Sometimes the very things which seem on the surface to make our lives harder are actually lightening our burdens.
Peacemaking
Many of our efforts to make peace involve the people closest to us. We can work with confidence to calm anxieties and heal divisions within our families and among our friends. We can focus on the positive, love generously, and live mercifully.
He Will Teach Us of His Ways
The following passage appears in the books of both Micah and Isaiah: In the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let... Continue Reading →
In Paradise
One of the thieves who was crucified with the Savior made a desperate final request: "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." In response, Jesus promised, "To day shalt thou be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:42-43). The Greek word paradeisos (παράδεισος) in that passage comes from two Persian roots: pairi- "around" and diz "to make,... Continue Reading →
Peacemakers
Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God" (Matthew 5:9, 3 Nephi 12:9). And the apostle Paul made this plea in his epistle to the Romans: "If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men" (Romans 12:18). The prophet Mormon applied that teaching to... Continue Reading →
Rest
The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years before they were ready to enter the promised land. God was ready to help them enter that land long before they were ready to receive His assistance. One of the psalms quotes God looking back on that time: Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people... Continue Reading →
Peaceable Things
In December of 1830, the Lord promised Edward Partridge that he would receive the Holy Ghost, which would teach him "the peaceable things of the kingdom" (Doctrine and Covenants 36:2). The following month, He made the same promise to James Covill (Doctrine and Covenants 39:6), and a month after that, He extended the promise to... Continue Reading →
Knowledge and Peace
A good friend of mine says that there are only two kinds of people in the world: the people you love, and the people you don't know. If that is true on an individual level, it is also true, tragically, on a large scale. Why do many Christians fear Muslims? Why do many Republicans and... Continue Reading →
How Does the Savior Bring Us Peace?
The angels who appeared to the shepherds expressed their hopes for us with these words: "On earth peace, good will toward men" (Luke 2:14). At the end of His life, the Savior said to His apostles: Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto... Continue Reading →
What Does It Mean to “Publish Peace?”
To publish something is to make it generally known, to make it public (Webster's Dictionary 1828). Isaiah described the joy people feel when a messenger with good news comes running over the mountains: How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of... Continue Reading →
Book of Mormon Study Notes 