Variety

Does following Christ make us all the same?  Does walking the same path to reach the same destination make each traveler the exact same?  I would have to say no!

Many times I look around and find myself in a place overflowing with good.  A place where the majority of individuals are striving for the same things.  I find so many similarities in everyone I tend to group them all together as a whole.  Yet we learn from the scriptures that we are each individually different.

There is a scripture that was shared in this past General Conference that I love.  It is found in 2 Nephi 26:33 and says, “...and he [Christ] doeth nothing save it be plain unto the children of men; and he inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile.”

To me this scripture is a reminder that we are ALL not only invited to come unto Him, but that we are all different.  It is a simple invitation yet outlines so much more.  We can see that there is variety within all of God's children and that is good.  Christ doesn’t want us to change our differences and become a uniform people as to our situations/backgrounds.  

Elder Holland gives some great insight on this, “...it is by divine design that not all the voices in God’s choir are the same. It takes variety—sopranos and altos, baritones and basses—to make rich music.”  We are to work toward one purpose and goal as children of our Father in Heaven but to also maintain the “variety” that Elder Holland mentions.  

That begs the question, What makes ME different?  What can I bring to the choir?  How can my past or present situation bring variety to God's Kingdom?  I think it is something so important especially in our situation, studying at BYU, to bring our OWN voice to the choir.  We shouldn’t try and mold ourselves to what the world or others want us to sing like, but use our differences to uplift others.