificant, inconsequential, or incompatible with His purposes. I testify that is true, no matter how different you feel you are, or why you might sometimes wonder if you really belong in this church and gospel.
Whatever else (or, in the case of the adversary, whoever else) may be fueling your insecurities, the problem is not that you are too different to belong and be needed. The problem is comparing yourself to others in the first place. God our Father does not compare His children to one another. “All are alike unto [Him]” [18] and He has decreed that, in His eternal estimation, the worth of souls—the worth of your soul—is “great.” [19]
There is no market force, internal or external, that can cause fluctuation in that valuation. You are not worth more to God on your good days, or less to Him on your bad ones. There is no celestial stock exchange for the souls of men. But you do have a price. Or, to be slightly more scriptural, you “are bought with a price,” [20] paid by Christ, “purchased with his own blood.” [21] He would not have done that if you were not worth it, if you were not wanted and needed, if you did not belong. [22] I testify that is true.
The Lord wants and needs workmen and women of all kinds. All kinds means all kinds. There is no such thing as being too different to come unto Christ, or to belong and be of use in His church and gospel. [23]
Oneness Is Not Sameness
Of course, in issuing His call for workmen of all kinds to build up Zion, the Savior did not alter the definition of what it means to be a Zion people: to be “of one heart and one mind,” and “dwel[l] in righteousness.” [24] Just a few months previous, He had reaffirmed the need to “be one, and if ye are not one ye are not mine.” [25] Whether in Enoch’s day, [26] during Christ’s mortal ministry, [27] or in these later, latter days, oneness always has been and will always be a requirement for those who would be the Lord’s people. And we cannot be one if we insist on labeling people and defining ourselves exclusively, or even primarily, by our differences rather than our shared identity as children of God, children of the covenant, and disciples of Jesus Christ. [28]
But I worry that too many among us misinterpret the Lord’s commandment to “be one” as a commandment to be the same in all things; a commandment that necessarily disqualifies us if we are in any way “different.” I worry that we mistake conformity to an outward [29] cultural mold for the inward covenantal conformity [30] Christ truly desires of us. Then, when we struggle to fit that false mold, we mistakenly assume that there is either something wrong with us, or with the Church and gospel. If you have ever felt this way, I assure you: oneness is not sameness, and being different is not a sign of defect—in you, the gospel, or the Church.
Gospel living is an exercise in applied discipleship. The aim of that exercise is to cultivate Christlike attributes. Christlike attributes are not physical traits or personality traits, but character traits. Our shared pursuit of a common Christlike character does not preclude significant differences in other aspects of ourselves.
There will, of course, be similarities among those who are truly striving to develop a Christlike character. [31] Through His Atonement, Christ remakes us in His image, [32] and our thoughts, words, and actions are a natural reflection of who we are, and who we are becoming. As Elder Holland taught, the invitation is to come as we are, but “don’t plan to stay as you are.” [33] But being changed by Christ is a process of discovering and becoming more, not less, of our true selves. [34] The types of differences consumed in that refinement were dross all along. [35]
Differences Are Essential Elements of a Divine Design
Although not all differences come from God or are intended to last, many of your differences are, in fact, essential elements of a divine design. [36] They come from God and are given with a purpose. [37] He wants you to embrace and use them, so that He can use you to bring to pass [38] His purposes.
Paul put it this way to the church at Corinth: “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. ... But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. ... [T]hose members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; … God hath tempered the body together, ... that there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.” [39]
Each member of the body of Christ is necessary. [40] In God’s plan, our differences are not intended to isolate, exclude, or divide, but to engender among us “the same care one for another.” [41]
Is it any wonder, then, that President Nelson declared, “The Creator of us all calls on each of us to abandon attitudes of prejudice against any group of God’s children. ... During the Savior’s earthly mission, He constantly ministered to those who were excluded, marginalized, judged, overlooked, abused, and discounted. As His followers, can we do anything less? The answer is no!” [42]
So, bring your differences. Let others bring theirs. Rejoice in the majesty, and diversity, and design of a gospel that welcomes all, and in a Savior who “layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him ... and he inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him.” [43]
Differences Focus Us on True Discipleship
In His divine design, God also uses differences to instruct, refine and refocus us.
