When a group of armed men came into the garden of Gethsemane to capture Jesus, Peter tried to defend Him. Perhaps he was thinking of the Savior’s instruction earlier that evening that the apostles should begin traveling with purse, scrip, and sword. (See Luke 22:35-36.) Drawing his sword, Peter cut off the ear of Malchus, the servant of the high priest. (See John 18:10, Matthew 26:51, Mark 54:47, Luke 22:50.) Before healing Malchus’s ear, Jesus corrected Peter:
Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.
Matthew 26:52
Anger and violence can be contagious. Combative behavior or words tend to increase division and decrease trust. Perhaps that’s why Alma found that “the preaching of the word…had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword” (Alma 31:5). Perhaps that’s also why the Lamanites who converted to the gospel through the preaching of the sons of Mosiah buried their weapons and refused to defend themselves. (See Alma 24:12-28.) Mormon tells us that when their enemies attacked them and saw that they would not fight back, many of them “threw down their weapons of war, and they would not take them again” (Alma 24:25). When your perceived enemy isn’t fighting back, you may be more inclined to ask yourself why you are still fighting.
President Russell M. Nelson taught:
Anger never persuades. Hostility builds no one. Contention never leads to inspired solutions….
Now is the time to bury your weapons of war. If your verbal arsenal is filled with insults and accusations, now is the time to put them away.
“Peacemakers Needed,” General Conference, April 2023, italics in original
Today, I will strive to be a peacemaker. I will strive to put away my sword and to bury my weapons of war. I will remember that peace and patience can be far more impactful and persuasive than contention and hostility.
Leave a Reply