Welcome to the Come Follow Me podcast for teens and for parents of teens. of the Come Follow Me curriculum. Thoughts, ideas. questions. towards helping teenagers better follow Christ through their teenage years. Hey everybody, welcome back to another week of Come Follow Me for Teens. As always, I'm your host Josh Downs. This week we're going to be studying Doctrine and Covenants sections 37 through 40. With the theme, if ye are not one, ye are not mine.
The background of this week's study is pretty straightforward. To the early saints, the church was more than a place to hear some preaching on Sunday. The revelations used words like cause, kingdom, Zion, and quite often work. That may have been part of what attracted people to the restored church as much as they love the doctrine
Many also wanted something holy they could dedicate their lives to. Even so, obeying the Lord's 1830 command to gather in Ohio was not easy. For many, it meant leaving comfortable homes for an unfamiliar frontier. Today we can see clearly what those saints could see only with the eye of faith. The Lord had great blessings waiting for them in Ohio. The need to gather to Ohio has long since passed. But saints today still unite around the same cause, to bring forth Zion.
Like those early saints, we are invited to forsake the cares of the world and trust the Lord's promise. Ye shall receive a blessing so great as you never have known. The theme of Zion and gathering to Zion is really central to the Doctrine and Covenants, and you will see this come up continually throughout your study the remainder of the year. And this idea of Zion and being one is really at the heart of what the gospel is all about and where many of our tests seem to be focused.
God's whole desire for us is to learn to become one as people of one heart and of one mind to have everything in common with each other. Where currently in the world, there is so much pressure to excel above one another. When we give in to our prideful tendencies, that's what drives that motivation is we got to exceed we are more if everyone else is less kind of an attitude where in heaven it's just the opposite where the more that we give the more that we have
The Savior himself taught that if we can't learn to be equal in earthly things, then how can we expect to ever be equal in heavenly things? And so really the end-all purpose of the gospel is to help us to become one with another. And so we're going to take a look at several principles throughout these sections that are related to that end goal and the progress that hopefully we're making towards it. And we'll see this next week as well as we study God's law.
and the way that it's designed to help us more fully become one and be prepared for Zion. But I try to pick a couple principles here today that I just feel are really important. for you as young people especially to understand and maybe none more so than this first one And I'll explain a little bit why as we get into it, but I want to start out by looking at Doctrine and Covenants section 38, verse 14.
This simply was a revelation given to Joseph at a conference of the church to give the church direction, especially as it related to the gathering in Ohio and for their preparation to become a Zionistic society. Section 38, verse 14. In this process, the Lord knew it wasn't going to be an easy process. It isn't for any of us to go through this and really to learn to let go of the cares of the world and to follow Him and His ways and His laws.
And so I love that he points this out. And this is so important for you young people, especially at your age, to understand. The sooner you can really grasp this, the more it will be able to help you all throughout your life. So listen very carefully here to Doctrine and Covenants section 38 verse 14 and what the Lord says he will be merciful towards as we go through this process.
In verse 14 it reads, But now I tell it unto you, and ye are blessed, not because of your iniquity, neither your hearts of unbelief, for verily some of you are guilty before me. But I will be merciful. Unto your weakness. I love that. I want you to mark that statement. I will be merciful unto your weakness. And here's why. I learned something about weakness at a very young age.
I remember there was a time where I was traveling with my mom to the grocery store and she promised that if I was good in the store that I'd be able to pick out a piece of candy. Well, I remember I wasn't good in the store, and so I blew that opportunity. She was not going to let me pick any candy at all.
But I remember as we were walking past the candy aisle, my mom stopped and I think went over to the freezer section, which was right next to it. I saw a bunch of the candies that I had set my heart on, just these little like nickel and penny candies.