“People can bring different gifts and perspectives,” said Elder D. Todd Christofferson, “And the wide range of experience and backgrounds and challenges that people face will show us what really is essential in the gospel of Christ. And much of the rest that’s been, perhaps, acquired over time and is more cultural than doctrinal can slip away, and we can really learn to be disciples.” [44]
I experienced this firsthand when, as a young graduate student living in a large metropolitan city, I was called to serve as executive secretary in a stake with some 2,000 members from 115 countries. I expect that just about every difference that could possibly exist among disciples of Christ existed among the members of that stake. As I worshipped with and served alongside this beautifully diverse body of Saints, their examples inspired, strengthened, and taught me. My understanding, and my heart, were changed.
For example, from the long-serving immigrant bishop, whose personal poverty far exceeded many of those who came to him seeking welfare assistance, I learned to more fully “consider the lilies.” [45]
From the unassuming, but unshakable, young Aaronic Priesthood holder who came to church with bruises on his body because he refused to stop home teaching ward members that lived in the declared territory of a local street gang, I learned something more of what it means to “do well, and suffer for it,” [46] and to “care not for the body, neither the life of the body; but care for the soul, and for the life of the soul.” [47]
From the faithful single mother whose Sunday best was pocked with crayon marks and juice stains, who arrived late to church almost every week but who came to church every week, even though she knew she would most likely spend the majority of the meetings in the hallway with whichever child’s turn it was to have a total meltdown—who, despite the seeming imbalance and chaos of it all never once turned down a calling, no matter how challenging or thankless—I learned that true discipleship cannot be performative, and that every ward would be well served by a few more cheerios in the front pew cushions.
From the lonely, longing student struggling to reconcile felt physical realities with unalterable eternal truths, I learned something of the perfect work of patience [48] and witnessed the depth of compassion that flows from meek souls who succeed, as we all must do, in putting off the natural man and becoming saints through the Atonement of Christ the Lord. [49]
And it was the example of the many members from all walks of life who came to unburden themselves through confession and repentance that changed my understanding of what it means to have “clean hands and a pure heart” [50] and my perception of what it looks like to walk well the covenant path.
I don’t doubt that each of those I just mentioned wondered at some point whether they really belonged and were wanted and needed by the Lord. Their impact on me is “exhibit A” in answering those questions in the affirmative. I am a better friend, brother, husband, father, and disciple of Christ because of each of them.
To Labor for the Saints of God
I conclude with an observation, and an invitation.
The observation is this: At times, we may know in our heads gospel truths that we struggle to feel in our hearts. It is one thing to understand and accept the theological proposition that there is a place in the Church and gospel for each of God’s children. It is another thing entirely to truly feel that you belong in The Church of Jesus Christ, and to feel that you are wanted and needed by Him.
Not just knowing, but feeling that you have a place and a purpose is essential. It strengthens you as few things can, and enables you to focus less on yourself and more on what it is the Lord wants you to do. And, focusing less on yourself is exactly what He wants you to do.
His call to those early Saints, remember, was not for workmen of all kinds to go and hang out a shingle in Zion and labor for their own benefit and self-interest. It was a call to set aside personal desires, turn outward, and give of themselves in service to others. [51] “Let there be workmen sent forth of all kinds,” He said, “to labor for the saints of God.”
To labor for the Saints of God. That is what Jesus Christ asks us to do with our differences. [52] To build Zion by serving our fellow Saints—past, present, and future—selflessly. To put their needs, interests, and welfare above our own. More than just being aware of our unique abilities and perspectives and experiences, He wants us to apply them to bless and benefit the rest of God’s children. He wants us to not only recognize that our differences mean we have something different to offer, He wants us to actually offer it—fully, [53] freely, [54] meekly [55]—whenever and however He asks, [56] to advance His will and bring about His purposes. [57] There can be no self-serving, no self-promotion, no self-aggrandizement, no ego, and no ambition in our offering. We embrace our differences, then deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. [58]
I’m sure the seeming irony is not lost on you—finding a lasting sense of belonging and being needed requires us to set aside our immediate desires for acceptance, belonging, and validation and serve others with no expectation of recognition or reciprocation. But I testify that is only a passing paradox.
