Of One Heart
The word homothumadon is the word which is most often translated as “one accord” in the New Testament. Of the 12 times it is used, 10 of those instances are found in the book of Acts.
It means: With one mind, with one accord, with one passion.
It is used to describe a group of people acting with a unified purpose or in complete harmony. It conveys the idea of being of one mind or spirit, often in the context of prayer, worship, or decision making. This unity is not merely external agreement, but a deep, internal harmony of purpose and intent.
If we break the word homothumadon apart, we find it comes from homo-”same” and thymos-”passion”. It means with the same passion, in one accord or in other words having the same desire. It is used to describe people who share ‘like precious faith”, creating a God-produced unity between them. It is interesting that this unity is produced by God.
In the Covenant of Christ we are told of the 12 disciples, who Jesus had just called as ministers to the people, kneeling in a circle and praying (they were almost certainly in a circle because Jesus stood in the middle of them and ministered to them).
We are told that “the things they were to pray for were inspired; and they were filled with hope.” The Book of Mormon uses the word ‘desire’.
So here we have an example of a “prayer circle” if you will, where the things that are being prayed for are given to those praying, by the Holy Spirit, and because the words that they are to pray are coming from God, they are filled with hope and desire. And they were filled with hope and desire, because we are told in the scriptures that:
“If ye are purified and cleansed from all sin, ye shall ask whatsoever ye will in the name of Jesus Christ and it shall be done. But know this, it shall be given you what you shall ask.” D&C 30:29-30
This means that if we are purified and we ask anything in the name of Jesus Christ and that “thing” is given to us by the spirit to ask it…it shall be done. So whatever they were praying for, that the Spirit was guiding them to ask, it was filling them with hope and desire. If we continue reading about that experience I think we are soon told what it was that they were praying for with such great hope and desire.
Could this be a key insight to how two or more people achieve “God-produced” unity, the kind of unity that opens the heavens?
Those who are familiar with prayer circles know that before any praying begins, those in the circle must have only the best feelings towards each other. That is an interesting requirement.
The phrase “one accord” is a musical term. We all know what it is like to listen to a musical performance and then someone hits a wrong note. The discordant sound sticks out like a sore thumb!
When this idea of being in one accord is used in the book of Acts, it is almost always in relation to the early church praying together. In these prayers that achieved ‘one accord’, there were not any “wrong notes”, ie. no ugly attitudes, no gossiping, no accusing, no pointing fingers, no victim mentality, no secrets behind closed doors.
If people are critical of each other, they CANNOT pray together. Either you’ll stop criticizing or you’ll stop praying, because you can’t do both at the same time.
Homothumadon is a word that is intended to express the unity in calling upon the Lord AND for the unity required of all disciples. They must try to have a common mind in Christ “so that with one heart and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”-Romans 15:6
This unity conveys a “brotherly harmony” and “motherly tenderness” between members of a group, between spouses, or between brothers.
So how do we get from here to there?
Maybe it’s time we shift the order and try something new, as Denver suggests. We’ve been operating under knowledge since the beginning. We lost more than we understand when we were cut off from The Tree of Life. We have been cut off from Wisdom and She is rarely welcome in this fallen place.
When we were cut off, we fell from a Terrestrial state into a Telestial state. This seems to indicate that to have access to Wisdom we must rise up into a Terrestrial state of being. Any one person can do this individually of course, but what about a group? That is a much more difficult task to be sure. And yet, How oft would She have gathered us as a hen gathers her chicks?
How often would God have established Zion on the earth, but there could rarely be found a group that wanted it above all else?
Isaiah in particular places Zion as a feminine enterprise. Giving birth is the ultimate act of the feminine. It is her domain and only she can perform it. Isaiah 66: 7-13 depicts the birth of Zion, or the restoration of God’s people, as a feminine act, with Zion described as a woman in labor, bringing forth her children.
What if the missing component to Zion is that we must cooperate directly with Wisdom as birthing Zion is Her work? What if we must lead with the heart, not the mind? What if women and their God-given connection to Wisdom must step up and play a bigger role than any of us ever imagined?
My friend Paula had a beautiful insight while in prayer that she shared with me:
“One heart=Wisdom/Mother—One mind=Knowledge/Father”
“And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there were no poor among them.”
Perhaps the order really does matter. Perhaps there is a labour under way by women to unite hearts into one–to achieve a true homothumadon–a shared desire and passion for the glory of God that unites all despite their many differences.
It means: With one mind, with one accord, with one passion.
It is used to describe a group of people acting with a unified purpose or in complete harmony. It conveys the idea of being of one mind or spirit, often in the context of prayer, worship, or decision making. This unity is not merely external agreement, but a deep, internal harmony of purpose and intent.
If we break the word homothumadon apart, we find it comes from homo-”same” and thymos-”passion”. It means with the same passion, in one accord or in other words having the same desire. It is used to describe people who share ‘like precious faith”, creating a God-produced unity between them. It is interesting that this unity is produced by God.
In the Covenant of Christ we are told of the 12 disciples, who Jesus had just called as ministers to the people, kneeling in a circle and praying (they were almost certainly in a circle because Jesus stood in the middle of them and ministered to them).
