Where Can I Turn for Peace? | Finding Peace in Uncertain Times

We live in very interesting time. It feels like with every passing month, the year 2020 has something new to throw at us. It is too easy to join the hate that is spewing across the nation, and hard to be calm and at peace with one another. There are many of us that feel uncomfortable, fearful, and scared of the future. How can we find peace in these uncertain times?

The lyrics to the song Where Can I Turn for Peace? by Emma Lou Thayne come to mind. The opening three lines probably encompass what many members are feeling across the country: 

 

Where can I turn for peace?
Where is my solace
When other sources cease to make me whole

 


In times of uncertainty, the first thing we should hold on to is aspects of the Gospel, namely the importance of keeping our covenants, reading the Book of Mormon, and turning to our Savior Jesus Christ. Taken from lds.org, we learn the importance of keeping our covenants during turbulent times.

 

Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared how we gain power through keeping our covenants: “Sometimes we are tempted to let our lives be governed more by convenience than by covenant. It is not always convenient to live gospel standards and stand up for truth and testify of the Restoration. … But there is no spiritual power in living by convenience. The power comes as we keep our covenants” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1999, 113; or Ensign, May 1999, 86).

 

President Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, explained that keeping covenants keeps us safe:

 

  • “Keep your covenants and you will be safe. Break them and you will not.

 

 

The Book of Mormon is filled with stories of war, with the later chapters of Alma being considered "The War Chapters." The lessons that we learn in these chapters are many. The story of the Stripling Warriors come to mind as men who were faithful in the Gospel and went out to war. Because of the testimonies that their mother's help them forge within themselves, they were able to overcome the trials and tribulations of many battles and leave unscathed.

They exemplified the type of manhood that all of God’s sons and daughters should emulate and stood as a witness to the Nephite nation that God would deliver them if they were faithful.

 

Finally we must lean on our Savior Jesus Christ. The second verse of the song Where Can I Turn for Peacetruly exemplifies why we should look to Him in our times of fear and sorrow. 

 

Where, when my aching grows,
Where, when I languish,
Where, in my need to know, where can I run?
Where is the quiet hand to calm my anguish?
Who, who can understand?

He, only One.

Continue to hold strong to the Gospel during these times. Our Heavenly Father has a plan for us and as long as we stay faithful and endure to the end, we will be able to see the light that overcomes the darkness.

 

 

** The opinions and views expressed herein belong solely to Tyler Carpenter and do not necessarily represent the opinions or views of Cedar Fort, Inc.