We Are One

Elder Eyring’s talk from April General Conference, titled “We Are One” given in the Priesthood session, is the inspiration for this discussion.

I remember well listening to this talk in my son’s stake as we went to the session together. It is one of the joys of my life to sit shoulder to shoulder with my son for these meetings. We alternate between his stake and mine, and we enjoy letting the spirit flow over us together.

As I listened to Elder Eyring, I was reminded of our new bishop in the Yorktown Ward in 1984. The first testimony meeting we held under his direction was enlightening. I already knew him to be a very spiritual man, and he didn’t disappoint. He bore his testimony—and called for our ward to become a Zion ward. I, of course, had heard the phrase, but it never occurred to me that our ward could do what was necessary to achieve that goal.

I suppose that my train of thought wandered from the tracks of president Eyring’s talk somewhat. I thought of an incident in basic training when our flight was marching back from the rifle range to the barracks. I was in the middle of the formation, surrounded by others. Out of boredom, I began thinking of other things – specifically taking a nap on our living room couch at home. When I did that, I stopped marching and started walking. It was instantly obvious to SSgt Brown, our training instructor,, because I began bouncing up and down, and was not in conformity with the movement of the rest of the flight. SSgt Brown spoke (yelled) only one word: “CORNELIUS.” Instantly, I woke up to my surroundings, got into the proper rhythm, and marched the rest of the way back to the barracks.

In a military formation, when one is out of step or walking instead of marching (shoulders square, measured steps at the cadence or pace called by the training instructor), it is immediately obvious because the offending party is not in rhythm with the rest of the formation.

The military, of necessity, teaches and forces conformity and obedience, no questions asked. Our good bishop in Virginia said that he had a vision of the priesthood of the ward marching shoulder to shoulder, leading the way to a small portion of Zion in the Yorktown ward. Just as rhythm is important to a military formation, so also is it important to a Zion flock. But a Zion people have something that military formations don’t: Agency.

I don’t believe that our bishop meant to lead us in conformity and unquestioning obedience, but in the Lord’s way, with agency and freedom to choose. We would serve each other, each contributing his or her own unique gifts to the whole by choice, not coercion.

This is, in my mind, a type of the conflict between good and evil that has existed since Satan was cast out. It’s the difference between agency and unthinking conformity, between instant, forced obedience and choosing the path with knowledge and understanding of what lies ahead for us if we choose properly.

The Lord wants volunteers, not conscripts. In D&C 100:16, He says:

For I will raise up unto myself a pure people, that will serve me in righteousness;

In D&C 82:15:

Therefore, I give unto you this commandment, that ye bind yourselves by this covenant, and it shall be done according to the laws of the Lord.

He gives us a commandment to become a pure people according to the laws of the Lord. But as in everything else we must exercise our agency. We must choose for ourselves to accept the gospel and live according to the great and wonderful plan He has laid out for each of us. As He says in Moses 3:17:

…nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee …

Our bishop quoted Paul’s letter to the Ephesians 2:19-22

Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Camille Fronk said in her talk, Fitly Framed and Builded Together, in the 1996 Women’s Conference:

Individual Church members in the analogy make up the stones which are "builded together" to form the walls of this "holy temple" of believers. The stones reflect unity of purpose, although individual expression, creativity, and varied application of gospel principles add dimension and character to the whole. For illustration, consider the stones of the Salt Lake Temple. They were cut from huge boulders of granite in Little Cottonwood Canyon some twenty miles from the temple site. The temple architect sent specific instructions to the quarry superintendent describing the various sizes and shapes of stones required for the temple walls. Each stone's unique characteristics and strengths—in both the Salt Lake Temple and the metaphorical temple composed of a Zion people—were "fitly joined together" with other unique stones "and compacted by that which every joint supplieth" (Eph. 4:16) to eventually contribute to the enduring beauty of the whole.

Right by my recliner in the family room is my favorite picture of our family. It’s the family portrait we took in the winter of 2010. We are all bundled up and kind of snuggling together because it was cold. Next to it is a portrait of Marie and John, who weren’t present for the portrait, but I automatically include them in my thoughts about the picture.

The portraits make me think of the Zion people that I believe our family has become. We are “fitly joined together” – each of us unique and individual, yet forming a whole and eternal family that was created by many small (and large) miracles under the hand of the Lord. It could have been formed in no other way. There is an embroidered motto underneath the picture that says: “All because two people fell in love.” We exist, we are a cohesive whole – an eternal family – because of love, and that is perhaps the greatest miracle of all.

Each of you has unique gifts, spiritual and temporal, that contributes to the whole. Each of you often rely on the gifts of other members of the family, and each of you gladly share your gifts with the others.

I don’t want to form a squad and march into the sunset under the control of a drill instructor. I think it’s OK for us to walk together rather than marching, as long we are in rhythm with each other. I think that the freedom to choose our path is part of the plan. If we tend to move together toward the eternal goals we all have, if we know that we can depend on each other for help and assistance when we need it, then we have created a microcosm of a “Zion people.”

Brigham Young said in the Journal of Discourses Vol 1, p4

I live and walk in Zion every day," and…thousands of others in this Church and kingdom…carry Zion with them….

Over the last few years, we have discovered that there is room in our family for others of those who contributed miraculously (but perhaps unknowingly at the time) to its formation, and if the opportunity presents itself, there is still more room for others to join with us.

We give thanks every day for all our family members, and we strive every day to “carry Zion with us” in our hearts. The pictures above my recliner make me smile (and sometimes shed a tear) because of the beauty and rhythm of our family. What a joy each of you is to me and to Kathy. Indeed, we are one. Let’s keep walking together.