My name is heather Engel and although my family has lived in the ward for 7 years now, I’d like to re-introduce our family. My youngest is my animal loving 13-year-old, Kiernan. He is 4 minutes younger than his twin brother Dallin. Dallin is shy…until he isn’t. And then he is all in. He just convinced Kiernan and I to play in the rainstorms we’ve had this week and I love his wild and feral little heart. Ethan is my well-rounded kid who loves sports, art, music, science…you name it. Lately he has been carving soda cans into roses, and I love his creativity.
My son Brennan joined the Army last fall and I will tell a story to highlight his personality. He recently had a AGSU inspection. All night he and the men in their unit were preparing and praying they wouldn’t get Drill SGT Johnson who was MEAN and meticulous. But the next morning as they were all lined up in their Class A’s, to their dismay, it was SGT Johnson doing the inspection. As Johnson went down the line it was FAIL, FAIL, FAIL then he came to Brennan. “Private, your marksmanship badge is 3 mm off center!” Brennan took a breath and said, “With all due respect, Drill SGT, you are wrong. It is centered and correct!” There was a tense silence. I admit when Brennan was telling me this story on the phone, I put my head in my hands. SGT Johnson stepped forward until they were nose to nose. “What did you say private?!” “My uniform is measured and it is correct Drill SGT. You are must be mistaken.” SGT Johnson stepped back and got a HUGE grin on his face, like he’d been waiting for it. Then said, “Well done, private. Pass!” So that is Brennan.
My oldest, Jonathan, now works at the nuclear submarine facility in Newport News. Now the topic I was asked to speak about today is on being a peacemaker and I am going to start by telling a story about Jonathan.
He has always been brilliant and endlessly curious. He loved physics and engineering from the time he was little. I remember taking him to a robotics seminar when he was about ten years old. The speaker asked a question about the internal mechanics of a cutting‑edge robot they were developing, and my little Jonathan raised his hand.
I’ll admit—maybe this makes me a bad mom—but I cringed. I was thinking, “Oh no… please don’t embarrass yourself.” And then, to my horror, the speaker actually called on him.
But Jonathan calmly explained the exact correct answer.
I went from “Please don’t embarrass yourself” to “That’s my kid!” in about twenty seconds.
Jonathan has always been brilliant and endlessly curious — and like many smart kids with ADHD, he could go from hyper‑focused to distracted in a heartbeat. Most of his teachers understood him, but one in third grade really struggled. Her discipline became harsh and punitive, and it crossed the line. I think his ADHD and her OCD probably collided in a really unhealthy way. I am not exaggerating when I say she was bullying my son.
I went full mama‑bear and was ready for war. I had requested meeting with the school administrator and councilor. Before the meeting with the school, I went to the temple to calm down. In the Celestial Room, I was praying for guidance on how to handle the situation and the answer came quickly and clearly. the Spirit spoke clearly: “Heather, if you do it with contention, you will do it without Me.”
For time, I will skip the resolution of the story specifics, and just say that I heeded the warning and handled the situation with respect and as the result Jonathan was tested and moved into an advanced placement class where he was able to be challenged and thrive.
But the principle I learned that day has been a life lesson about not choosing contention. We cannot choose contention and also choose Heavenly Father. If you do it with contention, you do it without Him.
On the sermon on the mount, the Savior said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.”
Last fall, Elder Stevenson gave a talk with this title “Blessed be the peacemakers”. In it, he invited us to place ourselves at the sermon on the mount and imagine what it would feel like to hear the Messiah speak these words. This call to peace is especially poignant when we remember that ancient Israel was an occupied land. Roman soldiers controlled the region, imposed heavy taxes, and enforced their rule through intimidation and violence. The people lived under constant pressure, fear, and political oppression.
Elder Stevenson said the people then must have wondered, “Can I truly become a peacemaker when the world is in commotion, when my heart is filled with fear, and when peace seems so far away?”
