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A lifetime’s study of the New Testament has taught me that the household of God is larger, more diverse, and more unified than I previously imagined. Also, through the words of the New Testament, I have learned to recognize that the greatest threat to the household’s continued growth and strength is contention, along with its attendant woes of distrust, divisiveness, prejudice, and competition. Our leaders today remind us nearly every six months at general conference that we need to work harder to build unity and avoid contention.[1] The former-day saints also faced constant challenges to build and strengthen the household of God amid contentious, judgmental, and distrustful attitudes toward others. We can relate.

My desire here is to review New Testament teachings on the symposium theme with examples drawn from the early saints. I hope to encourage personal application as you consider their stories. Along with these first-century saints, we seek ways to be “no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19).

I will explore three subtopics: qualifications for entering the household, the household of God as a temple of the Lord, and the household as the body of Christ.

Qualifications for Joining the Household of God

The New Testament tells us that Jesus grew up in a large family with several siblings, presumably children born to Mary and Joseph after the birth of Jesus. We know his brothers’ names—James, Joses, Judah, and Simon—and that he had more than one sister (see Mark 6:3). We might assume that Mary the mother of Jesus would be first in line to enter the household of God, followed by the rest of Jesus’s mortal family. After all, biological kinship has been privileged throughout history.[2]

An incident during the Savior’s ministry suggests that many bystanders assumed Jesus would give special access to his mother and half brothers. While Jesus was teaching in Galilee, Mary and her other sons were kept from him because he was surrounded by many people. The crowd somehow relayed a message to Jesus that “thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee.” Much like the townspeople, we may expect Jesus to part the crowd and usher in his immediate family. But that is not what Jesus did. Instead, he told the multitude, “My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it” (Luke 8:19–21; see also Matthew 12:46–50; Mark 3:31–35). I imagine Jesus making a large sweep with his arm over the crowd as he said “these.” Jesus described those who make up his family as the men, women, and children who hear and willingly follow the word of God.[3]

So, what of Mary, his biological mother? Is she part of the household of God? Yes, because she heard the word of God and obeyed it. Yet she did not get a free pass because she was biologically related to the Lord.

When Mary was very young and unwed, we hear her response to the angel Gabriel: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38). In a sense, she responded much like young Rebekah in Old Testament times and young Nephi in the early Book of Mormon era: “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded” (1 Nephi 3:7; see Genesis 24:58). Mary was one who received and obeyed the word of God when she heard it and, therefore, qualified to be numbered among the household of God. Furthermore, her faithful response was not a onetime thing. She was still hearing and doing the word of God when her Son concluded his mortal ministry. We watch Mary follow her Redeemer, even amid the public scandal of his crucifixion.[4] John depicted her stoically standing by her son as he hung on the cross (see John 19:25).[5] She assumed the shame of his death as a witness for truth in all things, and at all times, and in all places.

In Acts 1, we read that the resurrected Christ ministered for forty days to 120 men and women who remained stalwart in their faith in him even after not understanding all that had transpired. That number included Mary his mother as well as his brothers, who had once been unbelievers and perhaps even been ashamed of him.[6] Their hearts and minds changed. They became members of the household of God, not by biological kinship but by hearing and following the word of God.

Jesus used familial language in other instances to identify members of the household of God. Consider two examples—one of a woman, and the other of a man and his friends.

Remember the woman who suffered with a disease for twelve years and had faith in Jesus that if she could simply touch the hem of his robes, she would be healed. When she did so, she was healed immediately. But Jesus healed more than her physical body. When he asked who touched him, this woman could have easily slipped away, but she didn’t. Think of the faith it required to speak in front of her neighbors, who no doubt knew about the disease that rendered her unclean and would be horrified that she had touched the Master. “But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth” (Mark 5:33). After this greater show of her faith, Jesus addressed her as family. “Daughter,” he said, “thy faith hath made thee whole” (Mark 5:34). The implication is that though she initially and anonymously reached out to him for physical healing, when she publicly acted on her faith, Jesus addressed her as a member of the household of God—as a daughter.

A man sick with palsy was lowered by his friends through the roof of the house where Jesus was teaching. Their assurance that Jesus could heal their friend is manifest by the extreme measures they took to access him. “When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee” (Mark 2:5; emphasis added). Again, notice the familial “son” in conjunction with evidence of active faith in this man and his friends.

