2022
15 Promises of Peace from Ancient and Living Prophets
August 2022

Digital Only

15 Promises of Peace from Ancient and Living Prophets

By Victoria Passey

Church Magazines

The Lord has promised peace to those who follow Him. See several invitations that have been given to help us experience great peace in our lives through Jesus Christ.

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Christ sits in a field with His disciples

In these turbulent latter days, the words of the hymn “Where Can I Turn for Peace?” may strike our hearts. We too likely wonder where we can turn for peace, find solace, and feel our wounded hearts made whole. The hymn provides an answer for the question, “Who, who can understand? He, only One.”1 Peace is found in Jesus Christ.

Prophets and apostles in both ancient and latter days have spoken of the peace we can find in Christ, no matter our earthly circumstances. Many of these statements show the action required on our part (see the phrases in bold) to receive peace, and they remind us that true peace comes only from our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. As you review them, may the Spirit guide you to know how you can find the peace you seek.

  1. President John Taylor (1808–1887): “Peace is the gift of God. Do you want peace? Go to God. Do you want peace in your families? Go to God. Do you want peace to brood over your families? If you do, live your religion, and the very peace of God will dwell and abide with you, for that is where peace comes from, and it [does not] dwell anywhere else. … All we have to do is to live our religion, to obey the counsel of our President, be humble and faithful and not exalted in our own strength, but ask wisdom of God and see that we have peace with God, with our families, with one another, that peace may reign in our bosoms and in our community. … Peace is a desirable thing; it is the gift of God, and the greatest gift that God can bestow upon mortals. What is more desirable than peace? … Its soothing influence calms the brow of care, dries the eye of sorrow, and chases trouble from the bosom; and let it be universally experienced, and it would drive sorrow from the world, and make this earth a paradise. But peace is the gift of God.”2

  2. President Joseph F. Smith (1838–1918): “There is only one thing that can bring peace into the world. It is the adoption of the gospel of Jesus Christ, rightly understood, obeyed and practiced by rulers and people alike. … For years it has been held that peace comes only by preparation for war. … Peace comes only by preparing for peace, through training the people in righteousness and justice, and selecting rulers who respect the righteous will of the people. … There never can come to the world that spirit of peace and love that should exist, until mankind will receive God’s truth and God’s message unto them, and acknowledge his power and authority which is divine, and never found in the wisdom only of men.”3

  3. President Howard W. Hunter (1907–1995): “The peace for which the world longs is a time of suspended hostilities; but men do not realize that peace is a state of existence that comes to man only upon the terms and conditions set by God, and in no other way. … When we try to help those who have offended us, when we pray for those who have unrighteously used us, our lives can be beautiful. We can have peace when we come into a unity with the Spirit and with each other as we serve the Lord and keep his commandments.”4

  4. President Thomas S. Monson (1927–2018): “As we attend the temple, there can come to us a dimension of spirituality and a feeling of peace which will transcend any other feeling which could come into the human heart. … In our lives we will have temptations; we will have trials and challenges. As we go to the temple, as we remember the covenants we make there, we will be better able to overcome those temptations and to bear our trials. In the temple we can find peace.”5

  5. President Russell M. Nelson: “I bless you to be filled with the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ. His peace is beyond all mortal understanding. I bless you with an increased desire and ability to obey the laws of God. I promise that as you do, you will be showered with blessings, including greater courage, increased personal revelation, sweeter harmony in your homes, and joy even amid uncertainty.”6

  6. 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.”7

  7. Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: “We earnestly hope and pray for universal peace, but it is as individuals and families that we achieve the kind of peace that is the promised reward of righteousness. This peace is a promised gift of the Savior’s mission and atoning sacrifice. … Humbling ourselves before God, praying always, repenting of sins, entering the waters of baptism with a broken heart and contrite spirit, and becoming true disciples of Jesus Christ are profound examples of the righteousness that is rewarded by abiding peace.”8

  8. Psalm 29:1–2, 11: “Give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. … The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace.”

  9. Psalm 119:165: “Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.”

  10. Proverbs 16:3, 7: “Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established. … When a man’s ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies be at peace with him.”

  11. Isaiah 32:17: “And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.”

  12. 1 Corinthians 14:33: “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.”

  13. Philippians 4:1, 2, 4, 6–7: “Stand fast in the Lord. … Be of the same mind in the Lord. … Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. … In every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

  14. 1 Nephi 20:18: “O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments—then had thy peace been as a river.”

  15. Doctrine and Covenants 59:23: “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.” (See the rest of Section 59 for many ways we can do “the works of righteousness.”)

“There Is Peace in Christ”9

Over thousands of years, from before Christ was born to now as we await His second coming, every promise of peace given by the Savior’s chosen prophets and apostles has spoken of Him. While life will always include trials and challenges, we can be blessed with everlasting peace within our hearts amidst our trials when we turn our hearts and minds to Christ and follow His commandments in righteousness. This great promise of peace has sustained followers of Christ throughout history, and it can sustain us, too, if we let it. “Jesus Christ [is] the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8), and every promise of peace He has given us, whether a year ago or a thousand years ago, holds true today.