He then draws a direct connection to our own time: “Fast forward 2,000 years. No need to imagine—this is our reality. Although the pressures felt by today’s generation differ from those of the people in Galilee—polarization, secularization, retaliation, road rage, outrage, and social media pile-ons—both generations face cultures of conflict and tension.”
So how can we choose peace in a world that is not peaceful?
The scriptures are full of examples of people who were peacemakers despite circumstances.
John 14:27 “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.”
Peace not as the world giveth. Christ’s peace is not the absence of trials. It doesn’t mean there is no noise, no trouble, no hard work, or no confrontation. It means your heart can stay centered and calm in the very eye of the storm. And being a peacemaker does not mean you will never be called to be bold or brave. Peacemaking often requires us to hold firm in a righteous stand. It is a call to action. Elder Stephenson says, “Peacemaking requires courage and compromise but does not require sacrifice of principle.” Truly, avoidance is not being a peacemaker.
There is a real difference between confrontation and contention. Christ confronted many people. Confrontation literally means to stand in front of, or stand face to face. How often are we told to take a righteous stand?
Contention, on the other hand, means to compete, to strive against, to fight. Contention is the counterfeit. It is incredibly easy for something that begins as a well intended confrontation to slip into contention. We have to be careful—always—to remain peacemakers.
Because if we do it with contention, we do it without Him.
1. Elder Stevenson teaches that becoming a peacemaker has to begin in our own hearts. That requires us to ask if we are at war with ourselves. inner conflict can show up anytime there is dissonance in our minds: when shame and worthiness collide, when we forget our divine identity, when our values don’t match our behavior, or when emotions and logic pull us in different directions. There are countless ways that inner battles begin.
I remember the first time I felt an internal battle As a teenager. I had my first real test to my developing testimony. I had questions. I felt lost and confused. I turned to scriptures, and books, friends, my mom, and my seminary teacher. I was desperate for answers. I was praying and praying, and then one day an answer came. I felt the spirit say: “Be still, and know that I am God.”
Now this was not the answer to the specific questions I had. Those did not come for a long time. But that phrase carried me. Be still. It wasn’t the peace of knowing everything—it was the peace of knowing Him. It was enough. It was not the world’s version of peace, which demands immediate clarity and instant solutions. It was slow, steady, and line upon line. And that command to be still began inside me.
2. Elder Stevenson teaches that the next place we build peace is in our homes, using the Lord’s pattern to shape our relationships: which he says is “persuasion, long-suffering, gentleness, kindness, meekness, and love unfeigned.”
An example of this is A teenage daughter once came home in a terrible mood, slammed her backpack down, and snapped at her mom. The mom felt the sting, but instead of reacting, she simply said, “You seem overwhelmed. Do you want a snack… or a hug?”
The daughter burst into tears. “I’m sorry… it was a bad day.”
The mother responded to the hurt, not the tone. That is peacemaking.
3. Finally, Elder Stevenson challenges us to be peacemakers in our communities and in the world. There are so many examples of peacemakers in the scriptures and in history, but one of my very favorites is the story of the Anti‑Nephi‑Lehies, who buried their weapons of war.
That story has always pushed me to look inward and ask: What are my weapons of war? And how can I truly bury them? Elder Stevenson invites all of us to find ways to choose kindness—whether that’s in our workplaces, in online comments, in civil discourse, in the store, or on the road, or just in the everydaMy name is heather Engel and although my family has lived in the ward for 7 years now, I’d like to re-introduce our family. My youngest is my animal loving 13-year-old, Kiernan. He is 4 minutes younger than his twin brother Dallin. Dallin is shy…until he isn’t. And then he is all in. He just convinced Kiernan and I to play in the rainstorms we’ve had this week and I love his wild and feral little heart. Ethan is my well-rounded kid who loves sports, art, music, science…you name it. Lately he has been carving soda cans into roses, and I love his creativity.