The New Testament teaches that through Jesus Christ, God gave us power to become his sons and his daughters. As John wrote, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons [and daughters] of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12; emphasis added). This divine adoption as his offspring is not in the sense that we are his spiritual children from premortality. A new relationship is formed when we receive him, believe on his name, and, according to Paul, “are led by the Spirit of God” (Romans 8:14). To the Corinthian saints, Paul wrote, “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” (2 Corinthians 6:17–18). In the Book of Mormon, this new divine relationship occurred in concert with believers who eventually made a forever covenant with the Lord—they became his sons and his daughters (see Mosiah 5:7–8).

Elder Alfred Kyungu of the Seventy explained that “to be a follower of Christ is to strive to conform our actions, conduct, and lives to those of the Savior. It is to acquire virtues. It is to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ.”[7] None of these qualifications is beyond our reach if we sincerely desire to become his daughter or his son.

The Household of God as “an Holy Temple in the Lord”

To the Ephesians, Paul described fellow citizens of the household of God as individual stones “fitly framed together” and “[growing] unto an holy temple in the Lord,” “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone” (Ephesians 2:19–21).[8] In this same chapter, Paul told the Ephesians that they had undergone a divine transformation to qualify as members of the household, made possible by the grace of Jesus Christ through their faith and not by their works, lest they boast (see Ephesians 2:8–9).

In a masterful use of imagery, Paul demonstrated what their lives had previously been founded on and how Jesus Christ had brought about a mighty change in them. “In time past,” Paul wrote, “ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2). What a striking contrast! How long can we stand on a foundation of air, especially in comparison to one that “is broad as eternity” (Moses 7:53), the sure foundation made up of apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ established as the chief cornerstone? Remember Lehi’s description of the foundation of the great and spacious building—it “stood as it were in the air” (1 Nephi 8:26). Then Nephi recorded that the building fell when the inhabitants “gathered together to fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb” (1 Nephi 11:34–36). By fighting against the sure foundation of the household of God, we are left with nothing to sustain us or prevent our falling. Using imagery like that in Lehi’s dream, Paul reminded the Ephesians of their former lives built on air, which he described as when they followed “the lusts of [the] flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind” (Ephesians 2:3).

Through their faith and the grace of the Lord, however, Jesus Christ “created [them] . . . unto good works” (Ephesians 2:10). How did he do it? Paul explained that whereas before they were deemed to be “Gentiles” and “strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world,” through the “blood of Christ,” they “who sometimes were far off are made nigh” (Ephesians 2:12–13). Our Savior “[broke] down the middle wall of partition” that once separated them from God. Furthermore, by his sacrifice on the cross and through his everlasting covenant, Christ “reconcile[d them] unto God in one body, . . . having slain the enmity” that threatened to separate them from each other due to differences of opinion, attitudes, customs, race, orientation, and so much more (Ephesians 2:14–16). In a modern example, Elder Dale G. Renlund told of the centuries-long animosity that Finns have carried for Russians due to their history of enmity and war against each other. Yet “faithful Latter-day Saint Finns delayed their temple blessings to accommodate Russian Saints” and allow Russians to be the first members to perform temple ordinances in the newly dedicated temple in Helsinki.[9]

It may be instructive to recognize some of the “lusts of the flesh” that Paul identified as having separated these first-generation Christians from the household of God. We may find it easy to identify these offensive-to-the-Spirit attitudes and deeds in saints of an earlier era. It is much less comfortable to see how they relate to us today![10] Paul reminded saints of his day that before their covenant to follow Christ, some of them had been dishonest in their business dealings, sexually promiscuous in their relationships, and idolatrous in their worship of the world (see 1 Corinthians 6:9–11). For those today who sigh with relief that we would never be guilty of such grievous sins, Paul also warned those who had been motivated by greed or prejudice, who were holding on to grudges, or who were gossipers, slanderers, liars, freeloaders, boasters, or complainers (see Ephesians 4:19, 25–31). If this list isn’t squirm-inducing enough for you, keep reading Paul’s epistles—they contain a wealth of additional attitudes and behaviors that separate us from God.

