Elder Cook: Peace is the Reward of Righteousness

Monday, September 23, 2013

Elder Cook: Peace is the Reward of Righteousness

The world is in such turmoil right now. If you can't see it by turning on the news, then listen to the prophets who have said repeatedly that peace has been taken from the earth.

And yet, in our home, we can feel peace. We're not perfect. We make mistakes...every day, we do. And it's loud in our home (ask my Mom!) At times, it is really, really loud! But still there is, in general, a spirit of peace and happiness that is the norm.

Where does this peace come from?

Elder Cook says definitively, that, "The Savior is the source of true peace.

He also says that, "We all long for peace. Peace is not just safety or lack of war, violence, conflict, and contention. Peace comes from knowing that the Savior knows who we are and knows that we have faith in Him, love Him, and keep His commandments, even and especially amid life's devastating trials and tragedies."

The only source of true peace is the Savior.

Because Elder Cook makes a distinction between "world peace" and "personal peace," I decided to help our children understand that the troubling events that are transpiring around in the world, do not have to destroy the personal peace that can reside in our hearts and in our home. Elder Cook reminds us that achieving peace in the world must ever be the aspiration of good people everywhere. However, the world will not receive this peace until, "mankind receives God's truth and message..."

So, our most basic and crucial efforts for world peace must start in our hearts and in our homes and move outward, but at all times, we can experience personal peace as a reward of righteous living.

To remind us of this principle, we framed a map of our beloved home state of Pennsylvania. The map reminding us of the world and the heart reminding us of the personal peace that can be ours as we keep His commandments.