Unity implies oneness, continuity, consistency, compatibility, agreement, harmony, cooperation, and singularity.

When we unite ourselves with God, with His laws, teachings, promises, virtue, and truth, we are accordingly blessed, increased, and recreated into His likeness and divine nature. As we move out of alignment with God, we are accordingly cursed, diminished, and destroyed. Moving into unity with God is the act of creation; moving out of unity with God is to move toward chaos, dissolution, and destruction. Either way, it is a choice, and there is no neutral ground. Either we are moving in one direction, or the other.

When we do not have unity with God, pain, disharmony, dysfunction, disintegration, death, and decay are the inevitable results. After all, a house divided against itself cannot stand.[1]

Many years ago, a missionary in the South Pacific said of unity, “I learned that unity is peace, and that lack of unity is pain. If you have once experienced the peace that comes from unity, it is always a goal you seek to achieve. I gained renewed appreciation for the Lord’s plea to “be one,” and “if ye are not one ye are not mine”.[2] I know the principle is true. You can’t be one if you are doing evil or winking at evil in others. I have experienced the miracle that being united can bring. It is wonderful. I learned that you cannot compromise principle to achieve unity. Peace and unity only come from living God’s principles. There is no other way.”[3]

If we are not one and “are not united according to the union required by the law of the celestial kingdom”[4] then we will not find peace, or progress, or achieve harmony with God.

The law of unity requires that we have unity with God before we can enter into His kingdom. This is the gospel of Jesus Christ: that we might be reconciled, unified, and united with God by faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, and by taking upon ourselves the name of Christ by covenant with Him.

We are to become united with God and with the saints of God within the Kingdom of God by achieving a “unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man [or woman], unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.”[5]

A unity of the faith and of the knowledge of God, very simply, means that we have a unified, correct understanding of the truth of God as it relates to the character of God and the fullness of the gospel, and that we are all exercising faith in Christ unto repentance.

To come unto a perfect man means that you have repented perfectly, become perfect in Christ,[6] and qualified yourself to take upon you the name of Christ by covenant.[7]

To receive the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ, at the very least, means that you have received the full benefit of the atonement of Jesus Christ by embracing the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Attaining unto the stature of the fulness of Christ, at the very least, means you have become fully viable as a redeemed disciple of Jesus Christ, walking upon His path and walking in His way as a righteous son or daughter of God.

To become one with God, we must cease doing evil by doing only good. We must repent.

Repentance is to do good continuously. When we do good continuously, we are sinless.

We can correctly define goodness as doing what is best. To do good is to do that which has the best value, benefit, and outcome.

To do evil is to do less than what is best. It is to do wrong. It is to turn your back on God. It is to be at odds with God and His laws. It is disunity with God.

We are to repent perfectly by ceasing to do evil. We are to repent perfectly by doing only good. We repent perfectly when we completely surrender our lives to following Jesus Christ by doing what we sincerely believe He would do in our circumstances, and as we are inspired and directed by Him. As we do this, we become unified with Christ, and we are filled with peace and joy.

We must do as Jesus did if we expect to receive what Jesus offers.

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”[8]

Jesus offers us peace by inviting us to have unity with Him. He invites us, shows us, and teaches us how to do this.

There is only one way to come into unity with God. And that is by following God’s way.

In showing us the way, it is vital to note that Jesus did not compromise with evil. He did not wink at sin. He did not make half efforts. He did not do good just part of the time. Everything Jesus did was good. If we want to receive what Jesus offers, we must do likewise. Only then can we have unity with Him.

When we have unity with Him, and as we continue in that unity, all of the promised blessings of the gospel are forthcoming. They are guaranteed.

Most people think that this degree of unity and perfection is impossible, but they are entirely wrong. If it were impossible, God would not have commanded it. God commands nothing save He shall first provide a way whereby we can keep all of His commandments.[9]

All those with sin are commanded to “go, and sin no more.”[10]

Again and again, we are admonished to “go… [and] sin no more” and to “perform with soberness the work which I have commanded you [to do].”[11]

“Hearken and hear, O ye inhabitants of the earth.  Listen… and hear the voice of the Lord; for he calleth upon all men, and he commandeth all men everywhere to repent.”[12]

If the Lord commands us to repent and to sin no more, it must be possible. This is the injunction of the gospel of Jesus Christ. If we heed this commandment, we will be blessed as promised.

