 Gordon's mother told him if he would finish his chore as she would make him a pie, his favorite kind just for him So Gordon went to work on getting those chores done and his mother rolled out the pie His older sister Kathy came into the house with a friend She saw the pie and she asked if she and her friend could have a slice. No Gordon said it's my pie Mom baked it for me and I had to earn it. Kathy snapped at her little brother He was so self-centered and ungenerous. How could he keep this all to himself? Hours later when Kathy opened the car door to take her friend home There on the seat were two napkins folded nicely two forks set on top and two wide pieces of pie on plates Kathy told the story at Gordon's funeral to show that he was willing to change and show kindness to those who didn't always deserve it In 1842 the Saints were working hard to build the Navu temple After the founding of the Relief Society in March the Prophet Joseph often came to their meetings to prepare them for the unifying Covenants that they would soon be making in the temple on June 9th. The Prophet said he was going to preach mercy Supposing that Jesus Christ and the angels should object to us on frivolous things. What would become of us? We must be merciful and overlook small things President Smith continued it grieves me that there is no fuller fellowship if one member suffer all feel it by Union of feeling we obtain power with God That small sentence struck me like lightning by Union of feeling we obtain power with God This world isn't what I want it to be There are many things that I want to influence and make better and frankly There's a lot of opposition to what I hope for and sometimes I feel powerless Lately I've been asking myself searching questions. How can I understand people around me better? How will I create that union of feeling when everybody's so different? What power from God might I access if I'm just a little bit more unified with others? From my soul searching I have three suggestions and maybe they'll help you too the first one is have mercy Jacob 2 17 reads think of your brothers and sisters like unto yourselves and be familiar with all and free with your substance That they may be rich like unto you Let's replace the word substance with mercy be free with your mercy that they may be rich like unto you We often think of substance in terms of food or money, but perhaps what we all need more of in our ministering is mercy My own Relief Society president recently said the thing I promise you is that I will keep your name safe I will see you for who you are at your best. I will never say anything about you that is unkind That's not going to lift you. I ask you to do the same for me because I'm terrified frankly of letting you down Joseph Smith told the sisters on that June day in 1842 When persons manifest the least kindness and love to me Oh what power it has over my mind the nearer we get to our Heavenly Father The more we are disposed to look with compassion on perishing souls We feel that we want to take them upon our shoulders and cast their sins behind our back My talk is intended for all this society if you would have God have mercy on you Have mercy on one another Now this was counsel specifically to the Relief Society So let's not judge each other. Let's not let our words bite Let's keep each other's name safe and give the gift of mercy the second thing Make your boat swing in 1936 an obscure rowing team from the University of Washington traveled to Germany to participate in the Olympic Games It was the depths of the Great Depression and these were working-class boys whose small mining and lumber towns Donated little bits of money so they could travel to Berlin Every aspect of the competition seemed stacked against them, but something happened in the race in the rowing world They call it swing Listen to this description that's based on the book the boys in the boat There's a thing that sometimes happens that is hard to achieve and hard to define It's called swing it happens only when all are rowing in such perfect unison that not a single action is out of sync Rowers must reign in their fierce independence and at the same time hold true to their individual capabilities Races are not won by clones Good crews are good blends Someone to lead the charge Someone to hold something in reserve someone to fight the fight someone to make peace No rower is more valuable than another all our assets to the boat But if they are to row well together Each must adjust to the needs and capabilities of the others the shorter armed person Reaching a little farther the longer armed person pulling in just a bit Differences can be turned to advantage instead of disadvantage Only then will it feel as if the boat is moving on its own Only then does pain entirely give way to exultation Good swing feels like poetry Against towering obstacles this team found perfect swing and won The Olympic gold was exhilarating But the unity that each rower experienced that day was a holy moment that stayed with them their whole lives The third thing clear away the bad as fast as the good can grow in the beautiful allegory in Jacob 5 The Lord of the vineyard planted a good tree in good ground But it became corrupted over time and brought forth wild fruit the Lord of the vineyard says eight times It grieves me to lose this tree The servant says to the Lord of the vineyard spare the tree a little longer and the Lord said yay I will spare it a little longer and then comes instruction that can be applied to all of us Trying to dig about and find good fruit in our own little vineyards Ye shall clear away the bad according as the good shall grow Unity doesn't magically happen. It takes work. It's messy Sometimes it's uncomfortable and it happens gradually when we clear away the bad as fast as the good can grow We're never alone in our efforts to create unity Jacob 5 continues the servants did go and labor with their mites and the Lord of the vineyard labored also with them Each of us is going to have deeply wounding experiences Things that should never happen Each of us will also at various times allow pride and loftiness to corrupt the fruit we bear Jesus Christ is our savior in all things His power reaches to the very bottom and is reliably there for us when we call on him We all beg for mercy for our sins and failures He freely gives it He asks us if we can give that same mercy and understanding to each other Jesus put it bluntly be one And if you are not one you are not mine But if we are one If we can spare a piece of our pie or fit our individual talent so that the boat can swing in perfect unison Then we are his and he will help clear away the bad as fast as the good does grow 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? We're building Zion a people of one heart and one mind As covenant women we have broad influence That influence is applied in everyday moments when we're studying with a friend or putting little kids to bed Or talking to a seatmate on the bus or preparing a presentation with a colleague We have power to remove prejudice and build unity Relief society and young women aren't just classes They can also be unforgettable experiences where very different women all get in the same boat and row until we find our swing I offer this invitation Be part of a collective force that changes the world for good Our covenantal assignment is to minister to lift up the hands that hang down To put struggling people on our backs or in our arms and carry them It isn't complicated to know what to do, but it often goes against our selfish interests and we have to try The women of this church have unlimited potential to change society I have full spiritual confidence that as we seek union of feeling We will call down the power of god to make our efforts whole When the church commemorated the 1978 revelation on priesthood president russell m. Nelson extended a powerful prophetic blessing It is my prayer he said And blessing that I leave upon all who are listening that we may overcome any burdens of prejudice And walk uprightly with god and with one another in perfect peace and harmony May we draw on this prophetic blessing and use our individual and collective efforts to increase unity in the world I leave my testimony in the words of the lord jesus christ's humble timeless prayer That they all may be one As thou father art in me and I in thee that they also may be one in us In the name of jesus christ amen