And there was one in particular that I was really excited to get that now I was so disappointed I wasn't going to be able to. But in that moment, I swear that that piece of candy... started that to talk to me uh almost inviting me that to take it as if it would be okay and you know what i listened to it i picked it up and when my mom wasn't looking i put it in my pocket
And I kept it there until we got out in the car. And then on the way home, it was like it started talking to me again. I couldn't wait until I got home. I had to take it out right then and try to eat it, which I did. Well, my mom noticed that I was chewing on something, and when she asked me what it was, everything just kind of unraveled and came apart. And she found out what I had done.
and pulled over the car and asked me why I did it. My answer, I thought it was very clever. I said, oh, mom, it wasn't me. It was the devil. The devil made me do it. He tempted me, and I gave in.
she made sure to point something out she said oh really the devil grabbed your hand and and took it and picked up that candy and made you put it in your pocket and then made you take it out again and made you unwrap it and put it in your mouth the devil did all that I knew what she was teaching me at the time, and she taught me a great lesson by having me go back and return it.
But it reminded me and taught me something very important about weakness and the difference between weakness and rebellion. One of my favorite quotes about Satan's influence came from the prophet Joseph when he said, The devil has no power over us, only as we permit him. He can't make us do anything. We give in to him. The moment we revolt at anything which comes from God, Joseph said, the devil takes power.
Now I share that with you to help remind all of us that we have accountability for God for our choices. Yet God looks at our choices very differently based on the motivation behind them. See, the reason that I took that candy wasn't because I wanted to rebel against God. I wasn't upset with him, and I wasn't going to show him how angry I was. No, I took that candy just because I wanted a piece of candy and it looked so good and it was so hard to resist that urge.
Because I was weak in that moment. And even though I knew it was wrong, I took it anyway. Not because I wanted to get back at God or I was angry at Him. I just wanted a piece of candy. I've discovered since that day, as I'm sure you have, multiple other weaknesses besides the love of candy that I have and that I've struggled with throughout my life.
Weaknesses that by and large have robbed me of self-worth and sometimes of confidence. Weaknesses that have sometimes hurt others or weaknesses that just Satan has exploited to get me in almost a state of addiction. weaknesses that at times have really held me back from becoming all that I am capable of becoming and I'm sharing this with you because
I have a pretty good idea that if you're human, you have weaknesses too. And there are things that you're struggling with. And you're probably really beating yourself up over them. I know that I always have. Because we all have weaknesses. And having weakness, I want you to understand, is a part of the human experience. However, what makes all the difference is what we choose to do with that weakness.
And this is a thought that I try to share with young people as often as I can because, again, I know how critical I was of myself. when I was your age, and in many ways I still am in regards to my weaknesses, and I know from working with young people how critical you are with yours. If not careful, a person can beat themselves up so much over something. that they can literally lose the strength and power to overcome it. And I don't want this to happen to any of you.
So I want you to listen very carefully to this quote, which has become a life-changing quote, a game-changing quote, a life-saving quote for me in my life as I struggle with my own weaknesses. And it's from Elder Richard G. Scott. And when I heard this quote, I remember it just filled me with hope. especially as I battle with my own weaknesses. He said this, he said, is that the Lord sees weakness different than he does rebellion.
And that's why I share that story with you. I want you to see the difference. There is a difference between giving in to temptation out of weakness and giving in to temptation out of rebellion. He goes on to say that whereas the Lord warns that unrepented rebellion will bring punishment, when the Lord speaks of weakness, it's always with mercy. And here in the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord is telling you and me again this direction.
But now, as he said, I tell it unto you that ye are blessed, not because of your iniquity, neither your hearts of unbelief, for verily some of you are guilty before me, but I will be merciful unto your will. Heavenly Father understands weakness. He understands living in a fallen world where we have forbidden fruit constantly placed in front of us all the time.
And it's human nature to give in to those weaknesses at times and to struggle with them. And so my message to you is really two parts. First, If God will be merciful unto you guys in your weakness, unto you personally in your weakness, then why can't you be patient and merciful with yourself? Be patient with yourselves. It's okay to struggle. It's okay to make mistakes, to be less than perfect, and to at times be weak and give in to temptation and weakness.
But second is that, and I love this quote from Elder Wilcox when he said, God certainly loves us the way that we are, but he also loves us too much to leave us that way. Giving a place to be patient with ourselves and accepting that we have weakness doesn't mean giving a place to never change or to improve or to get better.
And I want you to understand the Lord's approach to overcoming bad, the weaknesses that we have, is something that we all need to adopt better. Because it's human nature and tendency to go right for the bad and to try to cut it all out. But there's a different principle that is taught in relation to getting the bad out of us.
