The Power Behind Peace written by Ashley Orr

Whenever I hear the word peace, a warm, loving feeling overcomes me. Now many people associate the word peace with no war. Indeed this is true but the word peace has so much more to it. The poet Robert Fulghum describes peace beautifully, "Peace is not something you wish for; it's something you make, something you do, something you are, and something you give away." Peace is a wonderful blessing, that we as human beings can create. In Alma it talks a great deal about peace. Why? Because the people had given up their wicked ways and turned to Christ. In Alma 1:33 it reads, "And it came to pass that by thus exercising the law upon them, every man suffering according to that which he had done, they became more still, and durst not commit any wickedness if it were known; therefore, there was much peace among the people of Nephi until the fifth year of the reign of the judges." Now we ask ourselves, how can we have peace in our own lives? When I think of peace, I think of having peace with myself. You have to love who you are and know without a doubt what you stand for. By being close to Christ and loving yourself you will be at peace. Wickedness never was peace. As long as we are being like the nephites, still and commiting no wickedness we will be able to experience peace.

In Alma 3: 24 it reads, "And then they returned again and began to establish peace in the land, being troubled no more for a time with their enemies." How can we establish peace? The way I establish peace in my life is by being a peacemaker in my own home. I'm the oldest in my family and a lot of times my younger sibligns fight. I know that since I'm the oldest, it is my job to be a good example and be the peacemaker in the home. Whenever they are fighting I remind them that they are best friends and that best friends should love each other. After we have talked about what has happened, I have them hug and once again peace is in our home. We can always be peacemakers in our homes. This is just one small way for us to establish peace.

In Alma 4: 5 it reads, " And it came to pass in the seventh year of the reigns of the judges, there were about three thousand five hundred souls that united themselves unto the church of God and were baptized, and there was continual peace throughout all that time." Baptism is a way that we can feel peace in our lives. I remember the feeling that I felt when I was baptized. It was a feeling of peace. I felt so clean and pure. When we decide to be baptized we automatically have a promised peace in our lives. Also another way to feel peace is by going to the temple and doing baptisms for the dead. This gives the opportunity for others to feel the peace that we experience everyday.

In Alma 7:27 it reads, "And now, may the peace of God rest upon you, and upon your houses and your lands, and upong your flocks and herds, and all that you possess, your women and your children, according to your faith and good works, from this time forth and forever." I absolutely love this scripture. When every I am having a rough time I always turn to this scripture. I love the part where it says, "the peace of God." The peace of God is the peace that we experience when we are doing what we are supposed to be doing. How wonderful is that to know that when we are thinking of Christ and doing what he wants us to do, we are given his peace. It is our duty to share this peace with everyone around us. While Christ was on the Earth, he shared his peace with his disciples. To become more like Christ we can share our own peace. Peace is a gift from God, we should never hide it.

In Alma 13:18 it describes Melchizedek has "the prince of peace." It is our goal in life to be a prince or princess of peace. In order to do this we need to make sure that we are keeping the commandments and coming unto Christ. By being a prince or princess of peace we will be great examples to everyone around us. They will see the peace within us and want to have that peace as well. One of Christ's qualities was peace. We are trying to be like him and by having peace we are one step closer to being like him. We can be peacemakers within our homes, at school, and everywhere we go. Peace is a wonderful feeling and we can have it with us always.

I want to bear my testimony on the power behind peace. Throughout time peace has always been a word on everyone's lips. We hope for peace and we seek for peace. Like the poet said, peace is something we do. It doesn't just magically appear. We have to work towards peace. I know that when I am doing what's right and staying close to my Savior I feel peace all the time. I know that if everyone had peace in their lives our world would be a much happier place to live in. Living in peace is one of the greatest blessings that we as Americans have been given. We shouldn't abuse this gift in anyway. "To be at one with God is to be at peace... peace is to be found only within, and unless one finds it there he will never find it at all. Peace lies not within the external world. It lies within one's soul." Ralph Waldo Trine. It is my prayer and hope that we can all find the peace that lies within our souls. There is power behind peace and it is our job to find that peace and live it.

Works Cited

Scripture Cruncher, I used the Scripture Cruncher to find all my scriptures, very useful tool

Scriptures

Own Personal Experiences

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