“And such were some of you,” Paul concluded, “but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11). No matter what our sins or peccadillos may be, through repentance and faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ we can be made right in the eyes of God.

Consider three of the many New Testament examples of individuals whose former lives could appear to be incongruent with the household of God, but they instead chose to live by faith in Christ after hearing his word and doing it. Even though every example does not specifically call each one a “son” or “daughter” of God in the new covenant, their faith in the Savior and divine transformation is a witness that they became a fellow citizen in the household of God. I also chose these three examples because they illustrate some of the categories Paul observed in “such were some of you.” Collectively, these examples begin to expand our appreciation for those who are welcomed into the household and just how far they came through the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ.

Onesimus was a runaway slave from Colossae in modern-day Turkey who heard the gospel of Jesus Christ from the imprisoned Paul. Onesimus embraced the word of God and was ready to do whatever the Lord commanded. Apparently, his repentance included returning to Philemon, his master in Colossae, to face the consequences of his desertion and dishonesty. Paul wrote Philemon a letter in which he acknowledged the mighty change that Onesimus had undergone after hearing the word of God, including the manner that Onesimus ministered to Paul in his bonds (see Philemon 1:10–13). Paul beseeched Philemon to therefore “willingly” receive Onesimus back, now not as a slave but as a “brother beloved”—in essence, an equal member of the household of God (Philemon 1:14–17). Imagine how the testimony of Onesimus, with his life experiences and faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ, added to that group of believers.

In the Gospel of Luke, we are introduced to a woman of Galilee who had repented after being publicly known as a sinner. Hearing and obeying the word of God prepared her for a profoundly heartfelt, emotional, and grateful encounter with Jesus while he dined with a Pharisee named Simon. As Jesus and Simon reclined to eat, in a typical first-century Greco-Roman custom (and adopted by many in Palestine) with their feet visible and accessible behind them, this woman who had been a sinner but was a sinner no longer, bowed down and “began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with ointment” (Luke 7:36–38).

Simon the Pharisee, who prided himself on his superior righteousness, did not acknowledge the miracle of Christ’s transformative and redemptive power. He mused to himself as he watched this spectacle, “This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner” (Luke 7:39). Simon’s conclusion about this woman seems to have been “Once a sinner, always a sinner.” Jesus, on the other hand, knew exactly how and why this woman had changed. To Simon he said, “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little” (Luke 7:47). Then turning and speaking directly to her, Jesus said, “Thy sins are forgiven. . . . Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace” (Luke 7:48, 50). For those who pride themselves on their strict obedience to God’s word, allowance for someone who was publicly known as a “sinner” often proves difficult, if not impossible. The Savior’s forgiveness and blessing of belonging because of her faith and repentance indicates her qualification for entry into the household.

Of this story, Elder Ulisses Soares taught that “this account demonstrates once more that the Savior acted compassionately toward all who would come unto him—without distinction—and most especially toward those who most needed his help. The contrition and reverent love shown to Jesus by the woman were evidence of her sincere repentance and desire to receive a remission of her sins.”[11] Imagine the perspective of God’s grace that this woman could contribute to the household of God.

And what of the gentile woman from the area of Tyre and Sidon on the Mediterranean coast? She was of a different ethnicity and religion than the Jews. She would need to overcome prejudices she may have held against the Jews and trust that Jews in the household of God would openly welcome her. In a rare case when Jesus traveled beyond the provinces of Israel, this unnamed woman “heard of him” and with great reverence, fell at his feet, and pleaded with him to heal her daughter: “Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil” (Matthew 15:22). What follows can be difficult to fathom because Jesus didn’t respond with open kindness to her sincere faith. He ignored her and then explained that he was sent only to the house of Israel.[12] However, this remarkable woman would not be deterred. She tried again, showing that derogatory language could not keep her away. She knew that he was the only one who saves and redeems. After what we may consider a trial of faith for this rare believer within her entire nation, Jesus answered her with compassion, “O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt” (Matthew 15:28). Both the woman and her daughter were healed and blessed by the encounter. This exchange also sent a message about inclusion to the disciples with Jesus. We imagine this woman eventually able to worship with others of the household of faith and her unshakable testimony and unique background making a substantial contribution to the whole congregation.

