"Peace Be Still"

I promised Mama I would post my talk I gave last week in sacrament so here it goes.

The book of Mark tells of a story of Jesus where after teaching a group of people on the shore of the Sea of Galilee tells his disciples to take their ships to the other side. As they journeyed a great storm arose intense enough to make these men (among which were seasoned fishermen) extremely nervous fearing that they were about to perish. When they looked to their Master for guidance they were astonished to find him asleep. They awoke Him and inquired as to how he could sleep when they were about to be swallowed up by the sea. Jesus then calmly arose rebuked the wind and said unto the sea “Pease be still”. The Lord then turned to his disciples and asked them why they were fearful questioning them about their faith. Now I want you to keep this story in mind because we will revisit it later but first, I want to address this famous line Christ used as he calmed the sea; Peace, be still.

In Doctrine and Covenants section 59 verse 23  the Lord gives us a promise it reads: “But learn that he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come”. In language as plain as it gets we are promised if we are righteous we will receive as our reward peace in “this” world. Well we need not look far to see that sometimes this doesn’t always “seem” to be the case. I’m sure we all know of righteous people that have gone through experiences that we would be hard pressed to call peaceful times. The history of the early days of the church is a perfect example of this. Here were a people who were driven from place to place, persecuted and slaughtered as a direct consequence of doing what God had asked them to do; that is to reestablish His church on the earth. It is also interesting to note that the Savior was not spared from this hard reality either. At the announcement of his birth to the shepherds the angles rejoiced and exclaimed peace on earth. When the announcement of His birth reached Herod however, he ordered the slaughter of countless innocent infants in Bethlehem. The rest of his life wasn’t so peaceful either. Throughout his ministry he was mocked and persecuted at every turn. In fact the only instance the scriptures referenced a time where he got a moment to relax he was awoken by his disciples because of a storm. Finally, the Savior paid the ultimate price for his righteousness as he was beaten, mocked and crucified. So what then is this peace we are promised?

In Elder Quentin L. Cook’s talk in this past April’s general conference entitled “Pearsonal Peace: The Reward of Righteousness”, he spoke of the “doctrinal difference between… world peace and personal peace”.  Moral agency is the defining gift of this mortal life and it is essential to God’s plan of happiness for us. For me agency provides two important roles in this testing period of mortal life: First, it provides us an opportunity to grow by our choosing to obey God’s will for us and to eventually align our will with His. This agency is given to all and sadly most of us abuse this gift and many to the detriment of others. Second, something that we often overlook is that this agency of others often provides us with the trials and experiences necessary for our growth. A muscle does not get stronger unless it is worked against resistance. We are not here to experience world peace but to experience peace in spite of the world.

Near the end of His life, in an attempt to prepare His apostles for his crucifixion and assention into heaven,  Jesus gives this council found in John chapter 14 verse 27: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” Now Christ new what the apostles were about to face; he knew that they were not headed for a life of tranquility. Again, and as he here specifically states, he is not promising worldly peace but he knows that the Atonement he is about to make will be the only means by which this personal/internal peace that He promised can be obtained. In Alma chapter 7 verses 11-13 we read: “And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities. Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance…” As far as I can understand the Atonement provides us this peace in two ways. First, it is only through the Atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ that we can conquer death and be washed clean from our sins to be able to stand in the presence of our Father in Heaven. This gives us a hope that in spite of what the world may throw at us we may, if we will choose Christ, receive all that the Father hath.  What an empowering thought this is; to know that we are the only ones that can keep this ultimate blessing from ourselves there is nothing anyone else can do to take this gift from us. Second, we learn from this scripture that Christ suffered all our pains, sicknesses and afflictions; he also experienced our temptations and has a perfect knowledge of our infirmities. He did this, the scripture states, so that he would know how to succor us. We don’t have to settle for a well-intentioned individual trying to understand what we are going through. He quite literally knows exactly how we fill not how he would fill facing the same problem but what we with our individual personalities and weaknesses are going through. And he has promised over and over that he will always be there for us if we but seek him diligently.

The Lord has also provided a way for us to escape the troubles of this world if only for a small moment. As Karen just spoke of so beautifully, the Temple can be a wonderful refuge for us to escape the cares of the world and feel the peace of our Savior as we draw closer to him.  For our young children however it is our homes that must stand as this refuge. Anyone that knows Nelson can imagine that our home is not always what you might consider a peaceful environment this is compounded exponentially when he is teamed up with Emilyne, now it is not our children that drive the spirit away but the way we may sometimes respond to their actions. The environment we provide is what allows our young children to feel the peace that the Savior promises.  In the March Ensign of 1994 there is an article entitled "Helping Children Hear the Still, Small Voice" in it there is a paragraph that reads: Many teachers of foreign languages believe that children learn a language best in “immersion programs,” in which they are surrounded by other speakers of the language and called upon to speak it themselves. They learn not just to say words, but to speak fluently and even to think in the new language. The proper “immersion” setting for a spiritual education is in the home, where spiritual principles can form the basis for daily living. “And thou shalt teach [the Lord’s words] diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up”.  I know because my children have such a wonderful mother who is constantly teaching them of the love of the Savior and a love for others our home is a place where our children can escape to feel the love and peace that the Spirit offers.

Returning to our story; after rebuking the storm Christ turned to his disciples and questioned: “Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?” now I don’t think the Lord was questioning why they didn’t rebuke the storm themselves; I don’t even believe that he was telling them that they should have known that he would not let anything bad happen to them. What I believe he was telling them is that their faith could offer them the same peace he was experiencing asleep on the boat even while everything else seemed to be falling apart around them and I believe his message is the same to us today.

I testify that God Lives and loves each of us individually he desires that we may have peace in our lives. I testify that Jesus is the Christ the very Son of God who atoned for us so that we might have this peace. I testify that this is Christ’s church and that it is only through the ordinances offered in this church that we can receive the eternal peace that God has in store for us and I share that in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.