And it's in relation to the carrying of olive trees in Jacob chapter 5. And this has always been one of my most favorite principles when it comes to change. And something I want every single one of you to understand. Although this chapter speaks about the care of olive trees, the Lord is actually using this as a reference to illustrate how he cares for his people. As some of the trees in his vineyard, as the parable goes, begin to decay.
effort is made to save them and while the thought would naturally be to like i said just simply cut off the decaying branches right oh it's it's going bad there's a weakness there it's uh there's mistakes just go cut them off Well, the observation is made by the Lord of the Vineyard that cutting the trees down too much or too quickly could actually do more harm to the trees than good. And you know what, if I'm honest, I think...
Many of us have experienced that in some ways. Our parents certainly have always done the best that they could. But again, it's human nature to go right for the bad. And I have a feeling that There have been times in your life when mistakes have been made and your parents went straight to try to cut it off. And maybe if they came down too hard and too fast,
It might have done more damage than good. Maybe it pushed you away from them. Maybe it didn't cause you to feel safe to be able to approach them and let them know that you're struggling with something and you ended up hiding things. I know that I've experienced that throughout my life as well. And again, it's important to give space to our parents. They've all done the best that they could. I'm doing the best that I can, but I know I've made mistakes as parents.
But listen very carefully to what the Lord says, who is the perfect parent. and the direction that he gives in how to clear out the bat in his trees. And it doesn't start by trying to just simply cut the bat out first. He says this, that as the trees begin to grow, Ye shall clear away the branches which bring forth bitter fruit, according to the strength of the good and the size thereof.
And he says, you shall not clear away the bad thereof all at once, lest the roots thereof should be too strong for the graft, and the graft thereof shall perish, and I lose the trees of my veins. He understands we can't try to cut out the bad too quickly. because it can actually do more harm than good he says for it grieveth me that i should lose the trees of my vineyard and here's the main point wherefore he says ye shall clear away the bad according as the good shall grow
and thus will I sweep away the bad out of my vineyard. We don't get rid of the bad in our lives, the weaknesses in our lives, by stopping them and cutting them out. We get rid of the bad and the weaknesses in our lives by increasing the flow of good. and i've shared this quote before you don't overcome darkness with strength that just
It doesn't happen. Many of you have been caught in that cycle of trying to overcome a weakness through your own strength, and it doesn't happen. You overcome darkness with... So my best counsel and advice for anybody struggling with a weakness isn't to come up with ways to stop the weakness. It's to come up with ways to increase the flow of life. to clear away the bad according as the good shall grow.
Again, it's natural for us to take the opposite approach. We just want to focus on overcoming all the weakness and cut out all the bad, yet the bad keeps coming back. And you've experienced this, I'm sure you have. And we just continue to fall short.
And so I invite you to remember that, once again, that weakness isn't overcome through strength. It's overcome through light. And that light is the light of Christ. And then that gives us access to His strength. And it's through His strength, not our own. that we can do all things. Elder Maxwell once taught that your possibilities are immense. And so he invited us to trust the Lord to lead you from what you are.
to what you have the power to become and that is exactly what the lord is doing and it involves having weakness and yet through him overcoming weaknesses Truman G. Madsen, I love this quote, a professor of philosophy at Brigham Young University once said that we are all born into a world of weakness. a fallen world of infant dependency and of opposition and contrast on every hand. We enter this mortal world with weakness in our physical and genetic making.
Some may bring individually from before we were born. Some weaknesses are the inheritance from previous generations. The Lord just may have customized, with our full consent, our particular obstacle course to those flaws and failings as well as to our sins. Through an ever closer kinship with God, a person's worst flaws and failings may eventually be transformed into shining. And I know that that is true.
seen it. I have felt it. I have experienced it. Some of my greatest weaknesses have over time and sometimes a long time and a lot of trying and failing have become some of my greatest strengths and in the process have helped me to develop immense empathy. for those that struggle with similar things.