We are told that “the things they were to pray for were inspired; and they were filled with hope.” The Book of Mormon uses the word ‘desire’.
So here we have an example of a “prayer circle” if you will, where the things that are being prayed for are given to those praying, by the Holy Spirit, and because the words that they are to pray are coming from God, they are filled with hope and desire. And they were filled with hope and desire, because we are told in the scriptures that:
“If ye are purified and cleansed from all sin, ye shall ask whatsoever ye will in the name of Jesus Christ and it shall be done. But know this, it shall be given you what you shall ask.” D&C 30:29-30
This means that if we are purified and we ask anything in the name of Jesus Christ and that “thing” is given to us by the spirit to ask it…it shall be done. So whatever they were praying for, that the Spirit was guiding them to ask, it was filling them with hope and desire. If we continue reading about that experience I think we are soon told what it was that they were praying for with such great hope and desire.
Could this be a key insight to how two or more people achieve “God-produced” unity, the kind of unity that opens the heavens?
Those who are familiar with prayer circles know that before any praying begins, those in the circle must have only the best feelings towards each other. That is an interesting requirement.
The phrase “one accord” is a musical term. We all know what it is like to listen to a musical performance and then someone hits a wrong note. The discordant sound sticks out like a sore thumb!
When this idea of being in one accord is used in the book of Acts, it is almost always in relation to the early church praying together. In these prayers that achieved ‘one accord’, there were not any “wrong notes”, ie. no ugly attitudes, no gossiping, no accusing, no pointing fingers, no victim mentality, no secrets behind closed doors.
If people are critical of each other, they CANNOT pray together. Either you’ll stop criticizing or you’ll stop praying, because you can’t do both at the same time.
Homothumadon is a word that is intended to express the unity in calling upon the Lord AND for the unity required of all disciples. They must try to have a common mind in Christ “so that with one heart and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”-Romans 15:6
This unity conveys a “brotherly harmony” and “motherly tenderness” between members of a group, between spouses, or between brothers.
“If we want power from the Holy Spirit as individuals, we need to do a relational inventory: Everyone forgiven? Any restitutions to be done? Any need to communicate healing to anyone? As congregations we cannot be empowered until we are of one mind and one heart, until we love each other as Christ has loved us, and until we heal all broken relationships.” (The Power of Eight)You can be certain that where there is real homothumadon among believers, the Holy Spirit is present and active!
So how do we get from here to there?
“There’s a gulf between knowledge and wisdom. We may have access to greater knowledge, but we often display very little wisdom. Knowledge can be arrogant. Wisdom is humble. Knowledge inflates our pride, but wisdom cautions us that we are still very far from being a godly people.
Great spiritual development by individuals in isolation will never equip the individual to fit into a spiritually developed society. Alone, we seek connection to God. God represents the highest ideal in compassion, acceptance , and kindness. It’s easy to make a place for God in our hearts. But other people are not always compassionate, easy to accept, or kind. God is pure and mankind is not.
Individual spiritual development and group spiritual development are two very different challenges. Recent revelations focus on the development of a group. Everything points to God’s desire to have His people turn to Him and live in harmony with one another. It is clear the Lord’s objective is Zion and not merely to make us better individuals.
…my experience with others leads me to conclude that if we can have one heart first, eventually we can likewise come to have one mind. But if we insist on having one mind at the outset, we may never obtain one heart together.” (Denver Snuffer)
Maybe it’s time we shift the order and try something new, as Denver suggests. We’ve been operating under knowledge since the beginning. We lost more than we understand when we were cut off from The Tree of Life. We have been cut off from Wisdom and She is rarely welcome in this fallen place.
When we were cut off, we fell from a Terrestrial state into a Telestial state. This seems to indicate that to have access to Wisdom we must rise up into a Terrestrial state of being. Any one person can do this individually of course, but what about a group? That is a much more difficult task to be sure. And yet, How oft would She have gathered us as a hen gathers her chicks?
How often would God have established Zion on the earth, but there could rarely be found a group that wanted it above all else?
Isaiah in particular places Zion as a feminine enterprise. Giving birth is the ultimate act of the feminine. It is her domain and only she can perform it. Isaiah 66: 7-13 depicts the birth of Zion, or the restoration of God’s people, as a feminine act, with Zion described as a woman in labor, bringing forth her children.
What if the missing component to Zion is that we must cooperate directly with Wisdom as birthing Zion is Her work? What if we must lead with the heart, not the mind? What if women and their God-given connection to Wisdom must step up and play a bigger role than any of us ever imagined?
My friend Paula had a beautiful insight while in prayer that she shared with me:
“One heart=Wisdom/Mother—One mind=Knowledge/Father”
“And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there were no poor among them.”
Perhaps the order really does matter. Perhaps there is a labour under way by women to unite hearts into one–to achieve a true homothumadon–a shared desire and passion for the glory of God that unites all despite their many differences.
That's exactly what has been impressed upon my heart - to come to be like-hearted / one-hearted first! (Also the DS quote came to my mind this past Tuesday prior to Zoom meeting.)
ReplyDeleteThank you for expressing all this from the heart ❤️