The oneness of the gospel has always been a fascination to me, but never so much as lately when I discovered an error in my early learning of elementary math skills. I’m not sure when I first learned that 1+1=2. I think it might have been my first grade teacher, Ms. Myrtle that taught me the simple concept. It’s as easy as one apple plus one other apples adds up to two apples. But what if you are going to make an apple pie? It may require two apples, but when put together it equals one pie. This posed a problem to me, and got me thinking. Was Ms. Myrtle right or not? Could 1+1 ever equal 1? Mathematically it is not possible for the equation to ever equal one. Or could it?

The prophet Isaiah was told by the Lord that His ways are not our ways. (Isaiah 55:8) We are also taught in the Doctrine and Covenants that the "natural man" cannot always see the same design as God. (D&C 58:3) This leads me to believe that maybe God’s idea of 1+1 is not the same as our natural way of looking at it.

Three verses really draw a new sum to the equation 1+1=2.

Consider the following: Doctrine and Covenants section 38 verse 27, given as a parable, the Lord tells us to "be one," and if we are not one He says, "ye are not mine." Jesus Christ also emphasized this when he prayed for the apostles and the saints. He prayed that "they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they may be one in us...that they may be one, even as we are one." (John 17:21, 22)

The third is found in 3 Nephi 19:23. While Christ was visiting and ministering among the ancient inhabitants of the Americas, He prayed a similar prayer. This time saying to His father, "I pray unto thee for them (the Nephites), and also for those who shall believe on their words (us), that they may believe in me, that I may be in them as thou, Father, art in me, that we may be one." The "we" is a key word here. We as saints and believers in Him are included as part of the "we" with Christ and his father.

I am beginning to think that my first grade teacher had it all wrong. Her intentions were good, and for years I believed her. But now I am starting to see things a bit differently, and I don’t think that 1+1=2, it still equals one. I believe that is what the Lord would want us to believe. One is more than two.