October 13, 2010

I read a talk in the August Ensign that was a "classic" by Marion G. Romney called Unity. It was awesome, and especially relevant to the thoughts that have been on my mind lately. During General Conference this month, President Packer gave a talk that has stirred up a lot of discussion and opposition. The issue is that of same sex attraction and has been something I've been thinking about for some time now as I have watched my mom's evolution of her feelings and beliefs in relations to my sister's choices to embrace the homosexual lifestyle. I was deeply touched by a blog I read today written by an LDS young man who is absolutely stalwart in the gospel and who struggles with same gender attraction. His blog gave me a lot of hope and really has helped me to understand better the importance of choosing the Lord's plan no matter what.

This talk on unity was very powerful coming from this frame of reference and these are the parts that stood out most to me:

"Some members assume that one can be in full harmony with the Spirit of the gospel, enjoy full fellowship in the Church, and at the same time be out of harmony with the leaders of the Church and the counsel and direction they give. Such a position is wholly inconsistent, because the guidance of this Church comes not alone from the written word but also from continuous revelation, and the Lord gives that revelation to the Church through his chosen prophet. It follows, therefore, that those who profess to accept the gospel and who at the same time criticize and refuse to follow the counsel of the prophet are assuming an indefensible position. Such a spirit leads to apostasy."

The quoted scripture 3 Nephi 11:28-29: "He that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another."

"Unity comes by following the light from above. It does not come out of the confusions below."

"The way to unity is for us to learn the will of the Lord and then to do it."

"The major reason for the world's troubles today is that men are not seeking to know the will of the Lord and then to do it. Rather do they seek to solve their problems in their own wisdom and in their own way."

Quoted scripture D&C 1:15-16: "They have strayed from mine ordinances and have broken mine everlasting covenant; they seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way."

"If we will study the word of the Lord as it comes to us through the standard works and through the instructions of the living prophet and not harden our hearts, but humble ourselves and develop a real desire to understand its application to us in our own particular circumstances, and then to ask the Lord in faith, believing that we shall receive, all the while being diligent in keeping the commandments of the Lord, surely the path we should follow will be made known unto us, and we will be able to face the world as a solid unit."

I really, really loved this article. It helped to realign my thinking and to keep me anchored on the straight and narrow path that leads to eternal life.