Peacemakers. 3 Nephi 12:9: And blessed are all the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. See Matthew 5:9

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1 Peacemakers 3 Nephi 12:9: And blessed are all the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. See Matthew 5:9 D&C 98:16: Therefore, renounce war and proclaim peace. Mosiah 4:13: And ye will not have a mind to injure one another, but to live peaceably, and to render to every man according to that which is his due. D&C 105:38-40: And again I say unto you, sue for peace, not only to the people that have smitten you, but also to all people; And lift up an ensign of peace, and make a proclamation of peace unto the ends of the earth; And make proposals for peace unto those who have smitten you, according to the voice of the Spirit which is in you, and all things shall work together for your good. The Law of keeping the Peace even when smitten-how to be justified in war D&C 98:23-38: Now, I speak unto you concerning your families if men will smite you, or your families, once, and ye bear it patiently and revile not against them, neither seek revenge, ye shall be rewarded; But if ye bear it not patiently, it shall be accounted unto you as being meted out as a just measure unto you. And again, if your enemy shall smite you the second time and you revile not against your enemy, and bear it patiently, your reward shall be an hundred-fold. And again, if he shall smite you the third time, and ye bear it patiently, your reward shall be doubled unto you fourfold; And these three testimonies shall stand against your enemy if he repent not, and shall not be blotted out. And now, verily I say unto you, if that enemy shall escape my vengeance, that he be not brought into judgment before me, then ye shall see to it that ye warn him in my name, that he come no more upon you, neither upon your family, even your children s children unto the third and fourth generation. And then, if he shall come upon you or your children, or your children s children unto the third and fourth generation, I have delivered thine enemy into thine hands; And then if thou wilt spare him, thou shalt be rewarded for thy righteousness; and also thy children and thy children s children unto the third and fourth generation. Nevertheless, thine enemy is in thine hands; and if thou rewardest him according to his works thou art justified; if he has sought thy life, and thy life is endangered by him, thine enemy is in thine hands and thou art justified. Behold, this is the law I gave unto my servant Nephi, and thy fathers, Joseph, and Jacob, and Isaac, and Abraham, and all mine ancient prophets and apostles. And again, this is the law that I gave unto mine ancients, that they should not go out unto battle against any nation, kindred, tongue, or people, save I, the Lord, commanded them. 1

2 And if any nation, tongue, or people should proclaim war against them, they should first lift a standard of peace unto that people, nation, or tongue; And if that people did not accept the offering of peace, neither the second nor the third time, they should bring these testimonies before the Lord; Then I, the Lord, would give unto them a commandment, and justify them in going out to battle against that nation, tongue, or people. And I, the Lord, would fight their battles, and their children s battles, and their children s children s, until they had avenged themselves on all their enemies, to the third and fourth generation. Behold, this is an ensample unto all people, saith the Lord your God, for justification before me. D&C 98: 39-48: And again, verily I say unto you, if after thine enemy has come upon thee the first time, he repent and come unto thee praying thy forgiveness, thou shalt forgive him, and shalt hold it no more as a testimony against thine enemy And so on unto the second and third time; and as oft as thine enemy repenteth of the trespass wherewith he has trespassed against thee, thou shalt forgive him, until seventy times seven. And if he trespass against thee and repent not the first time, nevertheless thou shalt forgive him. And if he trespass against thee the second time, and repent not, nevertheless thou shalt forgive him. And if he trespass against thee the third time, and repent not, thou shalt also forgive him. But if he trespass against thee the fourth time thou shalt not forgive him, but shalt bring these testimonies before the Lord; and they shall not be blotted out until he repent and reward thee four-fold in all things wherewith he has trespassed against thee. And if he do this, thou shalt forgive him with all thine heart; and if he do not this, I, the Lord, will avenge thee of thine enemy an hundred-fold; And upon his children, and upon his children s children of all them that hate me, unto the third and fourth generation. But if the children shall repent, or the children s children, and turn to the Lord their God, with all their hearts and with all their might, mind, and strength, and restore four-fold for all their trespasses wherewith they have trespassed, or wherewith their fathers have trespassed, or their fathers fathers, then thine indignation shall be turned away; And vengeance shall no more come upon them, saith the Lord thy God, and their trespasses shall never be brought any more as a testimony before the Lord against them. Amen Luke 6:27-29: But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you. Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also. Alma 24:15-19: Oh, how merciful is our God! And now behold, since it has been as much as we could do to get our stains taken away from us, and our swords are made bright, let us hide them away that they may be kept bright, as a testimony to our God at the last day, or at the day that we shall be brought to stand before him to be judged, that we have not stained our swords in the blood of our brethren since he imparted his word unto us and has made 2