These three early-day saints can represent each of us in our desires to be fitly framed together as a holy temple of God, regardless of age, sex, race, or amount of time spent in the household. Sister Sharon Eubank taught, “We may not yet be where we want to be, and we are not now where we will be. I believe the change we seek in ourselves and in the groups we belong to will come less by activism and more by actively trying every day to understand one another. Why? Because we are building Zion—a people ‘of one heart and of one mind’ (Moses 7:18).”[13] Our shared rituals, beliefs, covenants, and doctrines of the gospel work together as we strive to “all come in the unity of the faith, and [in] the knowledge of the Son of God” (Ephesians 4:13).

The Household of God Likened to the Body of Christ

In addition to seeing the household of God as a spiritual edifice built on the sure foundation, Paul envisioned those who hear the word of God and then obey it—those “called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:9)—as the body of Christ. Each of the members is symbolized by a different and needed part of the body. Writing to the Corinthian saints, he explained how, infused with a gift of the same Spirit, each body part is perfectly placed to benefit and contribute to the common good of all (see 1 Corinthians 12). It is in this context that Paul teaches us about responsibilities we have toward every member to ensure the household of God is continuously nourished, enlarged, and strengthened.

Specifically, Paul counseled the Saints to pay particular attention to and show specific appreciation for those members who may be overlooked, marginalized, or even excluded. Rather than saying “I have no need of you,” Paul wrote, “the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another” (1 Corinthians 12:21–25 NRSV).

Consider the manner that Jesus addressed Martha of Bethany after she complained to him of not caring about her when she was doing all the ministering and her sister was merely sitting and hearing Jesus teach. Martha was a doer; she is always portrayed as anxiously engaged in good causes. In the King James English translation, Martha is “serving.” The Greek word in this story has her doing the work of a diakonos, often translated as a “minister” or “servant” and sometimes as a “deacon.”[14] In other words, her actions suggest something more consequential than cooking and cleaning the house. Martha’s presence and contribution to the group are obvious. On the other hand, her sister Mary could have been easily overshadowed and overlooked as she sat quietly and internalized the Savior’s words. Jesus’s response? He acknowledged Martha’s contributions: “Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things.” She was going about doing good and was respected for it. Then Jesus clothed her sister, Mary, with honor so that neither Martha nor any of us would miss Mary’s contribution: “But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:38–42).

For those who feel invisible with less noticeable talents, especially around those members whose contributions are obviously important to the household, the Savior’s sensitivity in spotlighting Mary’s equally important gifts is stunning and appreciated. This story may also teach us not to expect praise for every effort we make to strengthen the household. The Lord sees all our sincere sacrifices and service to others, but, as Paul explained, the more “respectable” members (or perhaps mature in the Gospel) should not typically expect public praise and commendation.

To these Corinthian saints who were struggling with disunity, contention, and loss of the Spirit in their congregation, Paul instructed that when “one member [of the body of Christ] suffer[s], all the members suffer with [him or her]” (1 Corinthians 12:26). This apostolic observation suggests service within the household that is more than being gracious, kind, and merciful to those nearby. It implies that I am bound to repent and help to heal a harmed fellow citizen even when I did not personally inflict the wound. Paul believed that if any member of the household mistreats, speaks unkindly to, abuses, or causes pain to a fellow member (whether intentional or not), we all need to work to help to restore and heal those involved. With sincere “godly sorrow” (2 Corinthians 7:10), we mourn for the pain that has been inflicted on one of the parts of Christ’s body. To invite the Savior to heal the household, we must acknowledge we have a member who has been wounded and seek his healing balm. Paul seems to want all members in the household to assume a portion of the responsibility and collectively repent and seek forgiveness so that the Spirit can return and make us whole again.

In a parallel teaching, Paul encouraged the Galatian saints to “do good unto all [people], especially unto them who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10). This admonition again stresses the importance of looking out for each other who make up the body of Christ. He seems to be saying that doing good in the world, while necessary, does not exempt us from remembering our fellow citizens in the household of God—yes, even our very ward members—with a fullness of charity. Isn’t that one of the most powerful incentives for others wanting to join with us? When they see and feel genuine Christlike love and concern in our relationships with each other, they desire to know more about our beliefs.