And they can for you. And that may all be a part of God's plan. How else can he have someone help another person that is struggling with something unless they've learned to overcome that same struggle themselves? Maybe there's purpose.
is what I'm saying, and whatever weakness is in your life, and that as you learn to work on it, to and persevere through it and eventually to overcome it, that you could become a great resource to your other brothers and sisters on this earth that are struggling with something similar. Some journal and discussion questions for you to consider here is, number one, why do you think the Lord gives us weakness to begin with? What are some of your personal thoughts on that?
And how can weaknesses become strengths? How does that process work? What other attributes might weakness help us to develop in ourselves? And why are we so hard on ourselves when it comes to our weakness? Why should we be more patient and merciful, not just with others, but with ourselves? And what does that look like? How can you show mercy to yourself? How can you show patience with yourself? How can a person overcome weakness through life?
And then finally, what might change in your approach when it comes to overcoming a weakness? When you choose to, instead of focusing on the weakness, you focus on increasing the light and increasing the good in your life. To apply this principle, I might invite you to write of a time when maybe someone forgave you of something and write down how it felt. How did it inspire you to be better? And how can you apply this to forgiving yourself?
I think if you can make the connection between how good it felt when somebody forgave you to what it can feel like if you choose to forgive yourself and why it's so important to at times forgive yourself. that can go a long ways in helping you through this process of becoming better and overcoming whatever weaknesses you have. Now for principle two.
I love this statement that the Lord also gives in section 38. Again, just another short scripture, but one that I feel is vital as a young person, especially to know and to learn at a young age.
Listen to what the Lord says in verse 22 will happen to us if we choose to follow him, especially when it comes to overcoming our weaknesses and being protected from some of the... challenges and potential pitfalls that exist in life and in living on this earth verse 22 the lord says wherefore hear my voice and follow and you shall be a free people. And you shall have no laws but my laws when I come, for I am your lawgiver, and what can stay my hand?
I'm excited for next week because next week we're going to really dig into God's laws and all the effects that they have in our lives, some of the specific ones that he references as he tries to instruct the early members of the church. But one of the things that he points out in this verse, one of the great effects that can come into our lives through following him and his laws, are as he says, you shall be a free people.
In an earlier verse, in verse 2, the Lord says that he is the same which knoweth all things. for all things are present before mine eyes. And wherever we see that in Scripture, I invite you to mark that. This is one of the most fundamental truths to know and to understand and remember about God. That He doesn't just know a lot of things or most things, but He knows literally all things.
And in verse 7, he says, He knows all things. He is with us. He knows you. He knows what you need. He knows what you're struggling with. He knows your weaknesses. And so even more reason for us to listen to him, to follow him, and to trust, even if we don't understand all the directions that he gives. We can have faith and believe that what he tells us, it will be right, and it will help us to be more free.
And I share this with you under the context of an experience I had back when I was teaching seminary. Because as a seminary teacher, it was obviously my job to teach the principles and guidelines and commandments of the gospel of Christ and of our church and faith as best as I could to you guys as teenagers. that Probably most of you at the time wanted nothing more than to just be free of rules and restrictions and all those kinds of things.
You're in that transition phase in your life where you've been under the rule of law from your parents all of your life and you're ready to go out on your own. Most of you. wanted to get out there sooner than later and you would get frustrated at the laws and the rules that you had at that age. That was not an easy task for me as a teacher to just continue to remind you of more rules and laws and commandments, especially as they're related to the church and God's rules and laws and commandments.
But I remember one student in particular that I can tell she's a little rough around the edges, may not have been taught all the things that a lot of you have been. She had the kind of personality that kind of bucked at authority and control and rules of any kind. It was clear that she was a little rebellious towards those things, I guess, might be the right word. But we quickly developed a fun relationship in class.
and I came to really enjoy her in my class. I kind of liked the kids that were kind of on the edge a little bit. There was always a little bit of a fire in them, and I appreciated that. I just hope to try to temper it and channel it in good ways in hopes of protecting them from getting burned from poor choices. Well, just about every day that she was there, we obviously would discuss a religious commandment or general rule or guideline or principle to follow.
And she would not hesitate each time to bring up how controlling the church and religion in general was, and how she just didn't like it. And so we'd go back and forth in class a little bit, but in fun ways. I could tell she liked and respected me because I genuinely liked and respected her and gave place for her opinion and to be expressed.
