Unity is Power

"Unity is power; and when I reflect on the importance of it to the stability of all governments, I am astounded at the silly moves of persons and parties to foment discord in order to ride into power."

This was written a long time ago. But its message could never be more urgent or applicable to our country's present circumstances. How is this? Let's break this quote down.

What is unity? Unity is power. Unity does not require that all of us be clones. Unity is simply two or more individuals working towards a common goal. It means that there are no artificial barriers between ourselves and someone else. There is nothing mankind cannot do through the combined action of free individuals. When a people are unified, they are powerful. Governments are most stable when the people it governs are unified; and government and politics is all about power.

"Silly moves of persons and parties"

People do the darn-est things. It is a true test of character to see how far we will go in order to obtain power or popularity. It usually starts with a desire for people to like us. This causes us to do anything to get their attention or approval. In the process we forget those who don't have our attention but need it, and we despise those who do not approve of us. We find ourselves doing things we normally wouldn't do. Years later, we might look back at our actions and see how misguided and "silly" our actions were. How childish we can be!

"Foment discord"

Words can be divisive. If we're not careful, we can alienate those we love, hurt a good friend, or prevent a potentially wholesome relationship from developing. Our actions can also be divisive. This can happen intentionally or not. The greatest tragedy is when discord is intentional. We put an impassable wall between us and them. We deny any similarities or affiliation with them. Our need to look good requires that they look bad.

"In order to ride into power"

Pay attention to the imagery here. Individuals do not "rise to power" as is often said. They ride into it. How does one "ride" into power? They must be carried by someone else. Individuals in positions of power get there only with the help of others who carry them to that position. This denotes some type of conspiracy or organization. It can be friends, family, or fellow conspirators seeking power as well. As the quote says, this can be an individual or a party. Political parties are most likely the ones to be guilty of such a scheme. It is the nature of a political party to foment discord in order to ride into power.

Now the key here is that people foment discord in order to ride into power. That is their purpose - to get power. Most people are not sadistic or violent. Most people enjoy the relationships they have and don't actively try to push others away or make enemies. But when tempted by the allure of power and popularity, they will betray any friend, hurt any innocent person, or tell any lie.

If someone was genuinely interested in obtaining power or influence, they would seek it through the building up of unity; because unity is power. Don't be fooled by those who would tell you that power is only obtained through enmity. This is self-defeating. Real power and influence is obtained by bringing people together toward a common goal.

Our politicians and political parties have focused more on obtaining or preserving their power than on achieving our common goals. This will only lead to instability and more discord.

"Unity is power; and when I reflect on the importance of it to the stability of all governments, I am astounded at the silly moves of persons and parties to foment discord in order to ride into power."

      - Joseph Smith, Jr. (History of the Church, 6:198)