Courtesy Intellectual Reserve

There always needs to be someone who takes on the role of being a bit of a comedian during general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and at the worldwide gathering of the church last month, that happened to be Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Elder Uchtdorf started his talk, titled “‘By This All Will Know That You Are My Disciples,'” by speaking of an experience from “many years ago” when he and his wife were in southern Germany.

They invited “a good friend, who was not a member of the Church,” to attend weekly meetings with them.

Understandably, Elder Uchtdorf wanted the experience to be perfect, because he wanted his friend to leave with a favorable impression of the church.

He was not impressed.

Ryan Comer, Standard-Examiner

“The singing, for example, didn’t exactly sound like the Tabernacle Choir,” he said. “Restless, noisy children could be heard during the sacrament. The speakers did their best, but they were not skilled at public speaking. I sat uncomfortably through the meeting, hoping that maybe Sunday School would be better.”

Then came a pause for effect and a line that led to an eruption of laughter from those in attendance at the conference center.

“It wasn’t,” he said simply.

On their way home, Elder Uchtdorf wanted to try and explain away the meetings. Then came a profound lesson that shows even apostles, or those who are to eventually become apostles depending on how long ago this was, have moments of being humbled, and it explained the purpose of sharing the whole story.

“But before I could say a word, she spoke up,” he said.

“‘That was beautiful,’ she said.

“I was speechless.

“She continued, ‘I’m so impressed with how people treat each other in your church. They all seem to come from different backgrounds, and yet it’s clear that they genuinely love each other. This is what I imagine Christ wanted His Church to be like.’

“Well, I quickly repented of my judgmental attitude. I had wanted picture-perfect meetings to impress my friend. But what the members of this branch had achieved was a heart-perfect spirit of love, kindness, patience, and compassion.”

The subhead for Elder Uchtdorf’s talk on the church’s website reads “Our love for God and His children is a powerful testimony to the world that this is truly the Savior’s Church.”

This love has a greater impact on what people think about their church experience than what is said about certain doctrinal topics, Elder Uchtdorf said.

“What they’re likely to notice, above all else, is how they feel when they’re with us and how we treat each other,” he said.

“‘Love one another,’ Jesus said. ‘By this all will know that you are My disciples.’ Very often, a person’s first testimony of Jesus Christ comes when he or she feels love among disciples of Jesus Christ.

“The Savior declared that He restored His Church so ‘that faith … might increase in the earth.’ Therefore, when people visit our Church meetings, the Savior wants them to leave with stronger faith in Him! The love our friends feel among us will lift them closer to Jesus Christ! That is our simple goal every time we gather.”

Of course, experiences at church don’t always reflect that standard, Elder Uchtdorf acknowledged. If that’s the case, Elder Uchtdorf counseled to not give up on the ideal and be patient with others.

“We are each a work in progress, and we all rely on the Savior for any progress we make,” he said. “That’s true for us as individuals, and it’s true for the kingdom of God on earth.”

Elder Uchtdorf pointed out that God’s people are to undergo a “mighty change of heart,” but that doesn’t mean changing hearts to align with the hearts of others, rather changing hearts to align with the Savior.

“If we are not there yet, remember: With the Lord’s help, nothing is impossible,” he said.

As for those who feel like they don’t fit or belong at church, Elder Uchtdorf empathized. Again, he shared another personal story, explaining that when he was 11 years old, his family moved somewhere unfamiliar and his accent made it obvious he was different from those around him.

“At a time when I desperately needed friendship and belonging, I felt lonely and displaced,” he said.

But he noted that most of the differences we realize, the various labels we give each other, don’t change one very important similarity, a label we all have in common – children of God.

“And we all fit perfectly in this one,” he said.

Elder Uchtdorf continued:

“It’s natural to want to be around people who look, talk, act, and think like we do. There is a place for that.

“But in the Savior’s Church, we gather all of God’s children who are willing to be gathered and who seek the truth. It is not our physical appearance, our political views, our culture, or our ethnicity that brings us together. It is not our common background that unites us. It is our common objective, our love for God and love for our neighbor, our commitment to Jesus Christ and His restored gospel. We are ‘one in Christ.’