Although we disagreed, we still found common ground through respect, and we liked to tease each other a bit in class. She was a great girl, and over the course of the semester, we continued to develop a mutual respect and friendship with each other. She didn't come every day, but when she did, I went out of my way to help her to know how glad I was that she was there and to feel well.
and how much I valued her just as a person and as a student. And I think it was enough to kind of keep her occasionally coming. Well, at one point during the second semester, I noticed that she was absent more than her usual day or two here or there. She was gone for almost an entire week.
And it was now Friday and I hadn't seen her yet. And I was sitting at my desk thinking about giving her parents a call when all of a sudden my phone rang and I picked it up and I could hear the soft crying voice of a woman on the other. I said hello, and she composed herself a bit and said, is this Brother Downs? I said it is, and she identified herself as my missing student's mother. She then informed me of what had happened to her daughter and where she'd been the past several years.
The previous weekend, apparently she had been running around late with some friends, and they thought it would be fun to get involved with some drugs. which I assume they've probably done multiple times before. However, this time, this student of mine overdosed on these drugs. And instead of getting her help, Her friends left her on the side of the road, literally in the gutter, afraid of getting in trouble themselves.
Well, when she was finally discovered, she was rushed to the hospital and stabilized but was now in a coma. Her mother asked me at the time if I'd be willing to come and see her and possibly give her a blessing, which I, of course, said I'd be happy to. As soon as school was over, I headed straight to the hospital where she was at.
And I went to the ICU where she was being kept. And I really didn't know what to expect. But when I thought of someone in a coma, I always thought of those that I'd seen on TV and how people were just portrayed as resting peacefully. in hopes that they would eventually wake up. And I imagine that's how I would find her. But what I experienced was anything but peaceful. She was in what was referred to as a waking coma.
and instead of resting peacefully because her mind was still active she literally had to be strapped down to the bed because otherwise she would be flailing her arms and legs about and she was moving her head all over and although her eyes were closed she was moaning and at times screaming because of the brain activity that she was experiencing although she was in this coma.
And when I saw the state that my sweet student was in, my heart just broke for her and for her mother. I saw that she had scabs up and down her legs and arms where she had probably picked it herself from some of the drug use. My sweet student and friend, a beautiful girl, fully alert and functioning a few days earlier, was now fighting for her life. And sitting next to her in tears and trying to hold her hand as best as she could was her sweet mother.
I tried my best in the moment to comfort her, and we talked for a little while. I expressed my love for her daughter and that I'd be happy to help and support her in any way that I could. And I then gave her a blessing and got ready to leave. I kind of took this terrible experience and scene and Inside, I couldn't help but think of all of our discussions that we had had over a semester together about how controlling she thought God's commandments and religion and His church was.
and how it kept her from being free. And as I took one last look at her before I left, thinking of all these conversations, I couldn't help but think. of a scripture that we had talked about in class, and we hear often in the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 2, verse 27, where Lehi says, Wherefore men are free according to the flesh.
And all things are given them which are expedient unto man, and they are free to choose liberty and eternal life through the great mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death according to the captivity and power of the devil. For he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself. I wondered in that moment, seeing her strapped to her bed, completely unable to control her body, if she would have thought God's commandments and rules were still restricted.
We are free to choose, but we're not free to choose the consequences of our choices and God's commandments and rules and principles. are not meant to restrict us, but are actually meant to keep us free in a world where choices can so easily lead to a loss of freedom. And young people, I wanted to share this with you to help you to hopefully see what God's commandments really are. See them for what they really are.
I want to help you to make sure that you never see them as hard to keep or as being restrictive, but as the gift that they are to us from a God that sees again and knows all, that sees you and is in your midst. that has given his commandments to protect you, to keep you safe, and to help you find the greatest happiness that we can and that you can in life.
I love His commandments. Yes, I struggle at times, like we all do, at keeping them. But that's, again, due most often than not to weakness, not necessarily rebellion. I know the gift that His commandments are, and I hope and pray that you do as well. Elder Dallin H. Oaks said this. He said, The commandments of God provide the guiding and steadying force in our lives.
