Which Passeth All Understanding

President Eyring taught in the most recent general conference about finding personal peace. He said, “The Savior knows that all of Heavenly Father’s children yearn for peace, and He said that He could give it to us. You remember the words of Jesus Christ recorded in the book of John: ‘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.’” He added, “It is clear that the Lord loved us enough to pay the price of our sins so that we can—through our faith in Him and our repentance, through the effects of His Atonement—have the gift of the peace that ‘passeth all understanding,’ in this life and with Him eternally.” In one sense we might say that the purpose of the atonement was to give us peace: peace from our sins in this life and peace through eternal life with God in the world to come. But, as President Eyring suggested, sometimes that seems elusive to us: “Some of you, perhaps many, are not feeling the peace the Lord promised. You may have prayed for personal peace and spiritual comfort. Yet you may feel that the heavens are silent to your pleading for peace. There is an enemy of your soul who does not want you and those you love to find peace. He cannot enjoy it. He works to prevent you from even wanting to find the peace the Savior and our Heavenly Father desire you to have.” He taught that we have reason be optimistic even when we struggle to find peace, and he encouraged us to help others also find the path of peace: “[The Lord] is encouraging everyone to help others have opportunities to come unto Him and qualify for that same peace themselves…. I pray that you may find peace, help many others to find it, and pass it along.” His message seems to be that if we struggle to find peace, try to help others find it on the gospel path and we will find it as well.

                The words of Alma to his son Shiblon confirm the message of President Eyring. We find peace through Jesus Christ, and that peace is sustained by sharing it with others. Alma recounted his story of finding peace after being caught up in his sins: “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.” Peace comes from finding relief and forgiveness from our sins, and that only comes through Jesus Christ. That mercy from Him comes especially when we reach out in prayer, crying unto the Lord for forgiveness. Alma found and taught Shiblon that in our bitter pain and anguish we can look to Jesus for peace. At the end of his brief message to his son he also said, “And may the Lord bless your soul, and receive you at the last day into his kingdom, to sit down in peace. Now go, my son, and teach the word unto this people” (Alma 38:8, 15). I think he was implying that as we find peace in the Lord, we must teach the word to others, helping them to also find that peace. In fact, we best retain the peace of the Lord ourselves as we lead others to Him. In our dispensation the Lord linked our own forgiveness of sins with our missionary labors: “Nevertheless, ye are blessed, for the testimony which ye have borne is recorded in heaven for the angels to look upon; and they rejoice over you, and your sins are forgiven you” (Doctrine and Covenants 62:3). As we bear our witness of Jesus Christ to others, we will retain the peace that comes from a remission of our sins through Him. As we seek with determination and then share with devotion like Alma did, we will find what Paul promised: “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).