Separate Individuals United as One

The first Article of the LDS Faith is that "We believe in God, the Eternal Father, in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost." This is somewhat different than what other Christians may believe, and it have even caused a few Christians to wonder whether we Mormons are Christians at all, but my belief in, faith in, and worship of Jesus Christ are not lessened by my belief that He is not the Father to whom He prayed those many times in the New Testament. Nor was He the source of the voice that spoke from heaven when He was baptized. Nor was He literally standing beside Himself when Stephen had a vision of Him and His Father as he was being stoned. The distinction between God and Jesus in the New Testament is, in my opinion, very clear.

To quote Elder Robert D. Hales:

Can we see a pattern in these scriptures that testifies of the Father and the Son as distinct individuals and beings? How, then, are They one? Not because They are the same person but because They are unified in purpose, equally dedicated to “bring[ing] to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”

The references Jesus makes to being "one" with the Father are confusing to some people. Taking their oneness as being literal, a person would have to find some way to explain how God and Jesus are the same person despite talking to each other and about each other and being both seen separately in Stephen's vision. This may be what gave birth to the "mystery of the trinity," in which God the Father, Christ the Savior, and the Holy Ghost, are seen as simultaneously being the same being and three separate beings, or perhaps three distinct manifestations of the same being, which refer(s) to itself/each other in perplexing ways.

However, when we consider that their oneness is figurative, signifying a oneness in purpose, their identity appears more clear. Now, I'm not saying that the simplest explanation is always the truest one, but I would say that the truest explanation is likely to be the one that doesn't contradict what's written in the scriptures. If they were the same being, they would hardly have had a need to talk to each other, especially when alone, and when they talked about each other, they could have done it in the first person, saying "I" and "me" instead of "my Father" and "my Son." However, with them being separate beings, it makes sense for them to talk to and about each other in that way. Their oneness is that they have the same purpose, the same goal, and the same plan. That way, they can be separate beings, but one God, just as the Patriots can be separate players, but one team, or just as various cogs and gears can be separate parts of one machine.

God and Jesus work together, and I'm pretty sure they are together, in heaven, most of the time, but they're not the same person. They are individuals who work together to achieve the same aims. As their followers, I hope that we, as Christians of various faiths, can follow their example. We may have distinct and separate beliefs about the Godhead, just as the members of the Godhead have distinct and separate attributes, but we can work together, just as They do. By acknowledging our similar purposes, we can look past our differences and develop the same kind of oneness that They have, remaining various sects of Christianity, but becoming one unified force for good in the world. We, as different Christian religions, do disagree on some topics, but we all agree on several. We all believe in encouraging each other and others to be good. We all agree on the basic tenants of morality, including, at the very least, keeping the Ten Commandments. If we look more at our similarities and try to work together rather than focussing on our differences and trying to tear each other down, I think we'd accomplish much more good together than any of us could have on our own. If God and Jesus Christ are one, as we all believe They are, I think that we, as Christians, should try to be one, too.