In a letter from Liberty Jail, the Prophet Joseph described how God’s gift of love for those within the household helps us to develop greater love for those who are yet outside: “There is a ty[15] from God that should be exercised toward those of our faith who walk uprightly which is peculiar to itself but it is without prejudice but gives scope to the mind, which inables us to conduct ourselves with grater liberality to-wards all others that are not of our faith than what they exercise towards one another these principles approximate nearer to the mind of God because it is like God or Godlike.”[16]

Similarly, Sister Cheryl A. Esplin suggested ways we can incorporate daily service in a contentious world: “We give service when we don’t criticize, when we refuse to gossip, when we don’t judge, when we smile, when we say thank you and when we are patient and kind.”[17]

Again to the Roman saints, Paul drew on his metaphor of the household of God being akin to the body of Christ (see Romans 12:4). In one single chapter in the Epistle to the Romans, Paul listed several ways that we can give our “living bodies” as a sacrifice to God. I have identified nine points in chapter 12 that are particularly instructive for service within our wards and communities and as valid today as they were in the first-century church. I will illustrate each of Paul’s points with a New Testament example to further represent the rich diversity of experience, background, and talent among the early Saints as members of the body of Christ, each person making a valuable contribution to the overall household of God.

Romans 12:7—Be diligent in our ministering and teaching. Tabitha was known in Joppa as a woman “full of good works and almsdeeds which she did.” She had long cared for the widows in her area, sewing clothing for them to wear. She was indeed an exemplary ministering sister! Her sudden death was met by sincere mourning by the widows and other saints. By the power of God, Peter raised her again to life (see Acts 9:36–41). Tabitha is an example of sustained and meaningful ministering to those around her.

Romans 12:8—Show mercy with cheerfulness. The woman of Samaria would have been shunned and ostracized by the Jews because of her ethnicity, as well as by her own neighbors, because she had had five husbands and the man she was living with was not her husband. Jesus encountered her while she drew water from a community well. There he taught her of living water, and opened her heart to the Spirit so that she could see him for who he truly was—the long-awaited Messiah. Her reaction to this revelation is stunning, considering her supposed reputation in town. “The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Come see a man that told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? Then they went out of the city, and came unto him” (John 4:5–30). Rather than withholding the good news from the townspeople, possibly even those who had mistreated her, she cheerfully and mercifully led them directly to the Christ where they could learn firsthand from him and believe (see John 4:39–42).

Romans 12:11, 17—Be honest and not “slothful” in business dealings. Zacchaeus was a chief publican, an occupation known for fleecing their fellow Jews in collecting taxes for the Romans and profiting from hired publicans who worked for them. We are not told the story of his conversion, but when Jesus came through Jericho, Zacchaeus (who was “little in stature” and could not see Jesus because of the crowd) shimmied up a tree to see Jesus pass by. “And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at thy house.” Knowing publicans’ reputation for dishonesty, the townspeople gasped that Jesus would “be guest with a man that is a sinner.” Through Zacchaeus’s confession to Jesus, his previous acceptance of the word of God and transformation is verified. “Behold, Lord,” he said, “the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusations, I restore him fourfold.” Jesus then acknowledged Zacchaeus as a member of the household of God: “This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:1–10).

Romans 12:12—Rejoice in hope and be patient in tribulation. Peter and presumably John (the “other apostle”) continued boldly and publicly to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ in his name at the temple regardless of the threats issued by the Sanhedrin. When these leaders again took them into custody, demanding, “Did we not straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name?” Peter and John answered, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” They were beaten and again warned to cease their teaching in the name of Jesus Christ before being released. “And [Peter and John] departed from the presence of the council [Sanhedrin], rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.” The next verse underscores how seriously they took the Sanhedrin’s renewed ultimatum: “And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ” (Acts 5:17–42). Their fervent hope in Christ and patient suffering emboldened others to share the good word amid tribulation.

