A Palace of Peace

In 1993 I was newly married and nearing graduation from college. In the world there were wars, political unrest, financial crises, famine, corruption and natural disasters. We (collectively) worried about the increasing evil and the decline in morality.

Elder Howard W. Hunter came to BYU to give a devotional and shared comments he had received from young adults about their fears in the world we then lived in:

Why should I date…? I am not sure I even want to marry and bring a family into this kind of a world. I am not very sure about my own future. How can I take the responsibility for the future of others whom I would love and care about and want to be happy?

I hope I die before all these terrible things happen that people are talking about. I don’t want to be on the earth when there is so much trouble.

I am doing the best I can, but I wonder if there is much reason to even plan for the future, let alone retirement. The world probably won’t last that long anyway.

It is safe to say that the world, 30 years later, is significantly worse in its morality and embrace of evil and that it has more than its fair share still of war, famine, natural disasters, financial, social and political woes.

The counsel Elder Hunter gave us then is refreshingly relevant and timely in a world that is 30 years further along in its troubles:

“In this last dispensation there will be great tribulation (Matthew 24:21). We know that from the scriptures. We know there will be wars and rumors of wars and that the whole earth will be in commotion (D&C 45:26). All dispensations have had their perilous times, but our day will include genuine peril (2 Timothy 3:1). Evil men will flourish (2 Timothy 3:13), but then evil men have very often flourished. Calamities will come and iniquity will abound (D&C 45:27).

Inevitably, the natural result of some of these kinds of prophecies is fear, and that is not fear limited to a younger generation. It is fear shared by those of any age who don’t understand what we understand.

But I want to stress that these feelings are not necessary for faithful Latter-day Saints, and they do not come from God.

To ancient Israel, the great Jehovah said:

Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. . . .

And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed. [Deuteronomy 31:6, 8]

And to you, our marvelous generation in modern Israel, the Lord has said: “Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail. . . . Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not” (D&C 6:34, 36).

In light of such wonderful counsel, I think it is incumbent upon us to rejoice a little more and despair a little less, to give thanks for what we have and for the magnitude of God’s blessings to us, and to talk a little less about what we may not have or what anxiety may accompany difficult times in this or any generation…

We need to have faith and hope, two of the greatest fundamental virtues of any discipleship of Christ. We must continue to exercise confidence in God… We must believe that God has all power, that he loves us, and that his work will not be stopped or frustrated in our individual lives or in the world generally…

We will have our difficulties the way every generation and people have had difficulties…With the gospel of Jesus Christ you have every hope and promise and reassurance. The Lord has power over his Saints and will always prepare places of peace, defense, and safety for his people. When we have faith in God we can hope for a better world—for us personally and for all mankind. The prophet Ether taught anciently (and he knew something about troubles):

Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God. [Ether 12:4]” (“An Anchor to the Souls of Men”, BYU Devotional, February 7, 1993)

Fear is conquered with an understanding of the God we worship, confidence in His power and His plan, and trust in His promises.

Gratitude for what we have is an antidote to anxiety.

Hope brings the reassurance we seek.

Places of peace are prepared for those with the faith to rely on the Savior of the world. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland calls them ‘palaces’ of peace:

‘There certainly can and will be plenty of external difficulties in life. Nevertheless the soul that comes unto Christ dwells within a personal fortress, a veritable palace of perfect peace. “Whoso hearkeneth unto me,” Jehovah says, “shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil”’ (Proverbs 1:33). (“Come Unto Me”, BYU Devotional, March 2, 1997)

A palace of peace prepared through the power of the Prince of Peace. Built on the foundation of His victorious battle over all of the ills of this fallen world and the powers of death, darkness and evil. His overcoming is our overcoming. All of the adversity we face is swallowed up in the joy of this knowledge.

In that, surely we can rejoice a little more and despair a little less.