War and Peace

I remember one of the first General Conference addresses of Elder Henry B. Eyring. It may have been the first. He startled me by beginning without any of the asides frequently associated with LDS talks (e.g. explanations of why the topic was chosen, pleas for the Spirit, humorous ice breakers, etc.), instead choosing to jump into the doctrine head first. His first five words were, "There has been a war...."

He proceeded to talk about agency and the powers and responsibilities of personal choice.

Now President Eyring, his theme in this month's Ensign and Liahona is not war, but peace. He proclaims in an astounding article peace through unity. I think this is perfect.

He describes unity as essential to happiness, saying that "union in love is [more than] simply an ideal. It is a necessity." He cites the Savior's intercessory prayer from John 17 to show that our natures can change, and that such change will bring unity. He calls upon the sacramental prayers to illustrate that through covenants we obtain the Holy Ghost, which makes us capable of becoming one. He then sets forth certain commandments that, if broken, will inevitably cause separation.

Of chief importance to me in this article is the teaching that in order to take the name of Christ upon us (as we covenant to do) we must see ourselves as His. President Eyring says that this means to separate ourselves from worldly bindings and cling to the will of God above our own. In other words, by doing our own wills, we are preventing unity. If we consider ourselves Christ's and do His will, then we all forgo our self interests to accomplish something greater with one accord. If any one of us expects to be able to do his or her own will, that person cannot have unity without converting everyone else into his or her followers. If the world is not willing to unitedly strive for what I want, then I cannot have unity with my fellow men unless I surrender my will to a higher standard. This is one thing the at-one-ment of Christ does for us; it gives us an excuse to forget what we want and work together for salvation.

President Eyring then makes this bold statement: "As long as we love the things of the world first, there will be no peace in us." He explains, "Holding an ideal for a family or a nation of comfort through material goods will, at last, divide them.2 The ideal of doing for each other what the Lord would have us do, which follows naturally from taking His name upon us, can take us to a spiritual level which is a touch of heaven on earth."

Just before closing, President Eyring solves our problems for us:

"A husband and his wife learn to be one by using their similarities to understand each other and their differences to complement each other in serving one another and those around them. In the same way, we can unite with those who do not accept our doctrine but share our desire to bless the children of our Heavenly Father."

This becomes the formula for the inclusive behavior and attitude that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been counseled to adopt. When we take the principle beyond the scope of religious beliefs only, it becomes the solution to the problems of political adversity and social dissent. Too many, it seems, are unwilling to cooperate with any who hold opposing views on some or any significant issues. The result is a world divided and warring in every way. Consider this counsel from President Eyring as to how to foster unity: "We must speak no ill of anyone. We must see the good in each other and speak well of each other whenever we can."

Notice that he says, "whenever we can" and not "whenever we feel like it" or "whenever it's convenient." If there is any excuse or possible way to speak well of another, we should seek after it.

Finally, "At the same time, we must stand against those who speak contemptuously of sacred things, because the certain effect of that is to offend the Spirit and so create contention and confusion.... An inspired, loving rebuke can be an invitation to unity. Failure to give it when moved upon by the Holy Ghost will lead to discord."

Of course, this requires that we first have the Spirit, but that is not so very difficult if we have submitted our wills to God. How blessed we are in this time of strife and contention, when so many important decisions are being made, to have living prophets and apostles to help us keep in the true way of God and do the right thing. In the words of King Mosiah, "And now let us be wise and look forward to these things, and do that which will make for the peace of this people" (Mosiah 29:10).