Area Leadership Message  

Being One in Christ

parents with 3 kids reading and laughing together
Elder Pokhylko
Elder Kyrylo Pokhylko, Ukraine Area Seventy, Assistant to the Area Presidency Europe North

A beautiful church hymn called “Because I have been given much” (1) teaches us all that the Lord wants us to be one and help each other with as much as we were blessed with by our loving Heavenly Father. When we do so, we keep the temple covenants we have made with Him better. The apostle Paul taught: 'Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God” (2). What a blessing it is to be able to support each other and be One in Christ. We can accomplish so much more together than we can alone.   

Being One in Christ is to study His words together at church. We all are different, with different gifts, skills, life experience and background. In those differences, we can find strength when we focus on the Savior and His teachings while we are together learning from the scriptures. The Holy Ghost will work with us individually when we are open to learn and enrich our spiritual experience by worshipping the Lord together.    

Being One in Christ is to share our testimonies and study scriptures together at home in our families. Children have every right to hear the testimonies of their parents shared with them often in informal and friendly settings. They need to know that their parents know that the Savior lives, and that He leads His church. Spouses deserve to hear each other’s testimony often, to strengthen one another’s faith. We learn from Nephi: “And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins” (3).    

Being One in Christ is to do for each other what the Savior did. We learn from the scriptures that every time we help someone do something in order to be closer to the Savior we come closer to Him at the same time. All our ministering efforts, when we go and help someone, or when we pray at home individually or as a family to Heavenly Father on behalf of someone, we will be blessed with the Spirit, we will come closer to the Savior, and we will be closer to each other as his sons and daughters. Nephi taught us a great lesson on how we can support each other when we are not together but are still concerned about the spiritual and physical well-being of each other. He said the following: “For I pray continually for them by day, and mine eyes water my pillow by night, because of them; and I cry unto my God in faith, and I know that he will hear my cry” (4). Heavenly Father loves those who help His children and will bless them with even more opportunities to take good care of someone.   

We will be One in Christ as we come to church on Sunday and partake the sacrament, as we share our testimony of the Savior and His restored gospel, and as we come to the temple to participate in the temple ordinances and serve each other. We will be One in Christ as we “think celestial” about one another, trying to see the best in each person, and knowing that the Lord can help anyone come unto Him and change if a person is willing to experience that mighty change.  


  1. Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints #219, “Because I have been given much” 

  2. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 

  3. 2 Nephi 25:26 

  4. 2 Nephi 33:3