Uniqueness vs. Sameness
"Your faith in Jesus Christ and obedience to His commandments will strengthen your character." - Richard G. Scott, "The Transforming Power of Faith and Character," October 2010 General Conference
"Righteousness increases the uniqueness of our presence, but sin sinks us into sameness." - Neal A. Maxwell, Of One Heart, pg. 42
"The more one is true to Jesus Christ, the more that person is the unique individual he or she is destined to be. If one is not obedient, that person loses sight of his or her uniqueness and becomes more like others." - Strengthening Our Families, pg. 220-221
The first statement I read this morning in the given conference address and it brought to mind something I'd read in the textbook for my Strengthening Marriage and Family class, which consists of the 2nd and 3rd statements. I then concluded the following:
The more obedient to the Lord's commandments, the more we are able to develop into the unique daughter/son of God we were meant to be. We have characteristics that nobody else does. Following the Savior and living righteously allows us to develop those characteristics where sin creates sameness among us.
Those who stand out among us are those who live righteous, Christ like lives a majority of the time. Nobody is perfect and everyone sins, but they are trying to obey the Lord and progress in all aspects of his gospel. When we encounter those types of people, there is something different about them. They are not quite like anyone we've met before. They are developing those unique gifts that they were blessed with. No one else has that precise combination of their personality, their spiritual gifts, their strengths and their way of seeing the world.
When one doesn't develop their character and abilities in obedience to the Lord, they don't have the same strength to overcome the pulls of the world. Everyone who works hard can most definitely develop themselves, but overall, those who have the Lord's full support are able to go beyond anything else.
I think that the biggest point of uniqueness is the fact that we pull our power and strength from the faith we have that the Savior is helping us.
"Righteousness increases the uniqueness of our presence, but sin sinks us into sameness." - Neal A. Maxwell, Of One Heart, pg. 42
"The more one is true to Jesus Christ, the more that person is the unique individual he or she is destined to be. If one is not obedient, that person loses sight of his or her uniqueness and becomes more like others." - Strengthening Our Families, pg. 220-221
The first statement I read this morning in the given conference address and it brought to mind something I'd read in the textbook for my Strengthening Marriage and Family class, which consists of the 2nd and 3rd statements. I then concluded the following:
The more obedient to the Lord's commandments, the more we are able to develop into the unique daughter/son of God we were meant to be. We have characteristics that nobody else does. Following the Savior and living righteously allows us to develop those characteristics where sin creates sameness among us.
Those who stand out among us are those who live righteous, Christ like lives a majority of the time. Nobody is perfect and everyone sins, but they are trying to obey the Lord and progress in all aspects of his gospel. When we encounter those types of people, there is something different about them. They are not quite like anyone we've met before. They are developing those unique gifts that they were blessed with. No one else has that precise combination of their personality, their spiritual gifts, their strengths and their way of seeing the world.
When one doesn't develop their character and abilities in obedience to the Lord, they don't have the same strength to overcome the pulls of the world. Everyone who works hard can most definitely develop themselves, but overall, those who have the Lord's full support are able to go beyond anything else.
I think that the biggest point of uniqueness is the fact that we pull our power and strength from the faith we have that the Savior is helping us.
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