Contention

3 Nephi 11:28-30

28 And according as I have commanded you thus shall ye baptize. And there shall be no disputations among you, as there have hitherto been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the points of my doctrine, as there have hitherto been.

29 For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.

30 Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away.

President Thomas S Monson, As We Close This Conference, General Conference April 2012
“If there are disagreements or contentions among you, I urge you to settle them now.“

4 Nephi 1:15
 15 And it came to pass that there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people.


Dean C. Jessee, comp-ed., The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1984), 90.
Joseph Smith instructed some brethren that were debating a certain doctrine. He talked of them having "too much zeal for mastery" and that they should not focus on dominating each other, but "they should handle sacred things very sacredly, and with due deference to the opinions of others, and with an eye single to the glory of God."

President Henry B. Eyring, "Our Hearts Knit as One", October 2008 General Conference
"A second principle to guide our progress to become one is to be humble. Pride is the great enemy of unity. You have seen and felt its terrible effects. Just days ago I watched as two people—good people—began with a mild disagreement. It started as a discussion of what was true but became a contest about who was right. Voices become gradually louder. Faces became a little more flushed. Instead of talking about the issue, people began talking about themselves, giving evidence why their view, given their great ability and background, was more likely to be right."

Titus 3:9
9 But avoid ^afoolish questions, and genealogies, and ^bcontentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.

How often do we in our classes spin on things that don't matter or insert our own ideas as doctrine.

Mosiah 2:32
32 But, O my people, beware lest there shall arise ^acontentions among you, and ye ^blist to ^cobey the evil spirit, which was spoken of by my father Mosiah.

Mosiah 18:21
21 And he commanded them that there should be no ^acontention one with another, but that they should look forward with ^bone eye, having one faith and one baptism, having their hearts ^cknit together in unity and in love one towards another.

3 Nephi 18:34
34 And I give you these commandments because of the disputations which have been among you. And blessed are ye if ye have ^ano disputations among you.

Do we think when reading this scripture that it would be nice and we would be blessed if we did not have disputations among us, but it is too bad that people dispute with us? Or rather do we think of ways that we can dispute less in our lives?

2 Timothy 24-25

24 And the servant of the Lord must not ^astrive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to ^bteach, patient,

25 In ^ameekness ^binstructing those that oppose themselves; if God ^cperadventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;

There will be those that want to Bible bash or ask inflammatory questions, but we are to respond with peace, kindness, patience, and meekness.

James 1:19-20

19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to ^aspeak, ^bslow to ^cwrath:

20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

Our society has a culture of quick tongues, but James 1:19-20 tells us we should be different.

Doctrine and Covenants 31:9
9 Be ^apatient in ^bafflictions, ^crevile not against those that revile. Govern your ^dhouse in meekness, and be ^esteadfast.

Doctrine and Covenants 38:41
41 And let your ^apreaching be the ^bwarning voice, every man to his neighbor, in mildness and in ^cmeekness.

Doctrine and Covenants 60:14
14 And after thou hast come up unto the land of Zion, and hast proclaimed my word, thou shalt speedily return, proclaiming my word among the congregations of the wicked, not in ^ahaste, neither in ^bwrath nor with ^cstrife.