Friends, Family, and Family Friends

In regards to the title, aren't they all the same?

I had the chance to spend some time with one of my favorite families in the world yesterday, crashing one of their gatherings and gorging on their pizza and laughing freely at their genuine antics. It's hard to describe what family life is like, and though many have tried and come short, nothing beats just spending time with a fun-loving group like these guys.

Given the eternal nature of the family, especially considering the fact that we were all brothers and sisters and children of God in the pre-mortal realm and that our end goal is to reach God's kingdom as one large unit yet again, my time with these wonderful people reminded me of some advice I heard a couple times on my mission.

If we truly are all God's children (which we are), then we all are set to inherit the same kingdom of glory. As so happens with imperfect people, we children of God sometimes don't see things eye to eye. However, just because we see the world in a different light from someone else, it doesn't mean one of us is wrong! As Dieter F. Uchtdorf, current second counselor in the First Presidency, said in this talk: 

"Sometimes we confuse differences in personality with sin. We can even make the mistake of thinking that because someone is different from us, it must mean they are not pleasing to God. This line of thinking leads some to believe that the Church wants to create every member from a single mold—that each one should look, feel, think, and behave like every other. This would contradict the genius of God, who created every man different from his brother, every son different from his father. Even identical twins are not identical in their personalities and spiritual identities."

I wasn't originally planning on keeping the whole quote, but it's SO GOOD. Anyway, my long-winded point is, even if we don't see eye to eye, we should make all the extra effort to get along with each other, because we're all going to be ending up in the same house at the end of things!

As it is, when considering my biological family, the families into which I've been informally adopted (like the one above!), and my worldwide spirit family, I'm excited to take the next steps right alongside all of you.