In reality, there is, perhaps, no better way to receive an assurance that you are known and needed by Heavenly Father than to follow His Son and give all that you have and are in covenant service to His children. There is, perhaps, no surer way to find peace and joy in your life, and to find and keep that longed-for sense of belonging, than to answer the call to labor for the Saints of God, and to labor with all your heart, might, mind, and strength. [59]
And so, I close with this invitation: If you are struggling to find your place in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ; if you feel unwelcome or unwanted, that you don’t fit in, that you are just too different; if you wonder whether you really belong in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I invite you to go to God in prayer today and ask for an opportunity to serve someone in a way that only a workman or woman of your kind can. Then, listen for the promptings of the Spirit to know whom to serve, and how. Then do it. If you do, I promise the Lord will use you and your differences to make a difference.
And as you make such service a habit and truly learn to labor for the Saints of God, I promise you will gain a testimony that you, in all of your individuality, are a beloved child of God, who is known, and numbered, and needed. I promise that you will know and feel that you belong, and you will experience for yourself the truth of the Savior’s promise: “For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it; ... But whosoever shall be willing to lose his life for my sake, and the gospel, the same shall save it.” [60] In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
[1] Robert Buchanan, “The Avatar’s Dream,” in The Compete Poetical Works of Robert Buchanan: vol. 1 (Chatto and Windus, 1901), 298.
[2] See BYU-Idaho Mission Statement, https://www.byui.edu/about/mission.
[3] President Alvin F. Meredith III said, “President Nelson has taught, ‘the greatest compliment that can be earned here in this life is to be known as a covenant keeper.’ … And our mission at BYU-Idaho is ‘to develop disciples of Jesus Christ who are leaders in their homes, the Church, and their communities.’ Joining those two concepts, covenant keeping and disciple leaders, is a great description of what we hope you will become during your time here at BYU-Idaho.” (Alvin F. Meredith III, “Covenant Keeping Disciple Leaders,” BYU-Idaho Speeches, September 17, 2024, https://www.byui.edu/speeches/devotionals/alvin-f-meredith-iii/covenant-keeping-disciple-leaders).
[4] I use the words ”active in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ” rather than ”active in the Church” intentionally. Attendance at devotional or other meetings, alone, is not an adequate measure of the depth of an individual’s faith in and love for the Savior. There are plenty of faithful, covenant-keeping members of the Church whose circumstances prevent them from gathering with the Saints as often as they would like. Likewise, there are plenty of Church members who are present in meetings and participate in the Church publicly, but whose hearts are not converted to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.
As Elder Donald L. Hallstrom of the Presidency of the Seventy taught, “Some have come to think of activity in the Church as the ultimate goal. Therein lies a danger. It is possible to be active in the Church and less active in the gospel. Let me stress: activity in the Church is a highly desirable goal; however, it is insufficient. Activity in the Church is an outward indication of our spiritual desire. If we attend our meetings, hold and fulfill Church responsibilities, and serve others, it is publicly observed.
“By contrast, the things of the gospel are usually less visible and more difficult to measure, but they are of greater eternal importance. For example, how much faith do we really have? How repentant are we? How meaningful are the ordinances in our lives? How focused are we on our covenants?
“I repeat: we need the gospel and the Church. In fact, the purpose of the Church is to help us live the gospel. We often wonder: How can someone be fully active in the Church as a youth and then not be when they are older? How can an adult who has regularly attended and served stop coming? How can a person who was disappointed by a leader or another member allow that to end their Church participation? Perhaps the reason is they were not sufficiently converted to the gospel—the things of eternity.” (Donald L. Hallstrom “Converted to His Gospel through His Church,” )
[5] Doctrine & Covenants 58:51
[6] Doctrine & Covenants 58:52
[7] Some at the time may have wondered why the Lord would command the largely-lower-and-middle class membership of His Church—a church just over one-year-old and not more than six or seven hundred in number, many of whom had already made significant sacrifices to join the Church and help finance its early operations—to begin buying up parcels of prairie land some 800 miles away from Church headquarters. Headquarters, which, by the way, had six months earlier been relocated from Fayette, New York, to Kirtland, Ohio, following a December 1830 revelation directing the saints to “go to the Ohio” (See Doctrine and Covenants 37).
Why? Well, for one because that small band of saints were not just “disciples and the children of men,” but they were His disciples, His children, His covenant people. (Doctrine & Covenants 42:36). And, whenever the Lord has had a covenant people on the earth, He has always prepared a place for those people and led them to that land (See 2 Nephi 9:1–2). This dispensation would be no different. “[T]his land,” the Lord said, “is the land which I have appointed and consecrated for the gathering of the saints.” (Doctrine & Covenants 57:1–2).
