In a world full of varied beliefs, the Savior asks us to live in harmony with everyone.
Today’s world is full of different religious beliefs and identities, differences that can often lead to contention. How can we go about combating that contention? In his general conference talk “Loving Others and Living with Differences,” Elder Dallin H. Oaks focuses on how we can navigate our differences of belief without contention. He points out that Jesus “forbade contention by anyone. Even those who keep the commandments must not stir up the hearts of men to contend with anger.” As disciples of Christ, we have an obligation to interact with others with compassion and understanding without contention.
Luke 13:21 teaches that Jesus’s kingdom should be “like leaven,” with a purpose to raise the surrounding mass through its influence. If we work to live harmoniously with others, we can help those around us to also not cause contention. Good examples beget better actions. My parents demonstrated this principle when my brother played travel baseball. Lots of parents were very aggressive and used foul language at the games. My parents didn’t want my brother to think that behavior was okay, so they didn’t act that way at the games. The other parents noticed that my brother didn’t swear because my parents didn’t. They didn’t like hearing their own kids swear, and they began to change their language around the kids. By the end of the season, the team impressed many other teams with their ability to remain polite and mild mannered under stress.
By focusing on living in harmony, we not only avoid contention, but we also become more capable of lifting up those around us. We find ways we can change and grow to become better neighbors and better children of God. So do the work to live harmoniously with others, and we can make the world a better place.
—Julia Provost, Latter-day Saint Insights
Discover how to live in harmony with Elder Dallin H. Oaks’s talk “Loving Others and Living with Differences.”
Source: General Conference
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Read more about living among those with different beliefs in Elder Dallin H. Oaks’s talk “Defending Our Divinely Inspired Constitution.”