Keynote Summary: Fostering a Commitment to Unity

Address given by Neylan McBaine, Author and Founder of the Mormon Women Project

Mosiah Chapter 18 describes that each soul is brought to the knowledge of their Redeemer, and so the Waters of Mormon become "beautiful" to them (vs 30).  Where is my Waters of Mormon, where contention fell away, where I felt connected to others and to eternity? What are those beautiful moments and places for us?

• Is it easier to have these experiences with people you don't know well?
• The early Christian church demonstrated how hard it is to come together in Christ. Acts Chapter 15 describes the Jerusalem Conference when disciples came together to argue over appropriate worship practices, and in the end the apostles couldn't agree and went their separate ways.

What are the factors of unity, the elements that can make a gathering beautiful to us? A discussion with sisters in the congregation identified some of the following ideas and personal experiences.

• Vulnerability, and the expectation that if you share, it will be received in an embrace and not in judgment.
• A feeling that "I belong here," and acting in a way that assumes that belonging is true for us and for others.
• Recognizing the tension between obedience and agency; we may have shared principles and faith in the gospel, but the practice of obedience may look different in our choices.
• Our ability to connect with others is linked to our willingness to serve others.
• We have agency to choose to feel charity and love for others, and to choose to feel confidence in God's love for us individually.
• Being compassionate in acknowledging that it's okay to be on the path to knowledge or belief; we don't have to always emphasize "knowing" as the only acceptable condition in the church.

With respect to the tension between obedience and agency, where individuals may make different choices in response to their faith in shared truths and principles, can we appreciate the variety and beauty of choices made in faith?  Prayerfully ask ourselves, am I choosing the path of obedience that is right for me? And am I allowing others to choose obedience in the form that is right for them, without judgment?

Social science research demonstrates that it is easier for people to accept and love "strangers," those who are very different from ourselves, than it is to form friendships with those who are very similar to us with slight differences. This psychological tendency results from feeling that those differences are a judgment on our own choices. We naturally would choose to gather with like-minded individuals who reaffirm and not question our choices, so it is a gift and a privilege that our church is organized into geographical wards that force sharing and vulnerability in groups that are not self-selected. It is as we serve, love, and come to understand our Relief Society sisters who share our faith but not our exact life circumstances that we can build unity in Zion.