Of course, not only was the Lord preparing a place, He was also preparing a people. “Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter,” He said. “Behold, verily I say unto you, for this cause I have sent you [to this land]—that you might be obedient, and that your hearts might be prepared to bear testimony of the things which are to come,” (Doctrine & Covenants 58:3–6). In other words, there was a Restoration on, and the Lord designed to restore understanding and knowledge and structure and principles and ordinances and power and truth on a scale His fledgling flock could scarcely comprehend. But first He had to lay a foundation sufficient to support the weight of the work, and that required not only a people who would be obedient to His command, but a people whose hearts were prepared to be witness and bear witness. (Id).
And then there was the work, itself, for which the acquisition of these particular tracts of land was, apparently, a non-negotiable predicate: “For, verily, the sound must go forth from this place into all the world, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth—the gospel must be preached unto every creature, with signs following them that believe. And behold the Son of Man cometh.” (Doctrine & Covenants 58:64–65).
Now, whether “this place” is a reference to a physical location, or to the saints’ state of obedience and preparedness, or both, I don’t know. But I do know that the Lord had prepared the place and was preparing the people, in His wisdom, for the work that would come next. (See, for example, Doctrine & Covenants 57:3–13; 58:37, 53). Or, to be slightly more scriptural, the “great and marvelous work,” that was “about to come forth unto the children of men.” (Doctrine & Covenants 6:1). To wit, the gathering of scattered Israel on both sides of the veil and the bringing forth and establishing of the cause of Zion. (See Doctrine & Covenants 38:33; 39:22; 6:1–6).
And though the frontier faithful at that time likely understood little, if anything, about the significance and scope of the work that lay ahead, the Lord knew it was an undertaking of greater magnitude, and importance, and majesty and consequence than any they had previously conceived. (See Russell M. Nelson, Hope of Israel, Worldwide Broadcast June 2018). He understood exactly what it would entail, and exactly what it would require of His people collectively and individually. “I Am,” He said, “[t]he same which knoweth all things, for all things are present before mine eyes.” (Doctrine & Covenants 38:2). He knew that, to be prepared to accomplish the work, His people would first need to be tested and tried and proved and reproved and refined and purified and sanctified.
He also knew that those lands He had commanded them to buy up around Independence would shortly become the epicenter of one of the most demanding, dramatic and drawn-out sagas in all of church history, and a literal proving ground for the faith of those who would come to lead His church and His work for decades to follow. When the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was formed in February 1835, 8 of the original 12 men called had marched with the Camp of Israel. All men called as the first Seventies in February 1835 were also members of the camp. (See, “Zions Camp (Camp of Israel)” in Church Topics, Gospel Library).
As Elder David A. Bednar further observed, “The experiences gained by the volunteers in the army of the Lord also were a preparation for larger, future migrations of church members. More than 20 of the Zion’s Camp participants became captains and lieutenants in two great exoduses—the first but four years in the future, involving the removal of 8,000 to 10,000 people from Missouri to Illinois; and the second, 12 years in the future, the great western movement of approximately 15,000 Latter-day Saints from Illinois to the Salt Lake and other Rocky Mountain valleys. As a preparatory training, Zion’s Camp was of immense value to the Church” (David A. Bednar, “On the Lord’s Side: Lessons from Zion’s Camp,” Ensign, July 2017, 30).
All of that is why, at least in part, the Lord commanded those early saints to “open their hearts” and “purchase [the] whole region of country.” (Doctrine & Covenants 58:52).
[8] Doctrine & Covenants 58:54
[9] For examples of the various kinds of workmen called for and sent to Missouri, see Letter from Oliver Cowdery, 28 January 1832, 3, The Joseph Smith Papers, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/letter-from-oliver-cowdery-28-january-1832/3.
[10] See John Whitmer History, 38–41. The Prophet Joseph once asked for an accounting of the people who were settling in Zion, but as footnote 52 of “Letter to William Phelps 31 July 1832” (in the Joseph Smith Papers) indicates, no such written accounting appears to have survived.
[11] See, for example, Saints, vol. 1, chapter 12, especially the accounts of Lydia Partridge and Polly Knight.
