4 Nephi 1:16-17
16 And there were no envyings, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness; and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God.
17 There were no robbers, nor murderers, neither were there Lamanites, nor any manner of -ites; but they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God.
After Christ came and established peace in the land, we have the above account from 4 Nephi in the Book of Mormon. Before Christ came there had been many contentions – different denominations, different groups and sects. Sound familiar?
The world we live in today is full of envyings, strifes, tumults, whoredoms, lyings, murders, and all manner of lasciviousness. We are separated into so many groups of -ites.
Let’s take a look at a few of the categories we separate ourselves into:
- Poor, middle, upper class
- Educated and uneducated.
- Religious and non religious
- Asian, American, African, Hispanic, European, Russian, etc.
Believers in Christ separate themselves:
- Catholic
- Baptist
- Lutheran
- Latter-day Saint
- Non-denomination
Even Latter-day Saints have their separations:
- Member and nonmember
- Return missionary and non-return missionary
- Convert and pioneer heritage
Factions and divisions are prevalent no matter how small a group is broken down into in society. Sometimes it feels like if two people were put in a room they would only find things to disagree on. I list all these groups and ways we separate ourselves to lead to a point. One of the most polarizing groups we separate ourselves into, especially in America, is our political party.
The political landscape today is full of so much vitriol, so much animosity. Sometimes I fear our politics is what will be the ultimate downfall of all unity and kindness in the United States. There are other times I’m positive political beliefs will be the end of all love in the world.
This post does a great job in describing the major issue with politics today:
https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/49040923/posts/48634
Please give it a read. The post talks about how in politics we often hate the other side more than we care about our own side.
Democrats and Republicans are the modern-day Nephites and Lamanites. They are titles, distinctions, parties. All they do is separate us from one another. As soon as we look at somebody as a Republican or a Democrat and assume something negative about them, we are unfairly characterizing that individual. Whether you are a Republican or a Democrat, you know someone of the other party that you like. If only we could see the viewpoints of other parties and understand the reason they think that way, it would make such a difference.
All these categories described above, and especially political affiliation, they are all modern day -ites. If we don’t start uniting and working together, this will all fall apart.
As we approach another heated political season, I hope we all remember that we’re in this together. The Republican isn’t all that different from their Democrat neighbor. Love and accept and try to see why others have different viewpoints. Often when we put ourselves in the shoes of another and try to understand why they think the way they think, we will be shocked at how quickly we at least understand where they’re coming from.
There are so many ways we differentiate ourselves. I hope we can do our best to focus on the one category we all belong to: children of our Heavenly Father. We are brothers and sisters, all in this test of life together. I hope we can start to act like it.
Just imagine. What if the politics in America was better represented by this image than the one above?
That’s a political landscape I’d like to be a part of.
No Coincidences 