“The unity we seek is not to have everyone stand in the same place; it is to have everyone face in the same direction–toward Jesus Christ. We are one not because of where we’ve been but where we are striving to go, not because of who we are but who we seek to become.

“That is what Christ’s true Church is all about.”

This is one of those lessons that really resonates with me because, admittedly, I don’t always feel like I fit in at church. There are some things about my life situation that clearly make me different from the people I go to church with, and sometimes, that can lead to a very isolating – even painful – feeling at church. I’m acutely aware of everything that makes me different from everyone else.

But I don’t let that stop me from going to church because of who I am pointed to: Jesus Christ. His presence, as well as the presence of Heavenly Father, is where I am striving to go. I strive to become like them.

I am grateful for all the people in my ward who, though not in my situation and maybe can’t relate to what I am going through, are similarly pointed to Christ, who similarly strive to return to his presence as well as the presence of Heavenly Father, who strive to become like them.

With words that reminded me of an October 2013 general conference talk by Elder Uchtdorf titled “Come, Join with Us,” he continued:

“If you love God, if you want to know Him better by following His Son, then you belong here. If you’re earnestly seeking to keep the Savior’s commandments–even though you’re not perfect at it yet–then you are a perfect fit for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“And what if you’re different from people around you? That doesn’t make you a misfit–it makes you a needed part of the body of Christ. All are needed in the body of Christ. The ears perceive things that the eyes never could. The feet do things that the hands would be ineffective at.

“That doesn’t mean your job is to change everyone to be like yourself. But it does mean that you have something important to contribute–and that you have something important to learn!”

As he prepared to conclude his talk, Elder Uchtdorf compared the church to a choir.

“As you listen, you might notice that the singers don’t all sing the same notes,” he said. “Sometimes one section carries the melody, sometimes another. But they all contribute to the beautiful sound, and they’re completely unified. Each choir member has the same central goal: to praise God and lift our hearts to Him. Each must have his or her mind and heart fixed on the same divine purpose. And when that happens, they truly become one voice.

“If you are not yet a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we invite you to join us as we rejoice in the Savior’s ‘song of redeeming love.’ We need you. We love you. The Church will be better with your efforts to serve the Lord and His children.

“If you have already shown, through baptism, through making covenants with God, your desire to ‘come into the fold of God, and to be called his people,’ thank you for being part of this great and divine work and for helping to make the Church of Jesus Christ what the Savior wants it to be.

“As I learned from my friend in Germany, our love for God and His children is a powerful testimony to the world that this is truly the Savior’s Church.”

To conclude, I’d like to add a thought regarding Elder Uchtdorf’s choir comparison.

If you haven’t seen the performance of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, featuring a children’s choir, singing Gethsemane, I highly recommend searching for it on YouTube and watching it.

It’s a powerful example of how those within the choir contribute in different ways, but the combination creates a memorable performance.

In just three weeks, the video has been viewed over 2.1 million times, and it has been broken down and praised by popular YouTube musical performance reviewers.

All of the members of this choir are completely unified in their purpose, though they don’t all have the same responsibilities. The central goal for each member of the choir is the same. With their “mind and heart fixed on the same divine purpose … they truly become one voice.”

That is all evident not just based on watching the performance, but in the words that were shared in a video titled “Behind the Scenes: ‘Gethsemane’ Music Video,” released by the church on YouTube

Below is what three Northern Utah children interviewed on camera for the video had to say:

Said Malan Poll from Mountain Green: “It was just like singing with angels. I really want to be part of that choir someday.”

Said Shalise Biehler from Ogden: “I love Jesus because he can do miracles and he can help you get through trials and … he loves us no matter what.”

Said Andrew King from Farr West: “Jesus Christ knows how you feel, and he took the time to feel your pain and not just everybody else’s… he’s gone through personally what you have and that’s so important because sometimes it feels like people don’t understand, but somebody took the time to suffer for you.

“I hope that people know that Jesus is always there for them, that no matter what’s happening, you can rely on him, and I hope that they can feel that testimony when we sing that song.”

Contact Ryan Comer at rcomer@standard.net. Follow him on Twitter at @rbcomer8388 and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rbcomer8388.