[12] In fact, as far as I’m aware, there’s only one profession that scripture expressly condemns, and it is my own! “And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! For ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. Wo unto you! For ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. ... Woe unto you, lawyers! For ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered” (Luke 11:45–52). Ouch.
[13] See Moses 1:35; Matthew 10:29–31.
[14] See 1 Nephi 11:17; 1 John 4:19.
[15] See Psalm 139.
[16] See Alma 42:8.
[17] See Alma 24:14.
[18] 2 Nephi 26:33.
[19] Doctrine and Covenants 18:10.
[20] 1 Corinthians 7:23.
[21] Acts 20:28.
[22] As Elder D. Todd Christofferson taught, “The doctrine of belonging comes down to this—each one of us can affirm: Jesus Christ died for me; He thought me worthy of His blood. He loves me and can make all the difference in my life. As I repent, His grace will transform me. I am one with Him in the gospel covenant; I belong in His church and kingdom; and I belong in His cause to bring redemption to all of God’s children” (D. Todd Christofferson, “The Doctrine of Belonging,” Ensign or Liahona, November 2022).
[23] We belong to a global church of more than 17.2 million members. Nearly 10 million of those live outside the United States and Canada. Some 32,000 congregations around the globe gather for weekly services. Church materials are published in 188 languages and counting (See “Facts and Statistics,” Newsroom, https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics).
The majority of adult Church members are now unmarried, widowed, or divorced (see Gerrit W. Gong, ” Room in the Inn,” Liahona, May 2021).
There is no single look, or language, or set of life circumstances necessary to make a meaningful contribution to the work. As President M. Russell Ballard said to a worldwide gathering of Relief Society sisters: “Every one of you is welcome and needed whether you are eighteen or eighty, married or single, speak English or Portuguese, live on an island or in the mountains, have children or simply love children but have none of your own, have an advanced degree or little formal education, have a husband who is not active or are married to a stake president, have a testimony or are struggling to receive one. You belong here! You and your talents, strengths, and contributions are needed urgently in the Church (M. Russell Ballard, “Equality through Diversity,” Liahona, November 1993).
[24] See Moses 7:18.
[25] Doctrine and Covenants 38:27.
[26] Moses 7:18.
[27] John 17:21–23.
[28] President Russell M. Nelson said, “The adversary rejoices in labels because they divide us and restrict the way we think about ourselves and each other. How sad it is when we honor labels more than we honor each other. … Labels can lead to judging and animosity. Any abuse or prejudice toward another because of nationality, race, sexual orientation, gender, educational degrees, culture, or other significant identifiers is offensive to our Maker! Such mistreatment causes us to live beneath our stature as His covenant sons and daughters!
“There are various labels that may be very important to you, of course. Please do not misunderstand me. I am not saying that other designations and identifiers are not significant. I am simply saying that no identifier should displace, replace, or take priority over these three enduring designations: ‘child of God,’ ‘child of the covenant,’ and ‘disciple of Jesus Christ.’ Any identifier that is not compatible with these three basic designations will ultimately let you down … because they do not have the power to lead you toward eternal life in the celestial kingdom of God” (Russell M. Nelson, “Choices for Eternity,” Worldwide Devotional for Youth, May 2022).
[29] The oneness the Lord requires of and desires for His people is not sameness, at least not the sense of sameness that so often fuels our feelings of otherness. It is the oneness He shares with the Father. It is oneness in and through Him. Christ’s great intercessory prayer emphasizes “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 they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” (John 17:21–23).
The emphasis in that scripture is very much on what (or who) is on our inside; it makes no mention of our outside differences.
There are, however, other scriptures that directly discuss our outsides. “Woe unto you … hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.” (Matthew 23:27–28). And again, “Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, this people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” (Mark 7:6). And, lastly, a more positive and affirming take on the inside/outside distinction: “The Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).
[30] See Doctrine and Covenants 97:8.
[31] These Christlike attributes include the faith and patience they exercise in facing their trials, the compassion and mercy they extend to those who are suffering or in need, the readiness with which they welcome, accept, and serve others, their efforts to live with integrity, humility, and diligence, to name a few.
[32] See Alma 5:19.
[33] Jeffrey R. Holland, “Songs Sung and Unsung,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2017.
[34] Indeed, as Elder Jeffrey R. Holland taught, “God is determined to make of us more than we [ever] thought we could be” (“Songs Sung and Unsung,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2017).
