peace: JESUS CHRIST: THE PRINCE OF PEACE

 

JESUS CHRIST

THE PRINCE OF PEACE

For unto us a child is born,

unto us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.      Isaiah 9

Howard W. Hunter:  Peace was on the lips and in the heart of the Savior no matter how fiercely the tempest was raging.

Michael J. Russzala:   The Life and Times of Jesus                                                        

And while today's secularized and globalized society has tried to

 declare its independence from the preacher of Nazareth, it cannot

 help that it owes much of its own sense of justice, morality, peace,

 and tolerance to Jesus and his followers.  

Luke 2:14

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

President Heber J. Grant described the Savior’s peace this way: “His peace will ease our suffering, bind up our broken hearts, blot out our hates, engender in our breasts a love of fellow men that will suffuse our souls with calm and happiness.”

John 14:27 

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.

John 16:33    These things I have spoken unto you, that in

 me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have

 tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the

 world.

Mosiah 4:3    …after they had spoken these words the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience, because of the exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ...

The Apostle Paul

1 Corinthians 14:33

For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

 

Elder Dallin H. Oaks:  Loving Others and Living with Differences

October 2014 General Conference

The early Apostles taught that we should "follow after the things (that) make for peace" (Romans 14:19)…

The commandment to love one another surely includes love and respect across religious lines and also across racial, cultural, and economic lines...

...as followers of Christ we should live peacefully with others who do not share our values or accept the teachings upon which they are based...

Isaiah 53:5             But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

                      

Alma 38       8 And it came to pass that I was three days and three nights in the most bitter pain and anguish of soul; and never, until I did cry out unto the Lord Jesus Christ for mercy, did I receive a remission of my sins. But behold, I did cry unto him and I did find peace to my soul.

Russell M. Nelson:  Hatred among brothers and neighbors has now reduced sacred cities to sites of sorrow…Peace can prevail only when that natural inclination to fight is superseded by self-determination to live on a loftier level. Coming unto Jesus Christ as the “Prince of Peace”  is the pathway to peace on earth and goodwill among men.  He made a promise to us: “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” 

President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: 

“The everlasting peace Jesus promises is an inner peace, born in faith, anchored by testimony, nurtured with love, and expressed through continual obedience and repentance. It is a peace of spirit that echoes through the heart and the soul. … Peace—real peace—whole-souled to the very core of your being—comes only in and through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.”

D&C 121:7   My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; 

2 Nephi 26: 9   But the Son of Righteousness shall appear unto them; and

 he shall heal them, and they shall have peace with him... 

   

Elder Quentin L. Cook:  Personal Peace:  The Reward of Righteousness

April 2013 General Conference

Even with the trials of life, because of the Savior's

 Atonement and His grace, righteous living will be

 rewarded with personal peace.             

Elder Robert E. Hales:  Peace

April 1991 General Conference

Today I’d like to speak about this spiritual peace offered by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount, when he gave us the beautiful beatitude about peace and peacemakers. The entire sermon is a blueprint for us to use in our personal path towards perfection, as well as a pattern of the many attributes and qualities we must develop in our eternal quest to approach the perfection and peace Jesus personifies...

       

President Russell M. Nelson:  Preaching the Gospel of Peace

April 2022 General Conference

Brothers and sisters, the gospel of Jesus Christ has never been needed more than it is today. Contention violates everything the Savior stood for and taught. I love the Lord Jesus Christ and testify that His gospel is the only enduring solution for peace. His gospel is a gospel of peace.

Joseph F. Smith

There never can come to the world that spirit of peace and love...until mankind will receive God's truth and God's message..., and acknowledge his power and authority which is divine.

    

Hebrews 13:20

Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant.

                             

         

  

    

                                             

Jesus Christ is the only reason we can truly live peacefully with God. Jesus Christ is called the Prince of Peace because He restores every broken relationship, provides a well-ordered and balanced life, and offers the assurance of eternal life.

            Christianity.com

                                                                           

D&C 59:23              But learn that he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come.

                                             

     

Elder Quinten L. Cook

April 2013 General Conference

We all long for peace.  Peace is not just safety or lack of war, violence, conflict, and contention.  Peace comes from knowing that the Savior knows who we are and knows that we have faith in Him, love Him, and keep His commandments, even and especially amid life's devastating trials and tragedies.

Note that peaceful doesn’t mean “easy.” Jesus never promised easy; He only promised help. In fact, He told us to expect tribulation (John 16:33) and trials (James 1:2)). But He also said that, if we called on Him, He would give us the “peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension” (Philippians 4:6-7). No matter what hardships we are faced with, we can ask for a peace that comes from the powerful love of God that is not dependent on our own strength or the situation around us.

                                                gotquestions.com

2 Thessalonians 3:16

Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means.  The Lord be with you.

      

Lisa L. Harkness, First Counselor in the Primary General Presidency:  Peace, Be Still

October 2020 General Conference

Certainly, the Savior of the world understands our mortal limitations, for He teaches us how to feel peace and calm even when the winds blow fiercely around us and billowing waves threaten to sink our hopes.