3 us clean thereby. And now, my brethren, if our brethren seek to destroy us, behold, we will hide away our swords, yea, even we will bury them deep in the earth, that they may be kept bright, as a testimony that we have never used them, at the last day; and if our brethren destroy us, behold, we shall go to our God and shall be saved. And now it came to pass that when the king had made an end of these sayings, and all the people were assembled together, they took their swords, and all the weapons which were used for the shedding of man s blood, and they did bury them up deep in the earth. And this they did, it being in their view a testimony to God, and also to men, that they never would use weapons again for the shedding of man s blood; and this they did, vouching and covenanting with God, that rather than shed the blood of their brethren they would give up their own lives; and rather than take away from a brother they would give unto him. And thus we see that, when these Lamanites were brought to believe and to know the truth, they were firm, and would suffer even unto death rather than commit sin; and thus we see that they buried their weapons of peace, or they buried the weapons of war, for peace. 3 Nephi 3:20-21: Now the people said unto Gidgiddoni: Pray unto the Lord, and let us go up upon the mountains and into the wilderness, that we may fall upon the robbers and destroy them in their own lands. But Gidgiddoni saith unto them: The Lord forbid; for if we should go up against them the Lord would deliver us into their hands; therefore we will prepare ourselves in the center of our lands, and we will gather all our armies together, and we will not go against them, but we will wait till they shall come against us; therefore as the Lord liveth, if we do this he will deliver them into our hands. Alma 43:45-47: Nevertheless, the Nephites were inspired by a better cause, for they were not fighting for monarchy nor power but they were fighting for their homes and their liberties, their wives and their children, and their all, yea, for their rites of worship and their church. And they were doing that which they felt was the duty which they owed to their God; for the Lord had said unto them, and also unto their fathers, that: Inasmuch as ye are not guilty of the first offense, neither the second, ye shall not suffer yourselves to be slain by the hands of your enemies. And again, the Lord has said that: Ye shall defend your families even unto bloodshed. Therefore for this cause were the Nephites contending with the Lamanites, to defend themselves, and their families, and their lands, their country, and their rights, and their religion. D&C 134:11: We believe that men should appeal to the civil law for redress of all wrongs and grievances, where personal abuse is inflicted or the right of property or character infringed, where such laws exist as will protect the same; but we believe that all men are justified indefending themselves, their friends, and property, and the government, from the unlawful assaults and encroachments of all persons in times of exigency, where immediate appeal cannot be made to the laws, and relief afforded. James 3: 16-17: For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. 3

4 Galatians 5:19-20: Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies..but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith Deuteronomy 20:10-13: When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it. And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee. And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it: And when the Lord thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword. Quotes Elder Russell M Nelson Ensign Oct 2002 (Extracts) Peace can prevail only when that natural inclination to fight is superseded by selfdetermination to live on a loftier level. Coming unto Jesus Christ as the Prince of Peace 9 is the pathway to peace on earth and goodwill among men. 10 He made a promise to us: Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. 11 Jesus taught people how to live with one another. He declared the two great commandments: first, to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, 12 and the second, to love thy neighbour as thyself. 13 Then He added, Love your enemies, [and] bless them that curse you. This concept of treating others as one would like to be treated is easy to understand. And it acknowledges the precious nature of each of God s sons and daughters. Scripture asks parents to teach children not to fight and quarrel one with another, and serve the devil, who is the master of sin. Instead, we teach them to love one another, and to serve one another. Jesus taught the importance of reconciliation and resolution of dispute on a personal basis. He said: Whosoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Now, as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, what does the Lord expect of us? As a Church, we must renounce war and proclaim peace. As individuals, we should follow after the things which make for peace. We should be personal peacemakers. We should live peacefully as couples, families, and neighbors. We should live by the Golden Rule. END 4

