🌿 What Does It Mean to Be a Peacemaker? (Thoughts from a Sunday pew)
🌿 What Does It Mean to Be a Peacemaker?
(Thoughts from a Sunday pew)
I still go to church.
That matters to say out loud.
I go because I love my wife.
I go because there is real goodness there.
Good families.
Good intentions.
Good people trying to do their best in a confusing world.
And this past Sunday, I sat in priesthood meeting and listened to a lesson about being peacemakers.
It was a good lesson.
The apostle being quoted is a good man. I went home and read his words carefully. Taken on their own, they’re thoughtful, Christ-centered, and sincere. I don’t doubt his heart at all.
But there was a phrase that kept echoing in my mind as the discussion unfolded:
“We need to be powerful peacemakers.”
And I felt something quietly pause inside me.
Not anger.
Not rebellion.
Just… a question.
🌱 When words drift
Here’s the thing: peacemaker is one of the most beautiful names Christ ever gave His followers.
“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”
But in church culture — especially when filtered through history, fear, and institutional survival — words can drift.
Peace can slowly turn into order.
Peacemaking can quietly become preparedness.
And power can begin to sound like force.
That’s where my heart hesitated.
🪶 A conversation in the pew
I was sitting next to a dear friend. A man I respect deeply. A man with deep pioneer roots and a complicated family history tied to the early Church. He’s supported my writing. Encouraged my book. Shown real kindness to me.
During the discussion, he said something like, “We ought to be packing. We need to protect ourselves.”
I didn’t argue.
I didn’t judge.
I understood where he was coming from.
Fear does that to people.
History does that to people.
Stories of siege and persecution sink deep into the bones.
But inside, another thought rose up — quiet, steady, and very clear.
🌄 How I understand the Lord’s coming
I don’t believe the Lord comes back angry.
I don’t believe He returns itching to “get even.”
I believe He comes in love, light, truth, and glory so complete that anything false simply cannot remain.
Light doesn’t attack darkness.
Darkness just can’t survive it.
When scripture says the wicked are “destroyed,” I don’t picture Christ swinging a sword in rage. I picture people being unable to abide perfect love. Perfect truth. Perfect exposure.
Not punishment.
Revelation.
And revelation can feel like destruction if a life is built on fear, domination, or lies.
🕊️ So… do we use force?
I own firearms now. A year ago, I didn’t.
Life changes. The world feels shakier. Protecting family matters.
But here’s the line I can’t cross in my heart:
I don’t want to anticipate violence.
I don’t want to fantasize about judgment.
I don’t want to secretly hope for a day when “the wicked get what’s coming.”
That spirit doesn’t feel like Christ to me.
Christ didn’t conquer by force.
He conquered by being unmovable in love.
🌿 What a peacemaker looks like to me
A peacemaker doesn’t enforce peace.
He embodies it.
He doesn’t threaten.
He doesn’t posture.
He doesn’t prepare speeches for when things finally fall apart.
He stays present.
He speaks truth without cruelty.
He loves without conditions.
He trusts God to do what only God can do.
That kind of peacemaking takes more courage than carrying a weapon.
🤍 Why I’m still here
I’m still in church because love is here.
I’m still in church because my wife is here.
I’m still in church because Christ is here — even when language gets tangled.
I don’t need to tear anything down.
I don’t need to win arguments.
I don’t need to be “powerful.”
I just want to be faithful.
🌅 A final thought
If the Lord comes tomorrow, I don’t believe He’ll be impressed by who was most prepared to fight.
I think He’ll be recognized by those who already learned how to stand in His light.
And those who can’t stand it… won’t need to be pushed away.
The light itself will tell the truth.
That’s the Peacemaker I know.
And that’s the kind of peacemaker I’m still trying to be.
📖 Scripture Witnesses on Peace & the Lord’s Coming
Bible — “For our God is a consuming fire.”
Hebrews 12:29
(Light does not attack; it reveals and consumes what cannot endure it.)Book of Mormon — “They who are righteous shall not fear, for they are those who shall not be confounded.”
Book of Mormon — 1 Nephi 22:22
(The Lord’s presence is peace to those prepared to abide it.)Nephite / Nemenhah Record — “The Peacemaker shall come in glory, and all things that are not of peace shall flee before Him.”
The Nemenhah Records — Ayahtsuhway (The Peacemaker)
(Peace does not conquer by force; it outlasts what cannot live within it.)
Comments