Neil L Andersen | Following Jesus: Being a Peacemaker | April 2022 General Conference

Following Jesus: Being a Peacemaker
By Elder Neil L. Andersen

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Peacemakers are not passive; they are persuasive in the Savior’s way.

My dear brothers and sisters, as we experience sobering days of commotion, contention, and, for many, deep suffering, our hearts are filled with overwhelming gratitude for our Savior and the eternal blessings of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. We love Him and we trust Him, and we pray that we will forever follow Him.

The Challenge of Social Media
The powerful impact of the internet is a blessing and a challenge, unique to our time.

In a world of social media and information superhighways, one person’s voice can be multiplied exponentially. That voice, whether true or false, whether fair or prejudicial, whether kind or cruel, moves instantly across the world.

Social media posts of thoughtfulness and goodness are often quietly under the radar, while words of contempt and anger are frequently thundering in our ears, whether with political philosophy, people in the news, or opinions on the pandemic. No one or no subject, including the Savior and His restored gospel, is immune from this social phenomenon of polarized voices.

Becoming a Peacemaker
The Sermon on the Mount is a message for all but was specifically given to the Savior’s disciples, those who had chosen to follow Him.

The Lord taught how to live, then and now, in a contemptuous world. “Blessed are the peacemakers,” He declared, “for they shall be called the children of God.”1

By the shield of our faith in Jesus Christ, we become peacemakers, quenching—meaning to calm, cool, or extinguish—all the fiery darts of the adversary.2

As we do our part, His promise is that we will be called the “children of God.” Every person on earth is the “offspring”3 of God, but to be called the “children of God” means much, much more. As we come unto Jesus Christ and make covenants with Him, we become “his seed” and “heirs of the kingdom,”4 “children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters.”5

How does a peacemaker calm and cool the fiery darts? Certainly not by shrinking before those who disparage us. Rather, we remain confident in our faith, sharing our beliefs with conviction but always void of anger or malice.6

Recently, after seeing a strongly worded opinion piece that was critical of the Church, Reverend Amos C. Brown, a national civil rights leader and pastor of the Third Baptist Church in San Francisco, responded:

“I respect the experience and perspective of the individual who wrote those words. Granted, I don’t see what he sees.”

“I count it one of my life’s greatest joys to know these leaders [of the Church], including President Russell M. Nelson. They are, in my estimation, the embodiment of the best leadership our country has to offer.”

He then added: “We can gripe about the way things were. We can refuse to acknowledge all the good going on now. … But these approaches will not heal our national divisions. … As Jesus taught, we don’t eradicate evil with more evil. We love generously and live mercifully, even toward those we think to be our enemies.”7

Reverend Brown is a peacemaker. He calmly and respectfully cooled the fiery darts. Peacemakers are not passive; they are persuasive in the Savior’s way.

General Conference Saturday Morning Session April 2022

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