FAIR

Faithful Study Resources for Come, Follow Me

Consider Conference: Brothers and Sisters in Christ

by

2023 October General Conference, Saturday Evening Session

Brothers and Sisters in Christ
Elder Ulisses Soares Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Main Points

  • Prejudiced thoughts and actions have no place in the community of Saints
  • The diversity created by God among his children provides opportunities to value and be blessed by each other in ways we can only find as we begin to see each other without prejudice.
  • Overcoming prejudice will help us see each other more clearly as sons and daughters of God with divine attributes and potential; as we see others more clearly, we’ll also see ourselves more clearly.

Gospel Principles taught

Our Heavenly Family, Jesus Christ, Charity, Service

Gospel Doctrine taught

The Plan of Salvation, Family

Scriptures

Doctrine and Covenants 76:24, Genesis 1:26–27, Mosiah 7:27, Ether 3:14–17, Moses 2:26–28, Moses 6:9–10, 2 Nephi 26:33, Acts 17:26, Doctrine and Covenants 93:33–35, Ephesians 4:6, Mosiah 18:21, 4 Nephi 1:16–18, Ephesians 4:2–3, Acts 10:38, 2 Nephi 26:33, John 4:4, John 4:7, John 4:9, John 4:25, John 4:29, John 4:6–30, 2 Nephi 26:14–30, 1 Corinthians 2:14, Mosiah 16:5, Alma 42:7–24, 1 Samuel 16:7, 4 Nephi 1:17, 4 Nephi 1:17, Acts 17:26

Sources

Related talks: 

Look for Jesus Christ:

  • Testimony of Christ.
    • God lives. Jesus is the Savior of the world. President Nelson is the prophet of God in our day. I bear witness of these truths in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.
  • Description of His Teachings.
    • Jesus asked for assistance from a Samaritan woman, even though the “Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.” He helped her understand that he was the Messiah she was waiting for. “Is not this the Christ?”
  • Description of His relationship with us.
    • During His earthly ministry, Jesus so perfectly exemplified this principle as He “went about doing good”14 unto all people, inviting them to come unto Him and partake of His goodness regardless of their origin, social class, or cultural characteristics. He ministered, healed, and was always attentive to everyone’s needs, especially those who at the time were considered different, belittled, or excluded. He denied none but treated them with equity and love, for He saw them as His brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of the same Father.

Inspiring Words & Phrases

  • I pray that the Spirit of the Lord continues with us as we rejoice together as true brothers and sisters in Christ.
  • As a global and ever-growing Church, following this invitation from our prophet (to abandon prejudice) is a vital prerequisite for building the Savior’s kingdom in every nation of the world.
  • In reality, human dignity presupposes respect for our differences.
  • (Quoting President Nelson) “The Creator of us all calls on each of us to abandon attitudes of prejudice against any group of God’s children. Any of us who has prejudice toward another race needs to repent! … It behooves each of us to do whatever we can in our spheres of influence to preserve the dignity and respect every son and daughter of God deserves.”
  • building bridges of understanding rather than creating walls of prejudice and segregation among us.
  • The light of a new day shines brighter in our lives when we see and treat our fellow beings with respect and dignity and as true brothers and sisters in Christ.
  • I have deep compassion for those who have been mistreated, belittled, or persecuted by unfeeling and thoughtless people, because, in the course of my life, I have seen firsthand the pain good people suffer from being judged or dismissed because they happened to speak, look, or live differently.
  • I also feel genuine sorrow in my heart for those whose minds remain darkened, whose vision is limited, and whose hearts remain hardened by the belief in the inferiority of those who are different from them. Their limited view of others actually obstructs their ability to see who they are as children of God.
  • This conduct (prejudice) is improper for those who are striving to become His true disciples. In fact, my dear brothers and sisters, there is no place for prejudiced thoughts or actions in the community of Saints.
  • We are all fellow travelers as God’s children, equal in our imperfect state and in our ability to grow.
  • United in purpose, we see one another with new eyes, and in our oneness, we celebrate our differences as divine children of God.
  • We move forward as God’s children and as brothers and sisters in Christ, without losing our divine connection, which makes us a unique people and a beloved community.
  • See one another with new eyes

