Peace and Contentment
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee (Isaiah 26:3).
Peace is a feeling that we all long for. It eases our minds and hearts and gives us a respite from the cares of the world.
For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.
Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another (Romans 14:17).
These verses from Romans tell me what the kingdom of God consists of, and one of those things is peace. Do we follow after the things which make for peace? What are those things? Following are some of the ideas I have gleaned from the scriptures that make for peace.
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty (1 Timothy 2:1-2).
In our troubled world today, we need very much to pray for those in authority and for all people of the world, particularly those in troubled spots. And there are not only issues of war, but issues of poverty, of oppression, and many other things to pray about for the peace of our Heavenly Father’s children. It sounds so inviting to think of leading a quiet and peaceable life—so wonderful to contemplate and to work toward.
And blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at that day, for they shall have the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost; and if they endure unto the end they shall be lifted up at the last day, and shall be saved in the everlasting kingdom of the Lamb; and whoso shall publish peace, yea, tidings of great joy, how beautiful upon the mountains shall they be (1 Nephi 13:37).
Publishing peace—sharing the gospel—and bringing forth our God’s Zion are great and wonderful things that we can do to promote peace and contentment. In the process, we are blessed with the gift and power of the Holy Ghost to help us do those things.
And it came to pass that after they had spoken these words the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience, because of the exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ who should come, according to the words which king Benjamin had spoken unto them (Mosiah 4:3).
As King Benjamin spoke to his people, they were touched by the Spirit of the Lord and, among other things, had peace of conscience. What a joyful feeling—to have peace of conscience, to know that we are right with the Lord. It is easy to understand how that would give us feelings of peace and contentment.
And above all things, clothe yourselves with the bond of charity, as with a mantle, which is the bond of perfectness and peace (D&C 88:125).
So the bond of charity—the bond of perfectness (i.e., completeness) and peace—can also contribute to the peace and contentment we seek. If we seek to help and serve others, we will not be plagued with the feeling of important work left undone. In addition, when we help others, we lead them to peace and contentment in place of worry and loneliness and fear.
As we live the gospel, we cultivate feelings of peace and contentment which, in turn, help us to think more clearly, be more receptive to the Holy Ghost, feel closer to our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ, and lead us on to many other blessings and to much learning and growing. Peace and contentment give us the strength and patience to deal with the trials of this life. Thinking about peace and what it means, and can mean, to us, and then striving to bring it into our lives and the lives of others, will lead us farther along the path to our eternal home.
December 13th, 2006 08:22
I love that phrase, “the bond of charity.” When our hearts are drawn out in that full love, we *are* bound to all around us, but it is a willing bond. When we love them, we care, and when we care, we act! When we act thus motivated there is a peace of conscience that comes.
We usually associate peace with stillness and tranquility, quietness and contemplation, but there is a peace to Christlike action, as well.
Thanks, Mary!
December 13th, 2006 11:58
Thank you for writing this - it’s a beautiful reminder of a basic fact I tend to forget.
December 13th, 2006 17:12
Thank you for your comments, Naiah and Serenity Valley. As I wrote this, I, too, was struck by how peace, which we usually think of as a passive state, often comes from action as we follow Christ.
December 15th, 2006 08:27
While reading your post, Mary, I thought of a passage from President Packer’s October General Conference address:
Your post helps us see the relationship between faith and the peace we need to strive on in a world increasingly trying to attain “peace” in ways that don’t really work.
December 15th, 2006 17:46
Thanks for that quote, RoAnn. One wonders how to have peace in this day and age, but Elder Packer points the way. There are things we have to live with, but our attitude toward them and toward life in general can make all the difference.