simple buterfleoge cards

 

	SOFT SEA FOAM 8-1/2" X 11" CARDSTOCK ITEM: 146988					$11.50
	GRAPEFRUIT GROVE 8-1/2" X 11" CARDSTOCK					$11.50
	OLD OLIVE 8-1/2" X 11" CARDSTOCK ITEM: 100702			$11.50
	CLEAR WINK OF STELLA GLITTER BRUSH ITEM: 141897			$11.00
	STAMPIN' TRIMMER ITEM: 126889			$41.00
	BASIC BLACK 8-1/2" X 11" CARDSTOCK ITEM: 121045			$11.50
	BALMY BLUE 8-1/2" X 11" CARDSTOCK ITEM: 146982			$11.50
sale-a-bration item
	BOTANICAL BUTTERFLY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER PROMOTION: SALE-A-BRATION PROMOTION ITEM: 149622

With One Accord
By Reyna I. Aburto

In order to reach our sublime destiny, we need each other, and we need to be unified.

One of the most remarkable creatures on earth is the monarch butterfly. On a trip to Mexico to spend Christmas with my husband’s family, we visited a butterfly sanctuary, where millions of monarch butterflies spend the winter. It was fascinating to see such an impressive sight and for us to reflect on the example of unity and obedience to divine laws that God’s creations demonstrate.

Monarch butterflies are master navigators. They use the sun’s position to find the direction they need to go. Every spring, they travel thousands of miles from Mexico to Canada, and every fall, they return to the same sacred fir forests in Mexico.They do this year after year, one tiny wing flap at a time. During their journey, they cluster together at night on trees to protect themselves from the cold and from predators.

A group of butterflies is called a kaleidoscope.4 Isn’t that a beautiful image? Each butterfly in a kaleidoscope is unique and different, yet these seemingly fragile creatures have been designed by a loving Creator with the ability to survive, travel, multiply, and disseminate life as they go from one flower to the next, spreading pollen. And although each butterfly is different, they work together to make the world a more beautiful and fruitful place.

Like the monarch butterflies, we are on a journey back to our heavenly home, where we will reunite with our Heavenly Parents.5 Like the butterflies, we have been given divine attributes that allow us to navigate through life, in order to “[fill] the measure of [our] creation.”6 Like them, if we knit our hearts together,7 the Lord will protect us “as a hen [gathers] her chickens under her wings”8 and will make us into a beautiful kaleidoscope.

Girls and boys, young women and young men, sisters and brothers, we are on this journey together. In order to reach our sublime destiny, we need each other, and we need to be unified. The Lord has commanded us, “Be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine.”9

Jesus Christ is the ultimate example of unity with His Father. They are one in purpose, in love, and in works, with “the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father.”10

How can we follow the Lord’s perfect example of unity with His Father and be more unified with Them and with each other?

An inspiring pattern is found in Acts 1:14. We read, “[The men] all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women.”11

I think it is significant that the phrase “with one accord” appears several times in the book of Acts, where we read about what Jesus Christ’s followers did immediately after He ascended to heaven as a resurrected being, as well as the blessings they received because of their efforts. It is also significant that we find a similar pattern among the faithful of the American continent at the time the Lord visited and ministered to them. “With one accord” means in agreement, in unity, and all together.

Some of the things that the faithful Saints did in unity in both places were that they testified of Jesus Christ, studied the word of God, and ministered to each other with love.12

The Lord’s followers were one in purpose, in love, and in works. They knew who they were, they knew what they had to do, and they did it with love for God and for each other. They were part of a magnificent kaleidoscope moving forward with one accord.

Some of the blessings they received were that they were filled with the Holy Ghost, miracles took place among them, the Church grew, there was no contention among the people, and the Lord blessed them in all things.13

We can suppose that the reason why they were so united is because they knew the Lord personally. They had been close to Him, and they had been witnesses of His divine mission, of the miracles that He performed, and of His Resurrection. They saw and touched the marks in His hands and feet. They knew with certainty that He was the promised Messiah, the Redeemer of the world. They knew that “He is the source of all healing, peace, and eternal progress.”14

Even though we may not have seen our Savior with our physical eyes, we can know that He lives. As we draw closer to Him, as we seek to receive a personal witness through the Holy Ghost of His divine mission, we will have a better understanding of our purpose; the love of God will dwell in our hearts;15 we will have the determination to be one in the kaleidoscopes of our families, wards, and communities; and we will minister to each other “in newer, better ways.”