“Finding Peace for Yourself and Others in Troubled Times,” Liahona, April 2019
Finding Peace for Yourself and Others in Troubled Times
Here are eight ways to help yourself and others feel peace when life gets tough.
Background and illustration from Getty Images
Sometimes life turns us upside down and inside out. You may be worried about family concerns, health issues, problems at school, or any number of troubling events in the world today. How can we find personal peace in a troubled world? Whether your lack of peace comes from events outside your control or from things you can influence and change, here are some ideas to help you find inner peace through Jesus Christ.
4 Ways to Find Peace for Yourself
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Focus on the eternal
It’s hard to feel at peace when you’re focused only on short-term worries. But if you focus on the big picture, God’s plan of happiness, you can find peace in knowing that what hurts right now won’t last forever. For example, the temple helps us focus on eternity. President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) said that in the temple “you will know a peace that you will find nowhere else.”1
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Let go of what you can’t control
When something outside your control takes away your peace, it’s tempting to feel hopeless or angry. But it doesn’t help to linger on things you can’t change. Instead, draw close to the Savior to find inner peace even when life deals you a bad hand. He has promised to send you the Comforter, the Holy Ghost (see John 14:26–27).
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Forgive others
Often the hardest thing to let go of is the negativity you feel when someone wrongs you. But Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has taught: “We will receive the joy of forgiveness in our own lives when we are willing to extend that joy freely to others. … As a result, the Spirit of the Lord will fill our souls with the joy accompanying divine peace of conscience (see Mosiah 4:2–3).”2 Turning to the Savior can help you be free of emotional burdens and be filled with peace.
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Repent and rely on Christ
No matter what else is going well in your life, carrying the burden of sin will always rob you of peace. Sometimes we need our bishop to help us fully repent. But we all need to regularly repent and, through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, become clean of everything that keeps us from becoming more like Him.
4 Ways to Help Others Find Peace
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Share the gospel of Jesus Christ
Just as we can find peace for ourselves by focusing on the Savior, we can point others to Him as “the founder of peace” (Mosiah 15:18). For example, try sharing a scripture or a quote from general conference that helped you learn more about Jesus Christ.
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Be a peacemaker
Help your friends or siblings resolve conflicts. Like the Anti-Nephi-Lehies in the book of Alma, we can bury our weapons of war—weapons like gossiping, seeking revenge, or being selfish—and trade them instead for instruments of peace: speaking kindly, obeying God’s commandments, and forgiving others (see Alma 24:19).
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Be a good listener
Sometimes people who are struggling need to talk openly about their thoughts and feelings instead of keeping them inside. We don’t have to solve their problems for them, but we can simply listen to their concerns and provide support, showing Christlike love and understanding.
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Minister to those in your ward and community
You could volunteer at a homeless shelter, serve as a peer tutor, or bring treats to a new family in your neighborhood. Help people find peace in the small things. Having a consistent place to eat and sleep, a reliable mentor, or a small assurance that someone cares can go a long way.
Jesus spoke these words of comfort to all who struggle to find peace: “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” (John 14:27). If we bring ourselves and others closer to Jesus Christ, we can find peace even when life gets tough.