The Talk: Peace

Last month our family had an interesting experience that I want to share with you. We were returning from our ward campout at Flaming Gorge when we saw a sign for a camping spot that some friends had told us about. We thought that it would be nice to check it out as a potential spot for a family outing sometime. It was not a short drive, but it was beautiful, and we saw a moose. But, as anyone who has every traveled with children knows, pit stops are inevitable. So, we stopped, backing up a very rocky hill, to be out of the road. Well, business over, we continued on our merry way, now anxious to be back on the road to home. We hadn’t traveled very far before we hear an awful sloshing, hissing sound emanating from the back of the car. Flat tire. Once again, we pulled off the road, this time onto a sandy ATV trail. There was not too much complaining, because this was a new adventure we had not had before. Nonetheless, the children were worried and suggested that we say a prayer. We did, and then Nate got to work on the tire as I tried to keep the children happy. Well, after 2 hours, the jack had been stuck, we’d dug holes using rocks and contrived methods of changing the tire, but the task was finally complete. And all the while Sam wondered over and over to Nate, Dad, how do Nascar Drivers do it so fast? We were happy and still anxious to be back on the road to home. I think we hadn’t even driven 100 yards before that awful sloshing and hissing sound started again, this time from the passenger side of the car. Anyone who drives a car knows that cars only come with one spare tire. This time we really needed some extra help. As we sat there trying to get service on the cell phone, and this time praying much more earnestly than before, a truckload of people stopped and asked if we needed help. We very quickly learned that they were acquainted with Nate’s uncle who is a bishop in the building where they attend church, which immediately put us at ease. They took us to their father’s house where they were able to fix the flat tire. We felt so blessed by their kindness, their service and their willingness to help. We knew that Heavenly Father was watching out for us. We very soon learned that He was watching out for them too. One of the sons who helped us out is a college student with a small family, and he had been experiencing pain in a tooth that needed a root canal, and it was not in their budget to have it fixed right then. Nate, wanting to provide them with thanks for their assistance was able to fix the tooth, free of charge, the next day. With the wife assisting, Nate did a root canal before they had to return to school. The full scope of this miracle came full circle when we recently received a thank you note from the spouse of this young man. It said “I had been praying that we would find a way to fix that tooth.” We were sent to each other through the promptings of the Spirit, although in a rather inconventient way, in order to bless each others lives.

When we allow the spirit to be with us always, in the ways we discussed with Elder Hales last night, we will be blessed, we will be blessed with the opportunities to bless others, and lives will draw closer to the Lord because of it.
In other words, D&C 19:23 aLearn of me, and listen to my words; bwalk in the cmeekness of my Spirit, and you shall have dpeace in me. When we have the Spirit, we have peace.
Any time we allow the Lord’s Spirit into our lives, we will feel peace.
However, we all have challenges and trials that seem to threaten our peace. The reality is that these challenges are given to us so that we may understand the source of the peace we so desperately seek, the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ.
Some of that understanding comes from my own experience with Amelia, our gorgeous, spunky, and fun 3 year old. We were told that she would not survive outside the womb. A radiologist, who is a leader in her field, suggested that we terminate what she called “a disaster.” Tears, troubling questions, and fear crept into my heart. I wasn’t prepared to acknowledge that kind of news. But, once I was alone with Nate, we were able to pray, and we felt peace. We did not know if the peace meant that Amelia would develop properly and be born, but we did know that in the Eternal Plan of our Father in Heaven, everything was going to be ok, and He would take care of us. With this peace came a feeling of gratitude and the clarity of mind that we needed. It was very clear to Nate and I that we needed to step it up. I knew that the Lord needed me to continue to serve Him, and I rededicated myself to my calling in the RS in our Mayfield, Ohio ward, and most importantly, to my Father in Heaven.
We need the Atonement. We need our Savior.
“The atoning sacrifice of Christ, and our full acceptance of it, is the spiritual antidote that heals the wounded soul. It is such an antidote that replaces despair with hope, darkness with light, and turmoil with peace.” Tad Callister p. 203

.The Atonement is the vehicle for change, purification, and refreshment, and it is the key to peace in our lives.
When we begin to understand the scope of the Atonement we begin to understand our capacity to feel peace.
There are three ways in which my Savior consistently provides this peace for me.
1. I find great peace in the knowledge that HE KNOWS. Alma7
And he shall go forth, suffering pains and aafflictions and btemptations of every kind;
What pains do we suffer – what things, ideas, or feelings tempt us? With what are we afflicted? What burdens do we carry? He understands
he will ctake upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people…and he will take upon him their infirmities,
what sicknesses of body, mind, or soul have we been given to endure? He understands
that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to csuccor his people
OUR SAVIOR KNOWS!!! That is why he suffered. “TO SUCCOR his people according to their infirmities.” Just as President Matthews said last night, to succor means: to run to the rescue ;give help or assistance; be of service; consolation, solace, comfort, give relief in affliction, alleviate distress; show great kindness toward the distressed.
This knowledge alone gives me great peace. But even greater is the peace that distills upon the troubled soul who seeks out the Lord for relief.
Elder John H. Groberg, a member of the Seventy, said: “I testify
that no one has or ever will experience any set of circumstances, be
they disappointments, betrayal, pain, persecution, suffering, or
whatever, that cannot and is not swallowed up in the Savior! You
can feel no hurt, emotional or physical, that He has not already
felt. There is no combination of human emotions or physical illness
or suffering that cannot find refuge in the Savior’s sacrifice for us.
He knows how to help us. He wants to help us. Please let him”
(“Trust the Lord” [CES fireside for young adults, 1 May 1994], 6).
2. I find great peace in the knowledge that the great mercy of our Lord satisfies the justice of a loving Father in Heaven. Because of the Atonement of the Savior, we can repent. In repentance, there is peace. Spencer W. Kimball, in The Miracle of Forgiveness wrote, “The essence of the miracle of forgiveness is that it brings peace to the previously anxious, restless, frustrated, perhaps tormented soul. In a world of turmoil and contention this is indeed a priceless gift.” (The Miracle of Forgiveness, p.363)
D&C 64:10 I, the Lord, will aforgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to bforgive all men.
I know from a profound personal experience that equal is the peace that comes when we let go of grudges and ill-feelings and forgive, as it is required of us.
3. I find great peace in the knowledge given in
Mosiah 15:20 But behold, the bands of death shall be broken, and the Son reigneth, and hath power over the dead; therefore, he bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead.
After Christ died upon the cross, he was laid in the tomb. After three days, his spirit was reunited with his glorified body. And today HE LIVES. The Primary children ought to recognize this: I Know That My Redeemer Lives. What Comfort this sweet sentence gives. He lives, he lives who once was dead, he lives, my ever living head. Christ stands at the head of our church today. We have a prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley, who bears witness of him. There are Twelve Apostles, as there were in the day of Christ. They have been called as special witnesses of Christ. I know this. Several years ago, as a college student at BYU, I had an amazing experience. I sat in my apartment watching conference. As they read the name of Elder Robert D. Hales to sustain him as an Apostle, they showed him on the television. A warm feeling of peace flooded through me, and into my heart. I know with a certainty that Elder Hales, sitting here today, is a special witness of Jesus Christ. What a privilege to be able to be taught by him today, and to feel his testimony of our Savior, who lives.

I know that when we follow the spirit and work to make the Atonement a part of our lives, we will be blessed with great peace. I know our Savior lives and loves us.