Peace

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Peace
5 principles of power

Maybe you’re like me…when I read the old testament, or the books of Alma, Helaman, or Mormon, I ask myself, “Why did the Lord dedicate so much scripture real estate to battles, military stratagem, and weapons of war?”

I think it can all be summarized in one word: PEACE.

The Gospel is all about peace. Peace among nations, peace among families, peace in our own hearts. It is about being at one with God, and knowing that no matter the trials that arise, he is watching over us, and will make it “for our good.”

As we read in the scriptures the many wars and many trials that the people of God had in trying to get peace, we gain a greater desire to do what we must to maintain peace in our own lives.

Over the last year, we as a country, have gained a greater appreciation for peace.

On Wednesday of this week, it will have been a year since the tragedy in NYC

I was 12 miles from ground zero the morning it happened in a little community just outside Manhatten. Coworkers started gathering around computer monitors reading CNN’s webpage together. I remember one person speaking in an unnaturally loud voice saying, “I can’t believe it’s real. This can’t be happening.” Another person, said, “I’ll remember this like I remembered where I was when I heard President Kennedy was killed.” Slowly as the truth of the event unveiled itself, I was struck with disbelief. This wasn’t Hollywood. This was real people, killing other real people just a few miles from where I stood.

For 4 days I was stuck in my hotel room until the Newark Airport could reopen to allow me to come home. I tried to continue my work, as did many around me. But our minds and hearts were torn apart. One man in the office next to me’s brother managed a staff of people at Goldman-Sax who were all killed. Another co-worker told me that in his neighborhood he could go around the block and point out the dozens of homes affected – some losing one spouse, some losing both spouses. So many children affected. There wasn’t anyone in the Intel offices on the east coast with whom I was working that didn’t have someone that was immediately and directly impacted in some real way.

I was also directly impacted. My brother was on a plane on the runway at the Newark airport that morning. And as a blessing, his plane was called back when they saw, from their seats, the terrorist planes crash into the trade center. It was later discovered that his plane was also chosen by terrorists to be captured and used as a weapon, but since it was grounded, it was saved as was my brother. This tragedy was very close to my heart. This tragedy was very personal to me.

In one hour, our peace as a nation was shattered. Enemies had revealed themselves, and we were not prepared to defeat them. Life in our country had changed suddenly from Peace to war.

In our personal lives, sometimes our personal peace is likewise shattered. Enemies like death, poor health, divorce, a conflict at home or at work, or sin, reveal themselves to be our very real enemies as they steal our loved ones from us, or steal our personal peace from us. For example, Just as real as the enemies down the street from me in New Jersey, were the enemies of cancer and death that took my father in death this past year.


During this year, I have done some study on peace, and where we can turn to find it. I would like to share 5 principles of peace that have come to be real to me:

The first principle is that we are the Lords, and as his Children, he commands us to live in peace.

He wants us to be peacemakers. He wants us to love peace. He wants us to seek it in our lives. He wants our homes to be places of peace. He wants our conversations to be filled with peace.

O Leslie Stone said, ““The Lord has command us to love all men, including our enemies. He expects us to be peacemakers. He asks us to work out a reconciliation in a Christlike manner with those with whom we have difficulties or misunderstnainds. It is his will that we should tolerate abuse rather than retaliate in a spirit of anger. It is better to turn the other cheek, to go the extra mile, to give our coat and our cloak also, than to offend” – O Leslie Stone, “…or be offended.”

John 14: 27 PEACE I leave with you, my bpeace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be ctroubled, neither let it be afraid.

Are these simply nice suggestions that we live in peace – that we not let our hearts be troubled? Or are they something more important?

Jeffery Holland commenting on this scripture said, “I submit to you that this may be one of the Savior’s commandments that is, even in the hearts of otherwise faithful Latter-day Saints, almost universally disobeyed…I am convinced that none of us can appreciate how deeply it wounds the loving heart of the Savior fo the world, when he finds that his people do not feel confident in his care or secure in his hands or trust in his commandments.”

News agencies, Advertising, and the media would have us unsettled, dissatisfied, and living in a state of crises. They would have us seeking products, entertainment, and stimulation to help us “forget” our fears and disquiet.
However, the Lord would have us seek Him – be satisfied with what he has given us. And then to build upon the goodness and peace he gives us to bless and build up others.

Sometimes by simplifying our desires, we become more able to let the Lord build us to his specifications.


The second principle is: that to seek peace, is to prepare for peace. If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.

The entire book of mormon is filled with stories of people who when they allowed the lord to lead them, were protected and were allowed to live in peace. But when they become wicked and stopped following the leadership of the lord, were cast into slavery and destruction by their enemies.

One of my favorite scriptures on Peace comes from the heart of the scriptures on war in the Book of Mormon. It is at the very end of Alma 49 and into 50:

“Yea and there was continual peace among them, and exceedingly great prosperity in the church because of their diligence which they gave unto the word of God....”