Romans 12:13—Give generously to the necessities of the Saints and extend hospitality. Lydia was a gentile who worshipped the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (see Acts 16:14). She lived in the Roman colony called Philippi (near the northwestern shore of the Aegean Sea in today’s nation of Greece). Because no synagogue existed in the city,[18] each Sabbath Lydia led a group of women in prayer by the nearby river. On one such Sabbath, Lydia and the women encountered Paul and Silas, missionaries for Jesus Christ. The Lord “opened” Lydia’s heart and she believed and was baptized, along with all those of her household. As “a seller of purple”,—probably purple dye, which was very expensive—Lydia was likely well-to-do. After meeting the missionaries, she immediately invited them to stay at her home as long as necessary and provided for their needs while they labored in Philippi (see Acts 16:12–15, 40). Lydia is a great example of generosity and hospitality in the household of God.

Romans 12:14—Pray for them that persecute you and don’t curse them. During that same visit to Philippi when Paul and Silas met and baptized Lydia and her household, they were imprisoned for exorcising a spirit of divination from a young soothsayer who made a lot of money for her master. The missionaries were stripped and beaten, and their feet were restrained in the stocks. In response to this cruel treatment, “at midnight, Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them” (Acts 16:16–25). Suddenly an earthquake shook the prison, freeing everyone inside. The jailer was awakened and, fearing the punishment that he was sure to receive, prepared to take his own life when Paul stopped him. The rest of the night Paul and Silas taught the jailer what he needed to do to be saved. The jailer believed and that “same hour of the night,” he washed the missionaries’ wounds and was then baptized along with his entire family. The morning saw them together at the jailer’s house, sharing a meal, rejoicing, and “believing in God with all his house” (see Acts 16:26–34). These early missionaries illustrate the transformative power that is possible when showing kindness and mercy to those who previously mistreated us.

Romans 12:15—“Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.” After Lazarus had been dead four days, Jesus returned to Bethany to find Mary and Martha distraught and brokenhearted. The sisters each independently said, “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.” When he saw Martha, Mary, and their neighbors weeping, “Jesus wept.” He who knows the end from the beginning sincerely mourned with those who mourned. Only after this moment of compassion did he offer a prayer of thanksgiving and called Lazarus to “come forth” (John 11:1–45). Even though not recorded by John, after Lazarus was restored to life Jesus must have then rejoiced with those who rejoiced.

Romans 12:16—Don’t be arrogant around those who may not know as much as you do; willingly and kindly associate with those of a lower station. Remember the kindness and honor Jesus bestowed on the woman who washed his feet with her tears. By contrast, Simon the Pharisee looked down on her and the Savior. He saw himself as superior to them in his purity (see Luke 7:39–46). Of Simon, Elder Soares said, “His attitude revealed that his way of life was nothing more than a strict and hollow observance of rules and outward manifestations of his convictions through self-aggrandizement and false holiness.”[19] Paul said it well, “Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits” (Romans 12:16). Good warning for Simon and for us today!

Romans 12:17, 21—“Recompense to no man evil for evil, . . . but overcome evil with good.” A Jewish man named Aquila and his wife Priscilla (presumably a Roman woman)[20] were expelled from Rome by the emperor Claudius because of their faith in Christ.[21] Following their travels as chronicled by Luke in Acts and in some of Paul’s epistles, we recognize them as the quintessential missionary couple, serving in Corinth, Ephesus, and wherever else the Lord may have called them. They typically provided the Saints access to their home for worship meetings and at least once were ready to “lay down their own necks” to save Paul’s life (Romans 16:3–4). I am also struck with admiration for Priscilla and Aquila when the Lord’s call sent them back to Rome to preach to those who may have earlier requested their exile. Rather than returning evil to Rome, they came laden with the greatest good—the gospel of Jesus Christ (see Acts 18:1–3, 18–28; Romans 16:3–5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; 2 Timothy 4:19).

Elder Quentin L. Cook taught that “unity and diversity are not opposites. We can achieve greater unity as we foster an atmosphere of inclusion and respect for diversity.”[22] In my limited experience, greater unity occurs in the presence of greater diversity. Diversity provides the potential to see a situation from a totally different angle, thereby revealing solutions and insights not possible among a mostly homogeneous group. When we function respectfully within the body of Christ, where each member is wanted, needed, and appreciated in heartfelt and convincing ways, contention dissipates and unity flourishes. As Paul explained, “But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love” (Ephesians 4:15–16 NRSV; see also 1 Corinthians 14).