My son Brennan joined the Army last fall and I will tell a story to highlight his personality. He recently had a AGSU inspection. All night he and the men in their unit were preparing and praying they wouldn’t get Drill SGT Johnson who was MEAN and meticulous. But the next morning as they were all lined up in their Class A’s, to their dismay, it was SGT Johnson doing the inspection. As Johnson went down the line it was FAIL, FAIL, FAIL then he came to Brennan. “Private, your marksmanship badge is 3 mm off center!” Brennan took a breath and said, “With all due respect, Drill SGT, you are wrong. It is centered and correct!” There was a tense silence. I admit when Brennan was telling me this story on the phone, I put my head in my hands. SGT Johnson stepped forward until they were nose to nose. “What did you say private?!” “My uniform is measured and it is correct Drill SGT. You are must be mistaken.” SGT Johnson stepped back and got a HUGE grin on his face, like he’d been waiting for it. Then said, “Well done, private. Pass!” So that is Brennan.
My oldest, Jonathan, now works at the nuclear submarine facility in Newport News. Now the topic I was asked to speak about today is on being a peacemaker and I am going to start by telling a story about Jonathan.
He has always been brilliant and endlessly curious. He loved physics and engineering from the time he was little. I remember taking him to a robotics seminar when he was about ten years old. The speaker asked a question about the internal mechanics of a cutting‑edge robot they were developing, and my little Jonathan raised his hand.
I’ll admit—maybe this makes me a bad mom—but I cringed. I was thinking, “Oh no… please don’t embarrass yourself.” And then, to my horror, the speaker actually called on him.
But Jonathan calmly explained the exact correct answer.
I went from “Please don’t embarrass yourself” to “That’s my kid!” in about twenty seconds.
Jonathan has always been brilliant and endlessly curious — and like many smart kids with ADHD, he could go from hyper‑focused to distracted in a heartbeat. Most of his teachers understood him, but one in third grade really struggled. Her discipline became harsh and punitive, and it crossed the line. I think his ADHD and her OCD probably collided in a really unhealthy way. I am not exaggerating when I say she was bullying my son.
I went full mama‑bear and was ready for war. I had requested meeting with the school administrator and councilor. Before the meeting with the school, I went to the temple to calm down. In the Celestial Room, I was praying for guidance on how to handle the situation and the answer came quickly and clearly. the Spirit spoke clearly: “Heather, if you do it with contention, you will do it without Me.”
For time, I will skip the resolution of the story specifics, and just say that I heeded the warning and handled the situation with respect and as the result Jonathan was tested and moved into an advanced placement class where he was able to be challenged and thrive.
But the principle I learned that day has been a life lesson about not choosing contention. We cannot choose contention and also choose Heavenly Father. If you do it with contention, you do it without Him.
On the sermon on the mount, the Savior said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.”
Last fall, Elder Stevenson gave a talk with this title “Blessed be the peacemakers”. In it, he invited us to place ourselves at the sermon on the mount and imagine what it would feel like to hear the Messiah speak these words. This call to peace is especially poignant when we remember that ancient Israel was an occupied land. Roman soldiers controlled the region, imposed heavy taxes, and enforced their rule through intimidation and violence. The people lived under constant pressure, fear, and political oppression.
Elder Stevenson said the people then must have wondered, “Can I truly become a peacemaker when the world is in commotion, when my heart is filled with fear, and when peace seems so far away?”
He then draws a direct connection to our own time: “Fast forward 2,000 years. No need to imagine—this is our reality. Although the pressures felt by today’s generation differ from those of the people in Galilee—polarization, secularization, retaliation, road rage, outrage, and social media pile-ons—both generations face cultures of conflict and tension.”
So how can we choose peace in a world that is not peaceful?
The scriptures are full of examples of people who were peacemakers despite circumstances.
John 14:27 “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.”
Peace not as the world giveth. Christ’s peace is not the absence of trials. It doesn’t mean there is no noise, no trouble, no hard work, or no confrontation. It means your heart can stay centered and calm in the very eye of the storm. And being a peacemaker does not mean you will never be called to be bold or brave. Peacemaking often requires us to hold firm in a righteous stand. It is a call to action. Elder Stephenson says, “Peacemaking requires courage and compromise but does not require sacrifice of principle.” Truly, avoidance is not being a peacemaker.
