The gospel of Jesus Christ can bring peace into both our personal lives and the larger world.
Conflict and contention exist at every level of our fallen existence: international conflict, civil unrest, prejudice, discrimination, and broken homes are all around us. As disciples of Christ, we should seek resolutions to conflict and attempt to be the peacemakers that Christ admonishes us to be. But how do we accomplish such a lofty task?
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President Henry B. Eyring addressed this topic at Brigham Young University 25 years ago, and we are in need of his words today more than ever. He begins by describing many of the world’s strategies for obtaining peace, he illustrates their shortcomings, and he concludes that “neither education, nor disarmament, nor armament, nor negotiation, nor all of them in combination are likely to create a world or a neighborhood of lasting peace.” He continues more generally, “No road leads to peace, for a person or for the world, unless it leads away from the effects of sin and Satan.” Because of the restored gospel, we know that Jesus Christ can change our hearts and lead us away from sin. President Eyring puts it into these words: “That change…that will bring peace in your heart and then between people, is the natural fruit of the Atonement of Jesus Christ working in your life.”
To hear how you can leverage the Atonement to bring peace to those around you, see President Eyring’s full address “Creating Peace: Blessed Are the Peacemakers.”
Source: BYU Speeches
—Alec Harding, Mormon Insights
FEATURE IMAGE BY RAWPIXEL
For more insights
Read “Hope for Peace” by Merrill J. Bateman.
Check out Peace and Peacemakers in the Topical Guide.