   

“Jesus Christ is a prince of peace. He told us to live in peace. He told us to love our enemies. He told us to do good to them that spitefully use us.”

Pat Robertson

D&C 6: 23         Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?

   

Elder Quinten L. Cook: Personal Peace, the Reward of Righteousness

April 2013 General Conference

…many search for peace in worldly ways which never have and never will succeed.

…peace is not found by attaining great wealth, power of prominence

…peace is not found in the pursuit of pleasure, entertainment or leisure

…or in abundance

…the answer is in the Savior

…humbling ourselves before God

…through repentance and living righteously

…through confession (if necessary)

…sharing the gospel

…holding close to the church of Christ, the doctrine and ordinances

…temples provide peace

…The Savior is the source of true peace

Isaiah 11: 4, 6-9

But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together and the little child shall lead them.

   

President David O. McKay                        Men may yearn for peace, cry for peace, and work for peace, but there will be no peace until they follow the path pointed out by the living Christ.  Conference Report April 1948

Mosiah 4:3

…they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience, because of their exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ...

I testify that a we "shun contention" and become "like-minded with the Lord in love and united with Him in faith," His peace will be ours.

                    Elder Dale G. Renlund, The Peace of Christ Abolishes Enmity

                    October 2021 General Conference

HYMNS  FROM https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/music/library/hymns

 SWEET IS THE PEACE THE GOSPEL BRINGS  (#14)

Sweet is the peace the gospel brings

To seeking minds and true.

With light refulgent on its wings,

It clears the human view.

     

WHERE CAN I TURN FOR PEACE?  (129)

Where can I turn for peace? 

Where is my solace

When other sources cease to make me whole?

When with a wounded heart, anger, or malice,

I draw myself apart,

Searching my soul?

Where, when my aching grows,

Where, when I languish,

Where, in my need to know, where can I run?

Where is the quiet hand to calm my anguish?

Who, who can understand?

He, only One.

He answers privately,

Reaches my reaching

In my Gethsemane, Savior and Friend.

Gentle the peace he finds for my beseeching.

Constant he is and kind,

Love without end.

MASTER, THE TEMPEST IS RAGING (105)

The winds and the waves shall obey they will:

Peace, be still.

Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea

Or demons or men or whatever it be,

No waters can swallow the ship where lies

The Master of ocean and earth and skies.

They all shall sweetly obey thy will:

Peace, be still; peace, be still.

They all shall sweetly obey thy will:

Peace, peace, be still.

SECRET PRAYER (144)

There is an hour of peace and rest,

Unmarred by earthly care;

’Tis when before the Lord I go

And kneel in secret prayer.

from The Citizen, Father Paul    https://thecitizen.com/

The Hebrew word "shalom" from our Isaiah 9:6 passage which Bible translators translate into the English word "peace" is often used by Jews as a word of greeting.  But shalom has many, many more meanings.  Here are a few: completeness, wholeness rest , safety soundness, tranquility, prosperity, fullness, harmony, lack of worry, the absence of agitation or of discord.  Wow!  I want that peace.  Don't you? …the Lord Jesus is not merely a “teacher of peace” or “one  who proclaimed peace.” I know this is a difficult concept, but Jesus doesn’t just  “represent peace,” No, Jesus is peace! Jesus is peace just like Jesus is love. He is literally peace in the flesh … peace itself living in the body of a man. And when we come to truly know Jesus and not just know “about” Jesus, a miracle begins. Then, when we also begin to “hang out” with Jesus on a daily basis, his heavenly peace starts to totally saturate us … body, soul and spirit. And our life on earth moves to the highest plane.

What I am saying is a deep and profound spiritual mystery that lots of people miss because it cannot be fully grasped or understood by our intellect or our limited human understanding. The mystery of peace of mind and heart can only be understood and attained by and through spiritual eyes and a heart of simple faith in God and his son.

BOOK

PROCLAIM PEACE

XXV  This book operates simultaneously on two levels, with dual purposes and audiences in mind.  Our primary aim is for Latter-day Saints to better appreciate the nonviolent life, mission and saving work of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, and to translate that understanding into a more "peaceable walk with the children of men."  It is not enough to merely

believe in peace; disciples of Christ are called to put their living faith into action and build peace--in their homes, their communities, their nations, and the world.  For those Latter-day Saints already committed to or engaged in nonviolent social change, we want them to recognize that they can do so from their deepest theological commitments, rather than in spite of them.  Secondarily, we hope Proclaim Peace will join a growing library of books that outline distinctive approaches to peace and nonviolence from the world's diverse religious tradition.

     

PEACE CHILD

peace child

in the sleep of the night

in the dark before light

you come you come

in the silence of stars

in the violence of wars

savior your name

peace child

to the road and the storm

to the gun and the bomb

you come you come

through the hate and the hurt

through the hunger and dirt

bearing a dream

peace child

to our dark and our sleep

to the conflict we reap

now come now come

be your dream born alive

held in hope wrapped in love

god's true shalom

Francis of Assisi 

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace;

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

To be consoled as to console;

To be understood as to understand;

To be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.