The gospel in words: Peace

\"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:14)

When we think of \"peace,\" we generally think of the absence of war or \"freedom from civil unrest or disorder; public order and security.\" When we think of peace a little more thoughtfully, we get the sense of \"freedom from quarrels or dissension between individuals; or a state of friendliness; amity, or concord.\" At another, and more meaningful level, peace is the \"freedom from anxiety, disturbance (emotional, mental, or spiritual) or inner conflict; calm, tranquility.\" Peace can also mean the \"absence of noise, movement or activity, or stillness and quiet\" (Oxford English Dictionary).The Old Testament word for peace is \"shalom\" and means secure, tranquil or at rest. Shalom can also mean to be whole or complete or to be at peace in friendship with anyone (Wilson’s Old Testament Word Studies). In the New Testament, peace has most of the same meanings above, but has the added sense of \"harmonized relationships between God and man, accomplished through the gospel\" and the sense of \"rest and contentment\" in the gospel (Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words).Strong’s Concordance adds that peace is \"the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God (is) content with its earthly lot.\" Peace is also used to describe the \"blessed state of devout and upright men after death.\"The Savior, whose birth we celebrate this season, made the gift of peace available to us through his Atonement. \"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).Elder Richard G. Scott has often spoken of personal peace and how to obtain it. \"God wants each of His children to enjoy the transcendent blessing of peace of conscience. Peace of conscience is the essential ingredient to your peace of mind. Without peace of conscience, you can have no real peace of mind. Peace of conscience relates to your inner self and is controlled by what you personally do. Peace of conscience can come only from God through a righteous, obedient life. It cannot exist otherwise. On the other hand, peace of mind is most often affected by external forces such as a concern for a wayward child, economic pressures, real or imagined offenses, deteriorating world conditions, or more to do than sufficient time to do it.\"You can regain peace of conscience by repenting of personal transgressions that cause you internal turmoil. Then peace of mind can be secured by resolving the external pressures that cause you temporary anxiety, worry, and distress\" (Ensign, November 2004).