Blessed Are the Peacemakers | Vern P. Stanfill | 2022

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We can become peacemakers to those around us by emulating the Savior and becoming representatives of the Prince of Peace.

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"Dear brothers and sisters, it is such an honor and pleasure to stand at this podium today and address you. I graduated from BYU more than forty years ago. I have a great love for this university and what it stands for. All those who have had the privilege of attending BYU are the beneficiaries of the sacrifices of millions across the world who love the Lord and His children. It is a great blessing to attend here, and, as with most blessings, it comes with a responsibility to reflect the principles and standards taught in this unique setting.

Making a Difference in the Lives of God’s Children

The BYU experience was life changing for me. It was here that I met Alicia, my wife of nearly forty-two years. It was here that I expanded my vision of possibilities, both temporally and spiritually. It was here that I strengthened my convictions and increased my desire to follow the Savior. It was here that I learned to learn. And it was here that I learned so much about loving God and His Son.

I share the expectation and the hope of those who have given so liberally that this experience will change you, draw you closer to the Savior, and prepare you in every way to make a difference in the world. In this crowd there may be the next Warren Buffett, Elon Musk, or J. K. Rowling. We appreciate the gifts in business, science, and the arts that brilliant people have given us. These and many others have used their wealth and success to benefit society. No one would argue with the fact that they have changed the world we live in.

Certainly there are people whose actions have changed the very course of history. Some have been good and others evil. Some have been neither particularly good nor evil, but their contributions have still been significant to the way our society functions. Today there are individuals labeled as influencers who change the way we dress, how we think, what we do in our spare time, and even what we become passionate about. Their influence often defies reason, and yet they change the world we live in. At least for a time. Perhaps time is the litmus test. When we cross to the other side of the veil, what will matter to us? An iPhone 13 or an act of kindness that brought us peace? Those who make a difference change generations by bringing people closer to the Savior. These actions will be eternally remembered.

Making this kind of difference in the lives of God’s children and in the eternities requires us to do things in a much more intimate way—the Savior’s way. It requires more than being on the forefront of the latest cultural or social issue. It requires a quiet awareness of the problems, sufferings, desires, and needs of those around us. The difference I am talking about demands compassion. Compassion is different than empathy or sympathy in that its very root means “suffer with.”1 It requires action and is usually given individually in small ways. But generations may be changed.

Recently, in my personal studies, I was touched as I pondered the Sermon on the Mount. I read the Beatitudes in a different way. Most of the Savior’s teachings during His ministry were efforts to help us to become something. They were mostly dos—not don’ts. The word beatitude comes from the Latin adjective beatus, which means “happy,” “fortunate,” or “blissful.”2 Much more than happiness or joy, the word blessed in the Savior’s teachings is defined as “an exclamation of the inner joy and peace that comes with being right with God.”3 Some define beatitude as “extreme blessedness.”4

Perhaps because of today’s culture of strife, division, and anger, I was particularly touched by Matthew 5:9: “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”

I pondered what the Savior was truly trying to teach.”

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