There is a real difference between confrontation and contention. Christ confronted many people. Confrontation literally means to stand in front of, or stand face to face. How often are we told to take a righteous stand?
Contention, on the other hand, means to compete, to strive against, to fight. Contention is the counterfeit. It is incredibly easy for something that begins as a well intended confrontation to slip into contention. We have to be careful—always—to remain peacemakers.
Because if we do it with contention, we do it without Him.
1. Elder Stevenson teaches that becoming a peacemaker has to begin in our own hearts. That requires us to ask if we are at war with ourselves. inner conflict can show up anytime there is dissonance in our minds: when shame and worthiness collide, when we forget our divine identity, when our values don’t match our behavior, or when emotions and logic pull us in different directions. There are countless ways that inner battles begin.
I remember the first time I felt an internal battle As a teenager. I had my first real test to my developing testimony. I had questions. I felt lost and confused. I turned to scriptures, and books, friends, my mom, and my seminary teacher. I was desperate for answers. I was praying and praying, and then one day an answer came. I felt the spirit say: “Be still, and know that I am God.”
Now this was not the answer to the specific questions I had. Those did not come for a long time. But that phrase carried me. Be still. It wasn’t the peace of knowing everything—it was the peace of knowing Him. It was enough. It was not the world’s version of peace, which demands immediate clarity and instant solutions. It was slow, steady, and line upon line. And that command to be still began inside me.
2. Elder Stevenson teaches that the next place we build peace is in our homes, using the Lord’s pattern to shape our relationships: which he says is “persuasion, long-suffering, gentleness, kindness, meekness, and love unfeigned.”
An example of this is A teenage daughter once came home in a terrible mood, slammed her backpack down, and snapped at her mom. The mom felt the sting, but instead of reacting, she simply said, “You seem overwhelmed. Do you want a snack… or a hug?”
The daughter burst into tears. “I’m sorry… it was a bad day.”
The mother responded to the hurt, not the tone. That is peacemaking.
3. Finally, Elder Stevenson challenges us to be peacemakers in our communities and in the world. There are so many examples of peacemakers in the scriptures and in history, but one of my very favorites is the story of the Anti‑Nephi‑Lehies, who buried their weapons of war.
That story has always pushed me to look inward and ask: What are my weapons of war? And how can I truly bury them? Elder Stevenson invites all of us to find ways to choose kindness—whether that’s in our workplaces, in online comments, in civil discourse, in the store, or on the road, or just in the everyday ways we interact with others. To be slow to anger and quick to see the humanity in our brothers and sisters.
My final thought is this: Peacemaking isn’t a strategy to change others—it’s a way God changes us. We choose kindness even when kindness isn’t offered back. We act with compassion because it reflects our character, not becausMy name is heather Engel and although my family has lived in the ward for 7 years now, I’d like to re-introduce our family. My youngest is my animal loving 13-year-old, Kiernan. He is 4 minutes younger than his twin brother Dallin. Dallin is shy…until he isn’t. And then he is all in. He just convinced Kiernan and I to play in the rainstorms we’ve had this week and I love his wild and feral little heart. Ethan is my well-rounded kid who loves sports, art, music, science…you name it. Lately he has been carving soda cans into roses, and I love his creativity.
My son Brennan joined the Army last fall and I will tell a story to highlight his personality. He recently had a AGSU inspection. All night he and the men in their unit were preparing and praying they wouldn’t get Drill SGT Johnson who was MEAN and meticulous. But the next morning as they were all lined up in their Class A’s, to their dismay, it was SGT Johnson doing the inspection. As Johnson went down the line it was FAIL, FAIL, FAIL then he came to Brennan. “Private, your marksmanship badge is 3 mm off center!” Brennan took a breath and said, “With all due respect, Drill SGT, you are wrong. It is centered and correct!” There was a tense silence. I admit when Brennan was telling me this story on the phone, I put my head in my hands. SGT Johnson stepped forward until they were nose to nose. “What did you say private?!” “My uniform is measured and it is correct Drill SGT. You are must be mistaken.” SGT Johnson stepped back and got a HUGE grin on his face, like he’d been waiting for it. Then said, “Well done, private. Pass!” So that is Brennan.