Our experiences in mortality are like the little boy and his father flying a kite on a windy day. As the kite rose higher, the winds caused it to tug on the connecting string in the little boy's hand. In experience with the force of mortal winds, he proposed to cut the string so that the kite could rise higher. His wise father counseled, no, explaining that the string is what holds the kite in place against mortal winds. If we lose our hold on the string, the kite will not rise.
it will be carried about by these winds and inevitably crashed. But you see the great parallel that that is to God's commandments in our lives. Oh, it's so easy to think, well, if I just don't keep this particular commandment or that commandment or God's commandments, then I'll be able to do more and go higher and do the things I want to do and what everybody else looks like they're doing and having fun with.
When the reality is that, yeah, you'll be carried all over the place, but eventually you'll come crashing to the ground. That it's God's commands to help support us against the mortal winds that can blow people all over the place. Elder Neil L. Anderson said, By keeping God's commandments, we can find joy even in the midst of our worst circumstances.
And I just, again, would take the opportunity to bear my testimony of this principle and truth. I have learned, obviously, from watching others, as I'm sure you have, but also myself. during those times where I've kept His commandments and those times where I haven't, that keeping His commandments are the best way and the right way, and that they can provide protection and safety. and lead us to the best experiences in life. And my heart breaks when individuals choose
to not keep those commandments. And I watch as they have to struggle and go through pain and heartache and all the things that God doesn't want us to have to go through if we would just listen to Him. and follow his commandments. As he said, they can and will keep us free. Some journal discussion questions for you to consider might be number one, why do you feel God's commandments are a gift? Why personally do you feel that way? Do you feel that way?
Why do you think that some look at them as being restrictive? Have you ever looked at them as being restrictive? And if so, why? And how do you see them actually providing greater freedom to a person's life? Have you seen that in other... let alone your own. How does following God bring freedom while following Satan leads to captivity?
And again, how have you seen examples of both in your own life and in the lives of others? And what can you do to better see God's commandments as a gift and the gift? To apply this, I would maybe invite you to write down a time where you recognized that following one of God's commandments kept you safe. What experiences have you had or what experience have you had recently?
that helped you to better recognize that it was one of God's commandments that kept you safe in some situation or experience. Or maybe the opposite, how breaking one of them made you less safe and experienced some of the consequences that are less desirable. for the last principle today another kind of one-liner from section 38 this is in verse 27
And again, same revelation given to Joseph at the Conference of the Church, just full of so many great principles. You're going to love going through these sections. But in these verses, we'll look at maybe verse 27 and then 30 through 32. Listen to what the Lord teaches here. about being one and how all this can kind of come together to help us to be more prepared for Zion.
Verse 27, he simply says, Behold, this I have given unto you as a parable, and it is even as I am. I say unto you, Be one, and if ye are not one, ye are not mine. And then in verse 30, I tell you these things because of your prayers. Wherefore, treasure up wisdom in your bosoms. Let the wickedness of men reveal these things unto you by their wickedness.
in a manner which shall speak in your ears with a voice louder than that which shall shake the earth. But if you are prepared, you shall not fear. That's a great principle. We just don't have time to get into it, but mark that phrase. If you are prepared, you shall. and that ye might escape the power of the enemy and be gathered unto me a righteous people without spot and blameless. Wherefore for this cause I gave unto you the commandment that you should go to the Ohio.
and there I will give unto you my law, and there you shall be endowed with power from on high. Some great reasons there for them to gather, for them to be one. that they might escape the power of the enemy, be gathered unto me righteous people without spot and blameless. and kept saying,
But most of all, because if we want to be one with God, we need to learn to be one with each other. Being one isn't, again, just a nice thought or something else for us to work on. It is really the thought and everything to work on. Being one is at the heart of why Christ came here, why we're here, and what we are meant to learn to do and to become. We are to be.
To be one means to be in agreement with, to be unified in purpose in, in both mind and heart. And again, this is in fact the defining characteristic of those who will be a part of the city of Zion. When describing them, Christ says, And the Lord called his people Zion because they were of one heart and one mind and dwelt in righteousness, and there was no poor among them. That's in Moses 7.