Conclusion

These remarkably diverse first-century men and women—Mary the mother of Jesus, Jesus’s half brothers, the woman who touched Jesus’ cloak, the man with palsy, the slave Onesimus and his master Philemon, the woman who anointed Jesus’ feet, the Syro-Phoenician mother, Mary and Martha, Tabitha, the Samaritan woman, Zacchaeus, Peter and John, Lydia, Paul and Silas and their jailer, Priscilla and Aquila, and so many others—all had fellowship in the household of God. Considering their example, let us more readily embrace the “cloud of [diverse] witnesses” that surround us in our day (Hebrews 12:1). Remembering the diverse cultural, ethnic, religious, and political backgrounds these New Testament examples represent, we can also bear witness that each had his or her own personal spiritual experiences of being washed and sanctified by the blood of Christ.

Surely his household is larger, more diverse, and more unified than we may have imagined. In our day as in the first century, we can confess that Jesus Christ has broken down the “middle wall of partition” (Ephesians 2:14) that previously kept us apart in our differences. A blessed brotherhood and sisterhood can flourish and nourish each son and daughter of God. No member need feel like a stranger or a foreigner. Such is the miracle of the household of God. We are each invited to take our place on the sure foundation and do our part. What are we waiting for?

Notes

[1] See, for example, these general conference addresses: Dale G. Renlund, “The Peace of Christ Abolishes Enmity,” October 2021; Gary E. Stevenson, “Hearts Knit Together,” April 2021; Quentin L. Cook, “Hearts Knit in Righteousness and Unity,” October 2020; Sharon Eubank, “By Union of Feeling We Obtain Power with God,” October 2020; Jean B. Bingham, “United in Accomplishing God’s Work,” April 2020; Douglas D. Holmes, “Deep in Our Heart,” April 2020; Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Ministry of Reconciliation,” October 2018; Ronald A. Rasband, “Behold! A Royal Army,” April 2018; Reyna I. Aburto, “With One Accord,” April 2018; Quentin L. Cook, “Prepare to Meet God,” April 2018; Joni L. Koch, “Apart, but Still One,” October 2017; Jeffrey R. Holland, “Songs Sung and Unsung,” April 2017; Gérald Caussé, “Prepare the Way,” April 2017; Carl B. Cook, “Serve,” October 2016; Linda K. Burton, “I Was a Stranger,” April 2016; Cheryl A. Esplin, “He Asks Us to Be His Hands,” April 2016; Russell M. Nelson, “A Plea to My Sisters,” October 2015; D. Todd Christofferson, “Come to Zion,” October 2008; Russell M. Nelson, “The Canker of Contention,” April 1989.

[2] Some of the Jews at the time of Jesus assumed that being a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, was sufficient for salvation (see Luke 3:8, including Joseph Smith Translation; John 8:33, 37–40). However, the apostle Paul argued, “They are not all Israel, that are of Israel” (Romans 9:6).

[3] Compare to Abinadi’s answer to the priests’ questions concerning the “seed” of Christ in Mosiah 15. Abinadi explained, “All those who have hearkened unto [the prophets’] words, and believed that the Lord would redeem his people, and have looked forward to that day for a remission of their sins, I say unto you, that these are his seed, or they are the heirs of the kingdom of God” (Mosiah 15:11).

[4] See 1 Corinthians 1:23, where Paul observed that the crucifixion of Jesus Christ was “foolishness” to the Greeks/gentiles but a “stumbling block” (the Greek word is skandalon, or scandal in English) to the Jews.

[5] Luke describes the women as “[standing] afar off beholding these things [the crucifixion]” (Luke 23:49).

[6] See John 5:7; Mark 3:21 “those of his own” in Greek is understood as his kin, especially his brothers.

[7] Alfred Kyungu, “To Be a Follower of Christ,”, October 2021 general conference.

[8] Peter used similar imagery in describing the faithful as “lively stones” that make up “a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5).

[9] Dale G. Renlund, “The Peace of Christ Abolishes Enmity,” October 2021 general conference.