My oldest, Jonathan, now works at the nuclear submarine facility in Newport News. Now the topic I was asked to speak about today is on being a peacemaker and I am going to start by telling a story about Jonathan.
He has always been brilliant and endlessly curious. He loved physics and engineering from the time he was little. I remember taking him to a robotics seminar when he was about ten years old. The speaker asked a question about the internal mechanics of a cutting‑edge robot they were developing, and my little Jonathan raised his hand.
I’ll admit—maybe this makes me a bad mom—but I cringed. I was thinking, “Oh no… please don’t embarrass yourself.” And then, to my horror, the speaker actually called on him.
But Jonathan calmly explained the exact correct answer.
I went from “Please don’t embarrass yourself” to “That’s my kid!” in about twenty seconds.
Jonathan has always been brilliant and endlessly curious — and like many smart kids with ADHD, he could go from hyper‑focused to distracted in a heartbeat. Most of his teachers understood him, but one in third grade really struggled. Her discipline became harsh and punitive, and it crossed the line. I think his ADHD and her OCD probably collided in a really unhealthy way. I am not exaggerating when I say she was bullying my son.
I went full mama‑bear and was ready for war. I had requested meeting with the school administrator and councilor. Before the meeting with the school, I went to the temple to calm down. In the Celestial Room, I was praying for guidance on how to handle the situation and the answer came quickly and clearly. the Spirit spoke clearly: “Heather, if you do it with contention, you will do it without Me.”
For time, I will skip the resolution of the story specifics, and just say that I heeded the warning and handled the situation with respect and as the result Jonathan was tested and moved into an advanced placement class where he was able to be challenged and thrive.
But the principle I learned that day has been a life lesson about not choosing contention. We cannot choose contention and also choose Heavenly Father. If you do it with contention, you do it without Him.
On the sermon on the mount, the Savior said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.”
Last fall, Elder Stevenson gave a talk with this title “Blessed be the peacemakers”. In it, he invited us to place ourselves at the sermon on the mount and imagine what it would feel like to hear the Messiah speak these words. This call to peace is especially poignant when we remember that ancient Israel was an occupied land. Roman soldiers controlled the region, imposed heavy taxes, and enforced their rule through intimidation and violence. The people lived under constant pressure, fear, and political oppression.
Elder Stevenson said the people then must have wondered, “Can I truly become a peacemaker when the world is in commotion, when my heart is filled with fear, and when peace seems so far away?”
He then draws a direct connection to our own time: “Fast forward 2,000 years. No need to imagine—this is our reality. Although the pressures felt by today’s generation differ from those of the people in Galilee—polarization, secularization, retaliation, road rage, outrage, and social media pile-ons—both generations face cultures of conflict and tension.”
So how can we choose peace in a world that is not peaceful?
The scriptures are full of examples of people who were peacemakers despite circumstances.
John 14:27 “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.”
Peace not as the world giveth. Christ’s peace is not the absence of trials. It doesn’t mean there is no noise, no trouble, no hard work, or no confrontation. It means your heart can stay centered and calm in the very eye of the storm. And being a peacemaker does not mean you will never be called to be bold or brave. Peacemaking often requires us to hold firm in a righteous stand. It is a call to action. Elder Stephenson says, “Peacemaking requires courage and compromise but does not require sacrifice of principle.” Truly, avoidance is not being a peacemaker.
There is a real difference between confrontation and contention. Christ confronted many people. Confrontation literally means to stand in front of, or stand face to face. How often are we told to take a righteous stand?
Contention, on the other hand, means to compete, to strive against, to fight. Contention is the counterfeit. It is incredibly easy for something that begins as a well intended confrontation to slip into contention. We have to be careful—always—to remain peacemakers.
Because if we do it with contention, we do it without Him.
