It's been a tough few months to be a Mormon -- and I don't even live in California.
There's so much I've wanted to say. But like a young child, I needed a brief time out. I think I'm finally ready to 'use my words'.
It has hurt. It has really hurt to see so many be so unkind and to observe people that I thought were friends of my beloved church, or even friends of mine, to pile on to the unkindness, often by simply saying or doing nothing.
Even so, I've wonder aloud if the vitriol -- even the hate crimes -- would have occurred if we had done a better job of reaching across the aisle. Or if at the very least we would have more come to our defense.
I didn't expect, nor could most Mormons have predicted when Mitt Romney entered the presidential race, that we as a people would be where we are today.
But we are here.
So here's what I hope.
I hope that we have learned something -- that because of this moment -- we will be a little kinder to others, we will find causes we care about, and people with whom we can work shoulder-to-shoulder, eventually finding our hearts knit together as one. Quoting from Elder Eyring's 2008 General Conference talk Our hearts knit as one...
One way I have seen it done is to search for anything on which we agree. To be that peacemaker, you need to have the simple faith that as children of God, with all our differences, it is likely that in a strong position we take, there will be elements of truth. The great peacemaker, the restorer of unity, is the one who finds a way to help people see the truth they share. That truth they share is always greater and more important to them than their differences. You can help yourself and others to see that common ground if you ask for help from God and then act. He will answer your prayer to help restore peace, as He has mine.
That same principle applies as we build unity with people who are from vastly different backgrounds. The children of God have more in common than they have differences. And even the differences can be seen as an opportunity. God will help us see a difference in someone else not as a source of irritation but as a contribution. The Lord can help you see and value what another person brings which you lack. More than once the Lord has helped me see His kindness in giving me association with someone whose difference from me was just the help I needed. That has been the Lord’s way of adding something I lacked to serve Him better.
May we feel to, and find more ways to reach across the aisle -- to truly Know Our Neighbor -- in 2009.
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