[10] As a parallel example, consider Moroni’s warnings about problematic attitudes and practices throughout Mormon 8 that those who call themselves Christians may be tempted to conclude must refer to unbelievers or nonpracticing Christians. And then we see the first verse of Mormon 9 that Moroni clarifies is for a different audience than chapter 8: “And now, I speak also concerning those who do not believe in Christ” (Mormon 9:1). This elucidation indicates that chapter 8 was for those who profess to believe in Christ.

[11] Ulisses Soares, “The Savior’s Abiding Compassion,” October 2021 general conference.

[12] See the resurrected Christ’s further explanation in 3 Nephi 15:21–24.

[13] Sharon Eubank, “By Union of Feeling We Obtain Power with God,” October 2020 general conference.

[14] First Timothy 3:8–13 translates the Greek word as “deacon,” but it is the same word in verb form for what Martha is doing. See also 1 Thessalonians 3:2, where “Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ” uses the same word to describe Phebe in Romans 16:1: “Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea.” The word translated “minister,” “servant,” and “deacon” is the same in Greek.

[15] Meaning uncertain from the original letter. The words “which belong to” were crossed out at this point in the sentence. Perhaps “There is a tie/type/attribute which belongs to God . . .”?

[16] Part of a lengthy letter to Edward Partridge and the Church, ca. March 1839 offering guidance during the Saints’ forced removal from Missouri. Mark Ashurst-McGee, David W. Grua, Elizabeth Kuehn, Alexander L. Baugh, and Brenden W. Rensink, eds., Documents, Volume 6: February 1838–August 1839, vol. 6 of the Documents series of The Joseph Smith Papers, ed. Ronald K. Esplin, Matthew J. Grow, and Matthew C. Godfrey (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2017), 399, with full text and background discussion on pages 388–401.

[17] Cheryl A. Esplin, “He Asks Us to Be His Hands,” April 2016 general conference.

[18] A Jewish synagogue required a quorum, or at least ten, adult men. A Roman colony was less likely to support a Jewish population. Hence, this group of women could be found praying and worshiping the God of Abraham in Philippi on their own.

[19] Soares, “Savior’s Abiding Compassion.”

[20] Priscilla’s name (Prisca in the formal form) and some hints about her in the New Testament text indicate that she was freeborn, educated, and wealthy. Her name is Latin and found in more than two hundred inscriptions dating to first-century Rome, the great majority of whom were freeborn and likely citizens of Rome. The name also has ties in ancient Rome with local aristocracy and Christianity. By contrast, Aquila’s family origins were Jewish, from Pontus (Acts 18:2). His name, however, is Latin, suggesting he relocated to Rome as a freeborn tradesman or was taken there as a slave, given a Roman name, and later gained his freedom and converted to Christianity. See Camille Fronk Olson, Women of the New Testament (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2014), 297–99; Peter Lampe, From Paul to Valentinus: Christians at Rome in the First Two Centuries (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2003), 181, 183; Tal Ilan, Lexicon of Jewish Names in Late Antiquity, 4 vols. (Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2008), 3:607; Ruth Hoppin, Priscilla’s Letter: Finding the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews (Fort Bragg, CA: Lost Coast, 2009), 89–104; Robert Jewett, with Riy David Kotanshy, Romans: A Commentary, ed. Eldon Jay Epp (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2007), 954–57.

[21] Suetonius, a second-century imperial biographer, wrote that the emperor Claudius expelled Jews from Rome due to prolonged uprisings or riots that were instigated among the Jews by “Chrestus” (Claud 25.4). Orosius dated this exile of the Jews from Rome to the ninth year of Claudius’s reign, or AD 49 (Pag 7.6), which coincides with Luke’s account of Priscilla and Aquila in Corinth at the same time that Gallio was the Roman proconsul there, sometime around AD 50–52 (see Acts 18:12–17). Evidence indicates that outsiders to Christianity were prone to mispronounce or misspell the Greek forms of Christ and Christians by replacing the i with an e, thereby referring to the leader of the movement as “Chrestus” rather than “Christus” and his followers as “Chrestians.” Lincoln H. Blumell, Lettered Christians (Boston: Brill, 2012): 37–38; Peter Lampe, From Paul to Valentinus: Christians at Rome in the First Two Centuries (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2003): 12–13; Harry J. Leon, Jews of Ancient Rome (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1960): 23–27.

[22] Cook, “Hearts Knit in Righteousness and Unity.”