5 Elder Dallin H Oaks May 1990 Ensign (Extracts) The peace the gospel brings is not just the absence of war. It is the opposite of war. Gospel peace is the opposite of any conflict, armed or unarmed. It is the opposite of national or ethnic hostilities, of civil or family strife. In the midst of World War I, President Joseph F. Smith declared: For years it has been held that peace comes only by preparation for war; the present conflict should prove that peace comes only by preparing for peace, through training the people in righteousness and justice, and selecting rulers who respect the righteous will of the people. There is only one thing that can bring peace into the world. It is the adoption of the gospel of Jesus Christ, rightly understood, obeyed and practiced by rulers and people alike. (Improvement Era, Sept. 1914, pp ) A generation later, during the savage hostilities of World War II, President David O. McKay declared, Peace will come and be maintained only through the triumph of the principles of peace, and by the consequent subjection of the enemies of peace, which are hatred, envy, ill-gotten gain, the exercise of unrighteous dominion of men. Yielding to these evils brings misery to the individual, unhappiness to the home, war among nations. (Gospel Ideals, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1953, p 280) Such has been the message of the prophets in all ages. Referring to the first families of the earth, Moses wrote, And in those days Satan had great dominion among men, and raged in their hearts; and from thenceforth came wars and bloodshed. (Moses 6:15.) In his own day, Moses gave the Lord s promise to the children of Israel: If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, I will give peace in the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. (Lev. 26:3, 6) Throughout the Book of Mormon, the Lord declares, Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land. (2 Ne. 1:20) As we seek to understand the causes of wars, persecutions, and civil strife, we can see that they are almost always rooted in wickedness. The blessings of the gospel are universal, and so is the formula for peace: keep the commandments of God. War and conflict are the result of wickedness; peace is the product of righteousness. Many take comfort from the Old Testament prophecy that nations will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks. (Micah 4:3.) But this prophecy only applies to that time of peace which follows the time when the God of Jacob will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths. (Micah 4:2.) For now, we have wars and conflicts, and everywhere they are rooted in violations of the commandments of God. 5

6 We cannot have peace among nations without achieving general righteousness among the people who comprise them. Elder John A Widtsoe said: The only way to build a peaceful community is to build men and women who are lovers and makers of peace. Each individual, by that doctrine of Christ and His Church, holds in his own hands the peace of the world. That makes me responsible for the peace of the world, and makes you individually responsible for the peace of the world. The responsibility cannot be shifted to someone else. It cannot be placed upon the shoulders of Congress or Parliament, or any other organization of men with governing authority. In Conference Report, Oct If citizens do not have a basic goodness to govern their actions toward one another, we can never achieve peace in the world. One nation s greed, hatred, or desire for power over another is simply a reflection of the greed s, hatreds, and selfish desires of individuals within that nation. Conversely, each citizen furthers the cause of world peace when he or she keeps the commandments of God and lives at peace with family and neighbors. Such citizens are living the prayer expressed in the words of a popular song, Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me. (Sy Miller and Jill Jackson, Let There Be Peace on Earth ) The Savior and his Apostles had no program for world peace other than individual righteousness. They mounted no opposition to the rule of Rome or to the regime of its local tyrants. They preached individual righteousness and taught that the children of God should love their enemies (see Matt. 5:44) and live peaceably with all men (Rom. 12:18). Recent history reminds us that people who continue to hate one another after a war will have another war, whereas the victor and vanquished who forgive one another will share peace and prosperity. What can one person do to promote world peace? The answer is simple: keep God s commandments and serve his children. END 6