1. Elder Stevenson teaches that becoming a peacemaker has to begin in our own hearts. That requires us to ask if we are at war with ourselves. inner conflict can show up anytime there is dissonance in our minds: when shame and worthiness collide, when we forget our divine identity, when our values don’t match our behavior, or when emotions and logic pull us in different directions. There are countless ways that inner battles begin.
I remember the first time I felt an internal battle As a teenager. I had my first real test to my developing testimony. I had questions. I felt lost and confused. I turned to scriptures, and books, friends, my mom, and my seminary teacher. I was desperate for answers. I was praying and praying, and then one day an answer came. I felt the spirit say: “Be still, and know that I am God.”
Now this was not the answer to the specific questions I had. Those did not come for a long time. But that phrase carried me. Be still. It wasn’t the peace of knowing everything—it was the peace of knowing Him. It was enough. It was not the world’s version of peace, which demands immediate clarity and instant solutions. It was slow, steady, and line upon line. And that command to be still began inside me.
2. Elder Stevenson teaches that the next place we build peace is in our homes, using the Lord’s pattern to shape our relationships: which he says is “persuasion, long-suffering, gentleness, kindness, meekness, and love unfeigned.”
An example of this is A teenage daughter once came home in a terrible mood, slammed her backpack down, and snapped at her mom. The mom felt the sting, but instead of reacting, she simply said, “You seem overwhelmed. Do you want a snack… or a hug?”
The daughter burst into tears. “I’m sorry… it was a bad day.”
The mother responded to the hurt, not the tone. That is peacemaking.
3. Finally, Elder Stevenson challenges us to be peacemakers in our communities and in the world. There are so many examples of peacemakers in the scriptures and in history, but one of my very favorites is the story of the Anti‑Nephi‑Lehies, who buried their weapons of war.
That story has always pushed me to look inward and ask: What are my weapons of war? And how can I truly bury them? Elder Stevenson invites all of us to find ways to choose kindness—whether that’s in our workplaces, in online comments, in civil discourse, in the store, or on the road, or just in the everyday ways we interact with others. To be slow to anger and quick to see the humanity in our brothers and sisters.
My final thought is this: Peacemaking isn’t a strategy to change others—it’s a way God changes us. We choose kindness even when kindness isn’t offered back. We act with compassion because it reflects our character, not because someone has earned it. And truly, the command is to be a peacemaker—not to make others be peaceful. One is centered on what we can control: ourselves. The other is something we have no control over: other people.
As we choose to bury our weapons of war, as we choose kindness, as we choose to let Christ calm the storms inside us, we become more like Him. Peacemaking is His work—and He invites us into it. I know that as we turn to the Savior, He will shape our hearts, soften our words, and strengthen our ability to bring peace into a world that desperately needs it. His peace is real. His peace is lasting. And His peace begins within us.
e someone has earned it. And truly, the command is to be a peacemaker—not to make others be peaceful. One is centered on what we can control: ourselves. The other is something we have no control over: other people.
As we choose to bury our weapons of war, as we choose kindness, as we choose to let Christ calm the storms inside us, we become more like Him. Peacemaking is His work—and He invites us into it. I know that as we turn to the Savior, He will shape our hearts, soften our words, and strengthen our ability to bring peace into a world that desperately needs it. His peace is real. His peace is lasting. And His peace begins within us.
y ways we interact with others. To be slow to anger and quick to see the humanity in our brothers and sisters.
My final thought is this: Peacemaking isn’t a strategy to change others—it’s a way God changes us. We choose kindness even when kindness isn’t offered back. We act with compassion because it reflects our character, not because someone has earned it. And truly, the command is to be a peacemaker—not to make others be peaceful. One is centered on what we can control: ourselves. The other is something we have no control over: other people.
As we choose to bury our weapons of war, as we choose kindness, as we choose to let Christ calm the storms inside us, we become more like Him. Peacemaking is His work—and He invites us into it. I know that as we turn to the Savior, He will shape our hearts, soften our words, and strengthen our ability to bring peace into a world that desperately needs it. His peace is real. His peace is lasting. And His peace begins within us.