“And now it came to pass that Moroni did not stop making preparations for war, or to defend his people against the Lamanites; for he caused that his armies should commence in digging up heaps of earth round about all the cities throughout all the land which was possessed by the nephites.

He continued to prepare to fight his enemies. Even when there was peace.

And what was the outcome of this preparation? In verse 23, “But behold there never was a happier time among the people of Nephi, since the days of Nephi, than in the days of Moroni…”

Captain Moroni in his righteousness did not sit back while in peace expecting the Lord would maintain their peace. Instead he was inspired to continue his preparations to protect the peace they had.

The Lord expects us to do the same in order preserve our peace in our families, in our wards, and in our individual hearts.

We must continue to prepare to overwhelm the enemies that would steal our peace from us. We must build walls of protection against the traps and temptations of Satan. This comes when we set personal standards to how we date, when we set standards to what we will watch or listen to on TV or radio, when we set standards to how we dress, or how we visit with others. When we set standards – we set up boundaries to protect our peace. One of the great documents of standard setting which was prepared for the Youth of the church, but which is applicable to all of us is the “For the Strength of Youth” pamphlet.

Also, We must build deep reservoirs of spiritual experiences that we can draw from when our testimonies are struggling. Keeping a journal of our deep spiritual experiences, taking notes of things the spirit whispers to us during meetings such as this or general conference, or just bearing your own testimony – deepens and strengthens testimony.



The Third principle is that as his Children he will fight our battles for us…whether it is to protect a nation of the righteous, or whether it is to fight the temptations and the personal battles of our hearts….to fight our evil natures, and to kill our inward enemies.

At first when the tragedy of 9/11 occurred, the question that arose in my heart was, “why did the lord allow this to happen?” But as I studied the gospel, the working of the Lord, the scriptures, it occurred to me that I had the wrong question. The question should be, “Why does the Lord protect us as much as he does from our enemies?”

To the Israelites he said,
Deut. 20: 1 WHEN thou goest out to abattle• against thine enemies, and seest horses, and bchariots•, and a people more than thou, be not cafraid of them: for the dLORD• thy God is with thee…

This is exactly what happened with Elisha. When his servant arose and went forth, he found that the enemy host had encircled the city with both horses and chariots. He said to Elisha, “Alas my master! How shall we do?” And Elisha answered him saying, “Fear Not, for they that be with us, are more than they that be with them.”

And Elisha prayed, and said, “LORD, I pray thee, open his aeyes•, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and bchariots• of fire round about Elisha.”

The Lord will still fight our battles today. Whether it be to seek peace from our political enemies, or whether it is to fight death, pain, or sin, or other personal enemy, he will fight our personal battles. In modern D&C Scripture, the lord says to us:

D&C 98: 37 And I, the Lord, would afight• their battles, and their children’s battles, and their children’s children’s, until they had avenged themselves on all their enemies, to the third and fourth generation

D&C 105: 14 For behold, I do not require at their hands to fight the battles of Zion; for, as I said in a former commandment, even so will I fulfil—I will afight• your battles

Does this really happen now a-days? Does the lord protect us here and now? Does he fight our battles? Does he prepare the way for us to escape the temptations before us?

I believe that the answer is YES. He is very, very involved in our lives, and the miracles and the ministry that are performed for us every day are seen by us only occasionally as mere coincidences. I believe they are more numerous than we even know….

Kevin Swenson just returned from his Mission to El Salvador. He told us in the high council of his experience when he and his companion were tracting on a lovely hillside. They decided to tract out a house that was on the other side of a small valley. They walked the path down, and then back up again. When they knocked on the door, a woman invited them in, and told them that she had been waiting for them. She had four chairs placed in the room, and as the 2 elders sat, she asked where the other 2 were. The elders asked, “Which other 2?” She said, well as I saw you walking the path up to my house, there were four of you…you two, and then two in white beside you.”

If the Lord does fight our battles, then does that mean that we will never suffer pain from our personal enemies that surround us? No. We will have problems just as everyone around us will have problems. BUT if we trust in the Lord, the experience will only make us better, and the enemy will not overwhelm us to destroy us.

He will surround us with peace – especially at our darkest hour. He will say to us as he said to the prophet in his time of pain, “All these things are for thy good and shall give you experience….”

In the book of mormon this core of peace is described as the Joy of Christ. The Lord blessed the sons of mosiah as they went out to preach among their enemies, that they should have peace even in their affliction..

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And the Lord provided for them that they should hunger not, neither should they thirst; yea, and he also gave them strength, that they should suffer no manner of aafflictions•, save it were swallowed up in the joy of Christ. Now this was according to the prayer of Alma; and this because he prayed in bfaith.”

