My Peace I Give Unto You

By: Elder Donald L. Hallstrom

Many years ago, I observed a tragedy…really, a double tragedy. A young couple was nearing the delivery of their first child. Their lives were filled with the anticipation and excitement of this monumental experience. During the delivery, complications arose and the baby died. Heartbreak turned to grief, grief turned to anger, anger turned to blame, and blame turned to revenge toward the doctor whom they held fully responsible. Parents and other family members became involved, with the overriding focus being to ruin the reputation and the career of the doctor. The family and the doctor were all members of the Church. As weeks and then months of anger consumed the family, their bitterness was extended to the Lord. How could He allow this horrible thing to occur? They rejected the repeated efforts of Church leaders and members to emotionally support them and, in time, disassociated themselves from the Church. Four generations of the family have now been affected. Where there was once faith and devotion to the Lord and His Church, there has been no spiritual activity by any family member for decades.

Throughout the world and the Church, we see great joy and great pain. Both are part of the plan. Without one, we cannot know the other. “Men are, that they might have joy” (2 Nephi 2:25) and “there is an opposition in all things” (2 Nephi 2:11) are not contradictory; they are complementary. Alma described that “my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain” (Alma 36:20).

Life is not always easy…it was not meant to be easy. That would be contrary to the plan of our Heavenly Father, called the “great plan of happiness” (Alma 42:8). Challenges or opposition “bring about his eternal purposes” (2 Nephi 2:15).

As we cannot avoid all trials, what we do with them or during them is eternally important. During difficult periods, do we become angry and bitter towards others and even the Lord, or do we seek a closer companionship with Him? The Savior has said “Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you” (D&C 88:63) and “I am he that comforteth you” (2 Nephi 8:12). He is the ultimate source of comfort and peace, especially in times of sorrow.

My patriarchal grandparents had two children, a son (my father) and a daughter. After serving a mission and military service in Hawaii, my father returned to the islands in 1946 to begin his profession and raise his family. His parents lived in Salt Lake City, as did his sister. She married in the early 1950s and in a few years was expecting a child. There is something special for parents, especially a mother, to anticipate a daughter (in this instance an only daughter) giving birth for the first time. With no foreknowledge, she had twins. Tragically, she and the twins all died during childbirth. My grandparents were deeply saddened. Their grief, however, immediately turned them toward their faith in the Savior and His Atonement and in the eternal plan of God. Without laboring on why this could happen and who might be to blame, they sought and found the peace that comes from faith in the Lord (see Helaman 5:47) and focused on living a righteous life. My grandparents never had wealth; they were never among the socially elite; they never held high position in the Church…they were simply devoted Latter-day Saints and they were happy.

After retiring professionally in 1956, my grandparents moved to Hawaii to be with their only posterity. The ensuing decades found them loving their family, serving in the Church (they especially enjoyed over 20 years as ordinance workers in the temple), and mostly they thrilled at just being together. They never enjoyed being apart and even spoke of whoever died first finding a way to help the other soon follow. Nearing their 90th birthdays and after 65 years of marriage, they passed away within hours of each other by natural causes. As their bishop, I conducted their double funeral.

The faithfulness of my grandparents, especially in tragedy, has now influenced four generations that have followed. Directly and profoundly, it affected their son, my father, and my mother who sadly lost their own daughter, their youngest, due to the complications of childbirth. At 34 years of age, she died ten days after her giving birth, leaving four children, ten days to eight years old. After the example of the prior generation, there was natural sadness, but no anger or bitterness as they drew even nearer to the Lord.

All of our life circumstances are different, but in the most fundamental ways they are the same. Our spirits all come from the same Eternal Father. We all made a choice to come to this mortal probation, knowing there would be hardships and trials. Through the promised blessings of the great plan of happiness, we all have the same opportunity. “And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God” (D&C 14:7).

An essential part of this glorious process is coming unto Christ. He is not only the Savior and the Redeemer, He is also the Prince of Peace. “Yea, and it came to pass that the Lord our God did visit us with assurances that he would deliver us; yea, insomuch that he did speak peace to our souls” (Alma 58:11). Through the blessings of the Atonement, we are not only saved from everlasting death and “may be received into the eternal kingdom of God” (2 Nephi 10:25), we also are able to receive peace in times of our deepest sorrow. “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you” (John 14:27). Understanding this truth will lessen our earthy sorrows and better prepare us for our eternal blessings