[35] See Proverbs 25:4, Malachi 3:2, and Hymn No. 85 verse 5.
[36] Again, from Elder Holland: “On those days when we feel a little out of tune, a little less than what we think we see or hear in others, I would ask us, especially the youth of the Church, to remember it is by divine design that not all the voices in God’s choir are the same. It takes variety—sopranos and altos, baritones and basses—to make rich music. To borrow a line quoted in the cheery correspondence of two remarkable Latter-day Saint women, ‘All God’s critters got a place in the choir.’
“When we disparage our uniqueness or try to conform to fictitious stereotypes—stereotypes driven by an insatiable consumer culture and idealized beyond any possible realization by social media—we lose the richness of tone and timbre that God intended when He created a world of diversity” (“Songs Sung and Unsung,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2017).
[37] See, for example, Doctrine & Covenants 46:11–12.
[38] See Moses 1:39: ”For behold, this is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”
[39] 1 Corinthians 12:12, 18, 22–25; see also 4–25.
[40] As then-Brother Jeffrey R. Holland, the Commissioner of the Church Educational System observed: “It is an immensely satisfying thing to be needed in the body of Christ. Whether I function as an eye or arm is irrelevant; the fact is I am needed in this most majestic organism, and the body is imperfect without me. A popular singer made a small fortune reminding us that ‘people who need people are the luckiest people in the world.’
“In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—the restored ecclesiastical body of Christ—people do need people and everyone is welcomed. This includes (in Paul’s assertion) not only the attractive, talented, ‘comely’ members, but those of us who seem to have fewer gifts and face greater challenges, those who receive less honor and attention. In the Church of Jesus Christ ‘more abundant honor’ is given to these. Every member matters, and the less favored member most of all” (Jeffrey R. Holland, “Belonging: A View of Membership,” Ensign, April 1980).
[41] Sister J. Anette Dennis, First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidence, wrote, “When we truly get to know those who we feel are different than us, we realize we have more in common than we thought. Each person has so much to contribute, so many beautiful and diverse life experiences that can bless our lives. Listening to others’ stories and seeking to understand them will change our hearts, and the judgment and fear we may have had toward some can be replaced by feelings of gratitude to have them in our lives.
“The Lord can help us see other people as He sees them, and He can fill our hearts with love, enabling us to lift, comfort, laugh with, cry with, and foster belonging in those around us. He’ll help us know what is needful and how to be a blessing to others on their journey” (Sister J. Anette Dennis, “All Are Needed in the Body of Christ,” Liahona Jan 2025.)
[42] Newsroom, “President Nelson Shares Social Post about Racism and Calls for Respect for Human Dignity,” The Church of Jesus Christ, June 1, 2020, https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/president-nelson-shares-social-post-encouraging-understanding-and-civility/.
[43] 2 Nephi 26:24, 33.
[44] D. Todd Christofferson, “Is There a Place for Me?” (video), Come unto Christ, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/video/is-there-a-place-for-me.
[45] See Luke 12:27, see also Luke 12:22–31.
[46] 1 Peter 2:20.
[47] Doctrine & Covenants 101:37.
[48] See James 1:2–4.
[49] See Mosiah 3:19.
[50] Psalm 24:3–4.
[51] Giving ourselves to service is really a call to serve God. For “when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17).
[52] See 1 Peter 4:10–11, “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. … If any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth.”
[53] See Omni 1:26, “Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him.”
[54] See Matthew 10:8, “Freely ye have received, freely give.”
[55] See Moroni 7:44, “For none is acceptable before God, save the meek and lowly in heart.”
[56] See, for example, Luke 9:57–62 and Luke 18:18–23, compare with Matt 4:19–20.
[57] What He asks, in essence, is that we give our will to Him, which, as Elder Neal A. Maxwell observed, “is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God’s altar. The many other things we ‘give,’ brothers and sisters, are actually the things He has already given or loaned to us. However, when you and I finally submit ourselves, by letting our individual wills be swallowed up in God’s will, then we are really giving something to Him! It is the only possession which is truly ours to give!” (Neal A. Maxwell, “Swallowed Up in the Will of the Father,” Ensign, November 1995).
[58] Matthew 16:24.
[59] See Doctrine & Covenants 59:5.
[60] See JST Mark 8:37–38.