Those who do not repent and becomes sinless do not receive forgiveness for their sins and the atonement of Jesus Christ does not deliver their souls from hell. Such as these do not receive salvation or eternal life in the Kingdom of God. Again and again, the scriptures[13] tell us that we must repent and receive a remission of sins. We cannot be saved in the Kingdom of God in a condition of guilt and sin and disharmony with God. This reality, these principles, and this law will be discussed in great detail in the coming chapters.

Again, this may seem impossible, but God and His prophets promise you that it is indeed very possible—perhaps not with what you know now, but with what God very much wants to teach you. In other words, God makes repentance possible by revealing His light and His words to you.

As we “give diligent heed to the words of eternal life,”[14] we become enabled to keep all of God’s commandments.

We should study, memorize, and learn the best scriptures. We should inquire of the Lord to gain understanding as to their true meaning. As we do this, we must apply these teachings in our lives. Half-hearted efforts will not suffice.

Along these lines, I will share these three grand keys which the Lord shared with me when I asked Him how this could be done.

1. If you fill your life with goodness, you won’t have time for anything less.
2. If you fill your mind with truth, Satan’s lies will have no power over you.
3. If you entirely focus on following Christ, nothing else can stop you.

Begin with where you are, with what you already know, and with what you already understand.

Begin with what your current approximation is of the ideal human being, the ideal hero, the ideal saint, and the ideal example of what you should follow; then go and do likewise.

Before you make a choice, you should ask yourself:

1. “What would the ideal person do, what would the ideal hero do, and what would the ideal saint do in my situation?”
2. We might even ask, “What would Jesus do?”
3. And if we need help with discerning that, we should prayerfully ask, “What action will yield the best value, benefit, and outcome?” Then let the Holy Spirit inspire you with the correct determination.

As we seek, ask, consider, and problem-solve, we must develop the integrity and commitment to act accordingly. This might not happen overnight, but it does happen and become habitual, natural, and instinctive if you really put your mind to it.

I want to reiterate that this is something anyone can do. It does not matter if you are rich or poor, or how sophisticated or ignorant you are, anyone can do this. This is called repentance.

Faith in Jesus Christ is repentance guided by the teachings and inspiration of Jesus Christ. How beautiful this is! Anyone can do this!

This is how we achieve unity with Jesus Christ: by repentance, faith in Christ, and by giving diligent heed to the words of Christ.

We must pray always, submitting our wills to His, continually asking for guidance and direction, meekly surrendering to Him, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit—only then does perfect repentance and unity with Christ become possible. All you must do is simply decide to do it!

To do it, you must learn to amplify your faith in Jesus Christ. Please allow me to impart four powerful amplifiers.

1. Memorize the best scriptures. And keep memorizing the best scriptures.
2. Learn to meditate and pray[15] for more than an hour at a time, ideally at least once each day.
3. Do not do anything that might impair your sensitivity to the Spirit of God.
4. Continually pray throughout the day, submitting to God, asking for guidance and direction in doing good, and always doing what you are commanded and inspired to do.

This is how to amplify your faith, repent, and achieve beautiful unity and perfect faith in Jesus Christ

As we do these things, our very desires are adapted to reflect his.

Modifying our desires such that we begin to “hunger and thirst after righteousness”[16] is one of the most vital keys that makes complete repentance possible.

It is like learning to ride a bicycle. Once you experience the exhilaration of the ride, with the wind in your face and hair, feeling so fast and empowered and strong, you just want to do it again and again. Similarly, experiencing the peace and joy of repentance, sensing the rejoicing of the angels around you, and the pleasing approbation of the Lord smiling upon you, you will just want to keep coming back again and again for more.

As we train our thoughts and desires to reflect His, we will find we indeed hunger and thirst after righteousness, because such desires and feelings reflect the righteous desires and feelings of the sanctified.

So how do we get there?