Perhaps we shouldn’t seek for “no trials in our lives” but rather seek for “that core of peace” that surrounds us and protects us from the enemies that swirl around us.

About 6 months ago, I met with a lady who was filled with peace. Even as her whole life and the lives of her children was turned upside down because of the sinful and hurtful actions of her ex-husband and his family, she was convinced that by living as Christ asked her to live, she could find peace. She described for me her happiness in the midst of danger and extremely challenging trials.. She said, “For weeks, I sometimes haven’t known where my next meal was going to come from, or I don’t know if someone was going to try to hurt me or my kids, but I have never felt any fear, or doubt. I have literally felt the loving arms of the Lord around me – like a core of peace which surrounds me all the time. Everything else may be swirling around me out of control, but immediately around me there is peace, because I have the Savior.”

The Lord can and does fight our battles. Whether it is personal protection from harm, or protection from temptation and sin, or whether it is just that he swallows up the pain of affliction in the joy of Christ. He will fill us with what we need.

But there are conditions to his willingness to fight our battles for us.



The fourth principle is that peace follows righteousness – not the other way around. You can’t say, “I’ll be good if the Lord would give me peace. We must say, I will follow the Lord, and have faith that the promised peace will come.” This principle applies not only to nations but to individuals.

David O McKay - “Peace will come and be maintained only through the triumph of the principles of peace, and by the consequent subjection of the enemies of peace, which are hatred, envy, illgotten gain, the exercise of unrighteous dominion of men. Yielding to these evils brings misery to the individual, unhappiness to the home, war among the nations.”

President Hinkley “Believe in virtue! It is the only way to happiness! It is the only way to peace in one’s heart. It is the only way of feeling right before the Lord and before one another.”



The fifth principle is that God is peace – his voice speaks peace, his answers to our prayers are still & small, and if we are to know him, we must be still.

In D&C 6 where the Lord explained to Oliver Cowdrey how he could know that the things he was told were true. He said, “Cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these things, did I not speak apeace• to your mind concerning the matter? What greater bwitness• can you have than from God?”

We must recognize that peace comes from God, and as the lord teaches us his ways and his will, we will feel at peace. For he then said to Oliver, “Fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, it cannot prevail.”

Wendy and I were walking the other day. Normally Wendy runs alone, and I walk alone. It’s too depressing having a spouse who can out-distance you. But on this particular day, she decided to walk part of my route with me and chit-chat. And as we passed a certain house a dog started barking at us. Wendy was surprised at the Dog, and I said, ‘what? haven’t you noticed that dog before when you’re running by this way?’ And she said, ‘no, I’ve never noticed him. But that doesn’t surprise me, because you notice a lot less when you’re running than when you’re walking.’

It occurred to me how true this is. That when you stop rushing about, you see things, and sense things which are unknown to those who fly by. I’ve noticed the same thing when we drive on a trip somewhere, rather than when I fly on an airplane. When I drive, I notice the hotels, the roads, the valleys and gullies, the people, the signs, the churches, the other people, the rest stops, etc. But when I fly, I don’t notice anything. I kind of ball up into a cocoon for 2 or more hours, hoping that the trip will come to a quick stop – well, I don’t mean quick stop like fall,…

The point? Our lives are rushing by. The universal cry of anguish between everyone in this modern day seems to be “I’m too busy”, “I’d like to come by to visit, but I’m too busy.” Or, “I would like to help out, but I can’t, I’m too busy” or “Bishop, I would love to serve in this calling, but I’m too busy.” Too busy doing what? To busy keeping our covenants? Or building up the kingdom, Or are we too busy finding our place in the world?

Thank heaven for a Father who understood us well enough to give us a day of rest. A day to pause from our daily work, our daily busy-ness, to stop – to walk as it were – and see what is really important. To rest…just to rest.

Through the history of the world, the lord has repeated “Be still and know that I am God.” Why do we need to be still? Because when he speaks to us, he speaks ‘spirit to spirit’ through a still small voice – a whisper as it were to the very peace chambers of our soul, and if we aren’t tuned into peace, we will miss the messages he leaves for us there.

In conclusion a quick summary and then some closing remarks from President Hinkley and then the Savior.

5 principles of peace again:
1. He commands us to live in peace
2. We must seek for peace and prepare for it.
3. He will fight our battles for us
4. But we must live righteously, and finally
5. God is peace, and to hear him, we must be in tune with peace.

President Hinckley - “We are in a period of stress across the world. There are occasionally hard days for each of us. Do not despair. Do not give up. Look for the sunlight through the clouds. Opportunities will eventually open to you. Do not let the prophets of gloom endanger your possibilities.”

And Finally, the savior said –“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have apeace. In the bworld ye shall have ctribulation: but be of good dcheer; I have eovercome• the world.”

I pray that we will approach general conference with a humble heart – seeking to know the mind and will of God, so that we can have “that peace which passeth all understanding, which shall keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”