Thursday, September 20, 2012

The Peacemakers

Matthew 5:9 reads, "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God."

3 Nephi 12:9 reads, "And blessed are all the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God."

Just as with the "pure in heart" verse, the Book of Mormon version adds the word "all".

In my mind, a peacemaker is someone one tries to prevent fighting and quarrelling.  It is someone whose heart aches as other people contend.

The blessing for being a peacemaker is to be called a child of God (as opposed to seeing God).

In doing a little internet searching on this topic, I came across this picture:

peacemaker during Greek riots Sept 2011

This image represents a real peacemaker - someone who, individually, is trying to calm the unrest (picture source).

Do we do the same in our homes?  Do we strive to bring a voice of calm to a heated discussion?

I'm always impressed with people who can have a spirited debate, but then turn on a dime and crack a joke and essentially diffuse a volatile situation.