Lists

The gospel of Jesus Christ teaches:

  • We are all spirit sons and daughters of heavenly parents
  • We are truly loved by our heavenly parents
  • We lived as a family in God’s presence before birth
  • We are all created in the image and likeness of God 
  • We are all equal before Him
  • We all have divine nature
  • We all have divine heritage
  • We all have divine potential

The world is polarized by strong:

  • Racial divisions 
  • Political divisions
  • Socioeconomic divisions

Divisions:

  • Influence how people think about others
  • Influence how people act toward others

Prejudice looks like:

  • characterizing the way other cultures think, act, and speak as inferior
  • characterizing the way other races think, act, and speak as inferior
  • characterizing the way other ethnicities think, act, and speak as inferior
  • making use of preconceived, mistaken, and often sarcastic ideas
  • attitudes of contempt
  • attitudes of indifference 
  • attitudes of disrespect
  • attitudes of prejudice

Prejudiced attitudes have their roots in:

  • Pride
  • Arrogance
  • Envy
  • Jealousy
  • Carnal characteristics
  • Are totally contrary to Christlike attributes

We can eliminate prejudiced behavior by:

  • Looking at others as Christ sees them
  • Remembering our common divine identity and kinship
  • Recognizing that we all have common dreams, hopes, sorrows and pains

Stories:

  • The tale of the wise rabbi, who said that the way to know that night was over and the day had begun was when you could look at the face of a woman or a man and say, “She is my sister; he is my brother.”
  • Told of attending the open house for the Brasília Brazil Temple, and telling the vice president of Brazil about the white clothing all wear in the temple, and how it symbolizes our eternal identity and that we are all alike unto God.
  • Compared us to the Iguaçú Falls: like this system of waterfalls, we share the same spiritual origin and substance. Though we “flow” through different cultures, ethnicities and nationalities, we don’t lose our divine connection.

Invitations/Challenges

  • As disciples of Christ, we are invited to increase our faith in our spiritual brother- and sisterhood
  • As disciples of Christ, we are invited to increase our love for our spiritual brother- and sisterhood
  • As disciples of Christ, we are invited to genuinely knit our hearts together in unity and love, regardless of our differences.
  • As disciples of Christ, we are invited to promote respect for the dignity of all the sons and daughters of God.
  • We are invited to walk together, peaceably, with our hearts filled with love toward God and all men—or, as Abraham Lincoln noted, “with malice toward none; with charity for all.”

Warnings

  • In order to build bridges of understanding, we’ll need to make individual and collective efforts to act with lowliness, meekness, and long-suffering toward one another.

Blessings/Promises

  • My dear brothers and sisters, may we align our hearts and minds with the knowledge and testimony that we are all equal before God, that we are all fully endowed with the same eternal potential and inheritance. May we enjoy more the spiritual kinship that exists between us and value the different attributes and varied gifts we all have. If we do so, I promise you that we will flow in our own way, as does the water of the Iguaçú Falls, without losing our divine connection that identifies us as a peculiar people, “the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God.”
  • I testify to you that as we continue to flow this way during our mortal life, a new day will begin with a new light that will brighten our lives and illuminate wonderful opportunities to value more, and be more fully blessed by, the diversity created by God among His children.
  • We will surely become instruments in His hands to promote respect and dignity among all His sons and daughters.
  • I can assure you that the light of a new day shines brighter in our lives when we see and treat our fellow beings with respect and dignity and as true brothers and sisters in Christ.

Application Ideas

  1. Pray for an ability to see any of your own attitudes and behaviors that might need to change in order for you to have your heart filled with love for all of God’s children.
  2. Ponder the list “prejudice looks like.” Identify any areas where you could improve.
  3. Elder Soares says that prejudiced attitudes are “totally contrary to Christlike attributes”. Consider participating in this Attribute Activity. Based on your responses, choose one or two attributes that you would like to strengthen in yourself.
  4. Answer this question: “How can I, in my thoughts and actions, show respect and love for those who are different from me?”
  5. Identify a culture, ethnicity or race that you are not familiar with. Set aside some time this week to become better acquainted with them. Pray for guidance and meekness.