Almost everywhere you look nowadays, someone is disagreeing with something. This is especially prevalent on social media, where political opinions run rampant, inflammatory posts are center stage, and friends are turned into enemies. I am surprised each day by the things that I see and hear. I understand that people have strong beliefs, and conviction can be good, but at what expense?
As you are bombarded with this onslaught of opinions, you may start to ask yourself, as I have asked myself, where can I turn for peace? With our attention pulled in so many directions, it can be hard to slow down, breathe, and remember the things that are most important in our lives.
Where Can I Turn for Peace?
The most important thing for us to remember is that Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace. No matter the chaos found in the world, or in our lives, we can find peace through Christ. This likely will not mean that the noise around us will disappear, but we will be able to find inner peace amidst the chaos.
As the Savior himself said, “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.”1
After reading this verse, you may wonder, how do I find this peace? I know that the Lord has the ability to bring peace into our lives, but what do we have to do to be able to feel that peace? I will share with you some things that I have learned and come across in this quest for peace in my life.
Inner Peace Comes Through the Holy Ghost
One of the roles that the Holy Ghost plays in our lives is his role as the Comforter. In this role, he can “offer comfort and peace. The Spirit comforts us when we are scared, lonely, or overwhelmed and fills us with ‘hope and perfect love.’”2
I know from my own life that the Spirit really does comfort us. There have been numerous times in my life when I have felt scared or overwhelmed. Every time, when I ask for the Lord’s help, I feel His love for me, and I have the strength to continue.
I believe that an understanding of our baptismal covenants can bring even more peace into our lives. For those of us that have been baptized, we have also received the gift of the Holy Ghost. Receiving this gift not only means that we can receive and retain a remission of our sins, but it also means that we can have the companionship of the Holy Ghost throughout our lives.3
I don’t think that I ponder often enough the significance of being able to have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. How amazing is it to know that when I need guidance or comfort, or if I want to know the truth of something, I have been promised that the Holy Ghost can always be with me. We can have an actual member of the Godhead be an integral part of our daily lives.
That being said, I must stress the importance of obedience and repentance. Both of these are conditions on which depends our companionship of the Holy Ghost. If we are to have him with us constantly, we must keep the commandments. We must be worthy of his presence. We are taught in the gospel of Jesus Christ, that after we have entered into the path through baptism and receiving the Holy Ghost, we must endure to the end.
Enduring to the end is not an easy task. We must “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men…feasting upon the word of Christ.”4 Enduring to the end is a lifelong journey. As we seek the Lord in this journey, and as we repent daily and live worthy of the Holy Ghost, we can always find the comfort and peace that we seek.
The Power of Prayer and Attending the Temple
Throughout my life, I have found that both prayer and temple attendance are so simple, but so crucial in finding peace in my life. Whether we are going through a hard time, whether we have a big decision to make, or whether we are just living life and want to come closer to God, we must take action that will bring us closer to Him.
I have always felt that the temple has been a safe haven in my life. It is meant to be a sacred space where we can take refuge from the world and focus on our relationship with the Lord. No matter what is going on in the world or in my life, as soon as I walk through the doors of the temple, I can forget all of that and focus completely on the Savior and the covenants that I have made with him.
I have experienced the peace that Christ can bring into our minds and hearts in the temple. The most recent example of this in my life was my family’s decision to move to New York City. Leaving our family and friends to move across the country to an unknown city was a scary prospect. At first, I felt a pit in my stomach every time I thought about leaving.
Still, we knew that moving could bring potential career opportunities in the future, and could also bring opportunities for our family to serve the Lord. As my husband and I prayed, we began to feel a little more at ease with the thought of leaving. We decided to go to the temple to solidify our feelings even further. As we sat together in the temple, we were able to remove the distractions from our minds and the fears from our hearts. We both felt inner peace with the decision to leave Arizona and move to New York City.
Leaving the temple, we both knew that we were making the right decision for us and our family. This did not mean that it was not sad to leave, or that it was not a stressful journey. I felt fearful and stressed for almost the entire time that we prepared to leave. However, through my fear and anxiety, I was able to cling to the peace that I felt in the temple, and I knew that we were following the path that God wanted us to take.
I know that any person seeking peace from the Lord through prayer or through temple attendance will be able to find that peace. We may not receive the answers or direction that we expect, but we can always find peace in knowing and following the Lord’s plan for us.
We Can Find Peace Amidst Our Trials
Even knowing that Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace, we cannot expect our challenges to go away. As I addressed in a previous post, our trials may not get any easier. Having trials in no way negates the fact that we have a loving Heavenly Father who wants to help us.
In our trials, we are given the opportunity to depend on Jesus Christ and His atonement. We can truly feel that the Lord is there by our side, strengthening us and comforting us, as we learn and grow in whatever way we need to at that moment.
I am reminded of the struggles of the people of Alma. After they escaped King Noah, and thought they were free, they were again put into bondage by Amulon. As they were enslaved, they were not even allowed to pray without being put to death. Still, in this difficult time, they continued to pray in their hearts for peace and deliverance. The Lord did not take away their trials immediately. Rather, he answered:
“14 And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.
15 And now, it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.”5
Through the atonement of Jesus Christ, as did the people of Alma, we can find peace in our trials. The Lord can visit us in our afflictions and can help us to carry our burdens. With the help of the Lord, our burdens can become lighter, that we too may be able to submit to the will of the Lord cheerfully and with patience.
There is great power found in the atonement of Jesus Christ. I am by no means an expert, and there is much more that I have to learn about the atonement. Even so, I know without a doubt that Jesus Christ has suffered for each one of us. He knows us personally and can succor us. We can find peace through him, despite the constant distractions of the world. We can believe Christ when he tells us, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”6