Multi-Faith Beliefs

In November of 2014, religious leaders from 14 different faiths gathered at the Vatican to share their beliefs in the value of family and in their concern for the trends of society's view of families. Before then, I was doubtful that so many different religions could come to an agreement on any topic. Yet, as Elder L. Tom Perry reported in his talk, Why Marriage and Family Matter - Everywhere in the World:

As I listened to the widest imaginable variety of worldwide religious leaders, I heard them agree completely with each other and express support for one another’s beliefs on the sanctity of the institution of marriage and of the importance of families as the basic unit of society. I felt a powerful sense of commonality and unity with them.

There are some truths that are so basic and essential to God's plan that everyone who has any desire to follow God has been inspired with a knowledge of and belief in them. Apparently, the sanctity and importance of the family is one of those values that transcends "political, economic, [and] religious differences." In General Conference, Elder Perry quoted Pope Francis, and at the colloquium, a Muslim scholar quoted The Family: A Proclamation to the World. Despite any differences between our various faiths, all 14 were "united on marriage and family, [and] on the values and loyalty and commitment which are naturally associated with family units."

I wonder what other principles unite us. Surely, all religions have a belief in the principle of faith, of believing in things we can't prove are true. Almost all religions profess hope in redemption and the promise of a celestial afterlife for those who live according to God's will. And most, if not all people, religious or not, believe in pursuing the common good, which is the hallmark of charity. Though the world likes to isolate us by placing us in differing groups and religions, I think that we have more in common with each other than we generally admit. We all have the Light of Christ in us, and the Spirit of God confirms the same truths to everyone else's hearts as He confirms to ours, so it's not too surprising that many of our core beliefs are the same. While we certainly have many differences, I believe that we have many similarities, too.

One person who would like to see us focus on our differences is the common enemy of us all. I think that he would rather see us arguing over our differences than working together for the common good. Thankfully, religious leaders of various faiths regularly defy him. We work together in our humanitarian efforts and disaster relief. We support each other's rights and beliefs, even when we disagree. And in our day-to-day, person-to-person lives, any religious differences we may have rarely even come up and seldom pose any hindering influence on our friendships and cooperation. Though Satan would love to tear us apart, and sometimes succeeds, we more frequently band together around our many common principles and beliefs. I'm thankful for mankind's ability to work together, despite our differences, and to focus on the common threads that unite us all. In a literal and figurative way, we are one great big family. And that's something we can all believe in.