Now if you watch the news, any news channel, you'll quickly get a sense of how divided we are as a people, as a country, as a community. How we're divided in politics, divided through race, divided through bullying, divided in religious arguments. dividing the way that we are meant to love each other. The Savior also made it very clear. that contention is not of him when he said for verily verily i say unto you 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. And behold, this is not my doctrine to stir up the hearts of men with anger one against another, but this is my doctrine that such things should be done.
This is the whole purpose of the gospel. This is the whole purpose of his doctrine of everything that he teaches is to lead us to become more one, more unified together in the way that he is one with the Father and with the Holy Ghost and with all of us. Elder Marvin J. Ashton, I love this quote. You guys will love this one too. He once said that the best and most clear indicator that we are progressing spiritually and coming unto Christ is the way we treat other people.
or really how one we are becoming with others. The more we become one with Christ, the more one we become with everyone else. Christ brings us together while Satan tears us apart. Elder D. Todd Christofferson taught that unity does not require sameness. But it does require harmony. That's a great differentiator that we need to understand, that you need to understand. It doesn't require you to be the same with everyone, to agree with everyone. but it does require harmony.
We can have our hearts knit together in love, be one in faith and doctrine, and still cheer for different teams, disagree on various political issues, debate about goals and the right way to achieve them. and many other such things, but we can never disagree or contend with anger or contempt for one another. And that is what is happening far too much. President Marion G. Romney, a former counselor in the First Presidency.
in explaining how enduring peace and unity are obtained, said, and I want you to listen to this. This is so good. He said, if a single person yielding to Satan is filled with the works of the flesh, he wars within himself. If two yield, they war within themselves and fight with each other. If many people yield, a society reaps the harvest of great stress and contention. If the rulers of a country yield, there is worldwide content.
But then on the opposite hand he said, as the works of the flesh have universal application, so likewise does the gospel of peace. if one man lives it he has peace within himself if two men live it they have peace within themselves and with each other if the citizens live it the nation has domestic peace When there are enough nations enjoying the fruit of the Spirit to control world affairs, then, and only then, will the war drums throb no longer and the battle flags be furled.
That's how we get to peace. That's how we become a Zionistic people. That's how we become one. And I have experienced that as well. I just lend my voice and my testimony to that truth. I learned that very powerfully on my mission. My companions became some of the closest friends that I've ever had. in such a short amount of time, and I was always blown away at that phenomenon, where I'd had friends for years and years, that it took that long to become that close.
with them and when i thought about the differentiating factor between my companions and just normal friends that i've had The differentiating factor was Christ, that on my mission, he was central to everything that we did together. And because he was a part of our relationship, it brought us closer together than any other possible thing we could have. He is the secret.
of finding harmony in our lives personally, in our homes, among our friends, in our families, and in our society, and eventually in our country and in the world. When we choose to embrace Him, He helps us embrace everyone. And I just know that that's true. Some journal and discussion questions for you to consider might be number one. What does being one mean to you? What does that look like to you in your life? What does it look like in a home? What does being one look like in a war?
What does being one look like among friends? And what does being one look like in a school setting? How can you better help others get along with each other? How can you help others become more one with each other? How have you seen a relationship with Christ bring oneness with others? And how have you seen the choices to not follow Christ and a lack of relationship with him lead to division and divisiveness?
And to apply this, I would invite you to write down maybe how you have personally experienced becoming one through Christ. whether it was among your friends or your family or another group of people, or and maybe how you have experienced the opposite through becoming distant to Christ. And how has that affected relationships, whether it was among friends or family?
Some great principles there just in a simple conference given to the church and we just scratched the surface. I hope that that's been helpful, you guys. principles especially at a young age and for us old people to be reminded of if we've forgotten but as always please remember that that person is greatest Blessed and joyful whose life most close
the pattern of the Christ. This has nothing to do with earthly wealth, power, or prestige. As always, the only true test of greatness, blessedness, joyfulness is how close a life the abundant life and he invites us all and to be one as he is. Thank you for listening. I hope you have a great week of study. As always, let's follow Christ better this week and become better as we follow him. Until next week, everyone, I'm Josh Downs, and you've been listening to Come Follow Me for Teens.