Conference Talk of the Week

Overview

President Uchtdorf starts from baptism. Each person enters the covenant path alone, but baptism also joins that person to a covenant people who promise to bear one another's burdens and comfort those in need. He shows that the Savior's ministry kept bringing divided people together: Jews and Samaritans, Gentiles, lepers, the poor and the rich. Satan works the other way, by isolating people and making their differences feel impossible to cross. Unity in the Church does not come from politics, culture, or shared interests. It comes from love for God and neighbor and from covenants with Jesus Christ, just as the Nephites and Lamanites became one after the Savior visited them. He closes by pointing to the sacrament as a weekly ordinance that renews covenants and reminds members they are not alone.

Three Key Takeaways

• 1Baptism is an individual ordinance that also makes us part of a covenant people. When we are baptized, we promise to bear one another's burdens, mourn with those who mourn, and comfort those who need comfort (Mosiah 18:8–9).
• 2Jesus Christ crossed the dividing lines of His day. He touched lepers, praised the faith of Gentiles, and held up a Samaritan as the example of compassion. Satan does the opposite: he isolates God's children and makes their differences feel impossible to cross.
• 3Saints are not united by political views, culture, or personal interests. They are united by love for God and neighbor and by covenants with Christ. After Christ visited the Nephites and Lamanites, two long-time enemies became one people, "the children of Christ," for about 200 years (4 Nephi 1:17).

Reflection Questions

• When you were baptized, you promised to bear others' burdens and comfort those in need. Who in your ward or family might need you to keep that promise to them right now?
• Which differences, such as political, cultural, or personal ones, feel hardest for you to look past at church? What would change if you focused more fully on Christ?
• President Uchtdorf teaches that the closer we come to Christ, the closer we come to each other. Where have you seen this happen in your own life, or where do you need it to happen?