Jesus taught, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Hence, we should diligently “treasure up words of eternal life,” and set our hearts on the teachings, commandments, and promises of our Savior. In short, Jesus Christ must become your treasure. We must learn to love Jesus with a perfect love. We must learn to love everything He says, everything He asks of us, and everything He is, and to respond to all these things with sublime gratitude and joy. Only then will our thoughts and desires truly reflect His.

One of the best ways to fill our minds and hearts with the words of eternal life is to take the time to memorize the best scriptures, to then meditate upon these scriptures, and to pray about these scriptures asking the Lord for greater understanding and insight, and greater faith on His words.

Few things are as thrilling to God as sincerely quoting and discussing his scriptures in prayer, in our daily discourse,[17] and in our regular teaching, especially when we speak with inspired insight and correct understanding. The words of eternal life are words of power. Those who truly possess and live the words of eternal life will be filled with limitless majesty and power. We must learn to embrace, teach, quote, and live the scriptures with perfect humility and sincerity—especially those scriptures and words of truth spoken directly to us by God.

The greatest way to fill your life with goodness is by learning, memorizing, quoting, pondering, and sincerely applying the word of God in your life. This requires a lot of time and effort. By making this your top priority, you literally will not have time for anything less. And by doing this, you will fill your mind with truth to such an extent that Satan’s lies will have no power over you. And by thus entirely focusing on following Christ, you will become unstoppable, and you will ultimately be empowered to overcome all things. This is what it means to do good.

Just in case you think I am making all this up, please recall what Nephi said:

“And they said unto me: What meaneth the rod of iron which our father saw, that led to the tree?

“And I said unto them that it was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction.

“Wherefore, I, Nephi, did exhort them to give heed unto the word of the Lord; yea, I did exhort them with all the energies of my soul, and with all the faculty which I possessed, that they would give heed to the word of God and remember to keep his commandments always in all things.”[18]

The word of God gives us the power to resist temptation, keep all of God’s commandments, and overcome all things.

All righteous power is manifest in, through, and by the word of God.

As we learn, heed, and apply the word of God, even the words of eternal life, we are progressively led into the presence of God, even the Father. This is the product of perfect repentance and perfect faith which is manifest by perfect obedience to “every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God.”

“And I now give unto you a commandment to beware concerning yourselves, to give diligent heed to the words of eternal life.

“For you shall live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God.

“For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

“And the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit.

“And everyone that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit cometh unto God, even the Father.”[19]

Again, we must learn to amplify and perfect our faith in Jesus Christ by:

1. Memorizing the best scriptures. And keep memorizing the best scriptures.
2. Learning to meditate and pray[20] for more than an hour at a time, ideally at least once each day.
3. Not doing anything that might impair our sensitivity to the Spirit of God.
4. Continually praying throughout the day, submitting to God, asking for guidance and direction in doing good, and always doing what we are commanded and inspired to do.

This is how to amplify our faith, repent, and achieve that beautiful unity and perfect faith in Jesus Christ which leads to life everlasting.

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[1] Matthew 12:25, Mark 3:24-26, Luke 11:17

[2] Doctrine and Covenants 38:27

[3] John H. Groberg, The Other Side of Heaven, p. 161

[4] Doctrine and Covenants 105:4

[5] Ephesians 4:13

[6] Colossians 1:28, Moroni 10:32-33

[7] Mosiah 5:5

[8] John 14:27

[9] 1 Nephi 3:7

[10] John 8:11, also John 5:14

[11] Doctrine and Covenants 6:35, 24:2, 29:3, 82:7, 97:27

[12] Doctrine and Covenants 133:16

[13] Mosiah 3:19,21, 24-27, 4:3,8,10,12,29-30, 5:5,7,10-12,15, Alma 34:15-17, 42:22

[14] Doctrine and Covenants 84:43

[15] Read Seek Ye This Jesus, by Robert Smith, if you really want to learn how to pray.

[16] Matthew 5:6

[17] Deuteronomy 6:5-9, 11:18-19

[18] 1 Nephi 15:23 – 25

[19] Doctrine and Covenants 84:43 – 47

[20] Read Seek Ye This Jesus, by Robert Smith, if you really want to learn how to pray.

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