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"If we are to have unity, there are commandments we
must keep concerning how we feel. We must forgive and bear no malice toward
those who offend us. The Savior set the example from the cross: 'Father,
forgive them; for they know not what they do' (Luke 23:34). We do not know the
hearts of those who offend us. Nor do we know all the sources of our own anger
and hurt. The Apostle Paul was telling us how to love in a world of imperfect people,
including ourselves, when he said, 'Charity suffereth long, and is kind;
charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not
behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh
no evil' (1 Cor. 13:4-5). And then he gave solemn warning against reacting to
the fault of others and forgetting our own when he wrote, 'For now we see
through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then
shall I know even as I am known' (1 Cor. 13:12)" (Henry B. Eyring,
"That We May Be One," Ensign, May 1998, 68).
"Our people have always been characterized by their
loyalty and obedience to the direction of their leaders, by their unity, and by
their extraordinary capacity to cooperate in a common venture. We see the
modern manifestations of these pioneer qualities in the great contributions our
brothers and sisters make in a wide variety of private projects and common
efforts that require unity and cooperation. Another modern manifestation of
Mormon obedience, unity, and cooperation is our unique missionary program, from
the preparation and service of young missionaries to the remarkably diverse
activities of mature couples throughout the world" (Dallin H. Oaks,
"Following the Pioneers," Ensign,
Nov. 1997, 73).
"Only by unity can we follow the way of the Lord, who
said, 'Be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine' (D&C 38:27)"
(Dallin H. Oaks, "The Relief Society and the Church," Ensign, May 1992, 37).
"Within this Church there is a constant need for unity,
for if we are not one, we are not his. (See D&C 38:27.) We are truly
dependent on each other, 'and the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need
of thee; nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.' (1 Cor.
12:21.) Nor can the North Americans say to the Asians, nor the Europeans to the
islanders of the sea, 'I have no need of thee.' No, in this church we have need
of every member, and we pray, as did Paul when he wrote to the church in
Corinth, 'that there should be no schism in the body; but that the members
should have the same care one for another' " (Howard W. Hunter, "That
We May Be One," Ensign, May
1976, 105-6).
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