I Am a Peacemaker

By Judy Edwards

“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God” (Matt. 5:9).

What would you do if your father or mother asked you, privately and quietly, to be a peacemaker for 24 hours? That is what recently happened to several children. Here is what each of them said about being a peacemaker.

Jeffrey, age 7 “Being a peacemaker is making other people be happy and stop fighting. I wish we would do this more often because every time I wanted to be mean, I thought about what Jesus would do.”

Christian, age 6 “I helped my sister with half her work. She was surprised. She said thank you. I stopped a fight at school. I told them to stop fighting and be nice.”

Katie, age 10 “Being a peacemaker is harder than I thought it would be. Mom reminded me to practice. I didn’t want to do it, but I acted calmly about it instead of getting all upset. Being a peacemaker makes everyone happier, but it’s hard.”

Jeff, age 10 “When my mom asked me to be a peacemaker, I told her I’d try hard. I asked her to say a prayer with me so I could have help. It was great! I didn’t cause any problems at school. I feel really good. I want to try it again tomorrow.”

Rosemary, age 10 “When there are lots of people in a family, there needs to be lots of cooperation and peacemaking, and I’m glad I had this opportunity. I learned that it’s doing anything nice and making people feel peaceful. I felt peaceful too.”

Rebecca, age 9 “Our family was driving in the car, and I could tell that my parents were unhappy with each other, so I started to sing. I sang “Families Can Be Together Forever” (Tambulilit, March 1993, page 8). In just a couple of minutes, they smiled at me and things were good again.”

Jamie, age 8 “When my brothers were fighting over who would be first at doing something, I helped them by saying they both could be first. Because I knew I was the peacemaker, I told them in a soft voice instead of yelling at them. It felt good.”

Mary Jane, age 11 “Being a peacemaker means to set a good example, to try to end fights instead of start them. Today wasn’t that different, because I try to be a peacemaker every day.”

Instructions

You could try being a peacemaker for 24 hours! On the next page, write about your peacemaking efforts; then add it to your Book of Peace.

Peacemaker’s Page

“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God” (Matt. 5:9).

Being a peacemaker means:

______________________________

_______________________________

This is what I did to be a peacemaker:

______________________________

_______________________________

This is how I felt about being a peacemaker:

______________________________

_______________________________

Sharing Time Ideas

If they wish, have children who have been peacemakers share their experiences.
Share stories of notable peacemakers; then have each class dramatize one of them for the other children to guess. Examples: Abraham (see Gen. 13:5–12), King Benjamin (see Mosiah 4:11–15), Melchizedek (see Alma 13:17–18), righteous Lamanites (see Alma 24:17–19), Joseph Smith (see Valiant B manual, stories 3, 5, 6—pages 53–54), John Taylor (see Valiant B manual, pages 152–153), Jacob Hamblin (see Valiant B manual, pages 137–141).
Have children, by classes, discuss situations in which they can choose to be peacemakers; then have them report to the other children. (See CTR-A manual, pages 87–88, for examples.)
Sing the fourth verse to “I Feel My Savior’s Love” (Tambulilit, March 1994, page 6) and discuss with the children how sharing and serving and giving are part of being a peacemaker.
Peacemakers are called the children of God. Discuss in what ways peacemakers are like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Have the children read Isaiah 9:6 (2 Nephi 19:6 [Isa. 9:6; 2 Ne. 19:6]) to learn who is called the Prince of Peace. Sing “I’m Trying to Be Like Jesus” (Tambulilit, April 1990, pages 6–7).

Illustrated by Shauna Mooney Kawasaki