Many people feel so pressured by the expectations of others that it causes them to be frustrated, miserable, and confused. It is impossible to escape the impression that people commonly use false standards of measurement—that they seek power, success and wealth for themselves and admire them in others, and that they underestimate what is of true value in life. And yet, in making any general judgment of this sort, we are in danger of forgetting how variegated the human World and its mental life are. Progress in human affairs is more often a pull than a push, surging forward of the exceptional individual, and the lifting of one’s oppressed peers slowly and painfully to one’s vantage-ground. We believe in spiritual communion, which is the drawing of the essence of reality into our own minds through keeping the thought uplifted and in tune with the ultimate harmony, and there is a feeling called sensation of eternity. A feeling as of something limitless, unbounded—as it were oceanic. This feeling brings with it no assurance of personal immortality, but it is the source of the religious energy which is seized upon by the various churches and religious systems, directed by them into particular channels, and is immanent in everything and in every person. This feeling is of an indissoluble bond, of being one with the external World as a whole. We not only can talk with God but we can receive a direct answer though intuition. #RandolphHarris 1 of 8

Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, and respect the law. Just as treasures are uncovered from the Earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. Through such communion one enters into the realm of reality and imbibes the spirit of truth. There is an intelligent creative principle in everything and in everyone which responds to our word exactly the way we speak it. The improper way to secure the peace humanity is to wait until all the World is destroyed by war, then sit down to speak of making peace. Waiting until the brink of war to secure peace is not much better. The best way to secure the peace for humanity is to educate people so they know how to embrace the habit of meeting challenges with peaceful composure. When people grow up knowing how to make peace with their own inner diversity, they learn to make peace with one another. As their own inner peacemaking progresses as a matter of the course of daily living, they are much better prepared to work for peace in the World in the face of extraordinary events. Peacemaking is not the specialty of diplomats nor only for those of exceptional gifts. It is not storming the gates of Heaven with an affirmative petition. Peace is more like the calm contemplation of the mind which says there is a light, and because there is, darkness disappears. Peacemaking is a vital function of each and every human being and animal for each and every day of our lives. #RandolphHarris 2 of 8

Peace is a prime priority that pleads for our pursuit. Peacemaking is not to be saved for the time when are so sick of war that we simply cannot take it anymore. “The Lord will convince people unto peace or deliver them to hardness of heart,” reports 1 Nephi 14.7. We do not question the physical diagnosis of the doctor or the mental diagnosis of the psychiatrist, provided they are true. We do not deny either mind or body. We do affirm the spirit as transcendent, having the ability to create new thoughts while new thoughts create new situations. The creation of peace is a part of the daily life of every citizen who seeks to improve themselves and their society. Peace can prevail only when that natural inclination to fight is superseded by self-determination to live on a loftier level. This concept of treating others as one would like to be treated is easy to understand. And it acknowledges the precious nature of each of God’s sons and daughters. We must teach people to love one another, and to serve one another. The importance of reconciliation and resolution is a gift. It is only when most citizens of the World are in the daily habit of working for peace within themselves that we have any chance at all of making lasting peace in the World. #RandolphHarris 3 of 8

The commandments to love God and neighbor are interrelated. Peacemaking will only rise to sporadic and unreliable success if it is merely a special occasion reserved only for the preventing or ending of wars. It is when the masses learn to be daily peacemakers through knowing how to work together in creating new understandings and solving problems that the power of the human capacity for peacemaking will rise to new and beautiful heights. “How beautiful upon mountains are feet of one who publishes peace,” reports 1 Nephi 13.37. We walk through the doors of new discovery together. We learned to face challenges as valued members of the same tea, not just in spite of our differences but because of our differences. We learn to greet one another in conversation and acknowledge our own power to say yes or now. We offer to put our deepest commitments at risk before those who join us in conversation by welcoming their own power to agree or disagree respectfully. The open and courteous mutuality of our embrace of this power creates a common human ground, and manifests the fertile and foundational shared peace we need to work together in peace. “You will not have mind to injure one another, but to live in peace,” reports Mosiah 4.13. #RandolphHarris 4 of 8

The scriptures are studded with stories of contention and combat. They strongly condemn wars of aggression but sustain obligations of citizens to defend their families and their freedoms. People are called into military service of many nations. We believe that governments were instituted of God for the benefit of humanity; and that God holds men and women accountable for their acts in relation to them, both in making laws and administering them, for the good and safety of society. Because of the long history of hostility upon the Earth, many feel that peace is beyond hope. I disagree. Peace is possible. We can learn to love our fellow human beings throughout the World. We can live together with mutual admiration and respect, without forsaking our religious convictions. Things we have in common are greater than our differences. Peace is a prime priority that pleads for our pursuit. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. God makes wars to cease unto the end of the Earth. “Blessed are peacemakers for they shall be called children of God,” reports 3 Nephi 12.9. These statements transcend not only the physical or objective conditions, but subjective or unconscious causes as well. They are transcendent of bot the cause and the effect of the negative condition, rising to a position in mind which starts new and clean and fresh. #RandolphHarris 5 of 8

Practicing peace in our own minds empowers us to engage in conversation with a human virtue of character that makes peace with our community. In effect, there is a truth which know will prove itself. And we shall know the truth, and the truth shall make us free. Truth is transcendent of all negation. Human nature dictates that when we behave in the same way again and again, we become our habits. A human being who embraces the habit of loving to challenge oneself in the context of peaceful dialogue can meet the challenges of the World with greater power to create peaceful dialogue in any setting. This function is to facilitate a process that helps people commit themselves to a life of seeking knowledge, wisdom, and the cultivation of human virtue in a peaceful and productive manner. The benefits are best realized when it becomes a habit that persists. One who focuses on cultivation of the soul and peace is allowing their communication to affect one’s character in beneficial ways. A properly educated human being is also a person who has the character of a peacemaker. We are morally bound to seek to benefit ourselves. “Why should I yield to temptation, that evil one has no place in my heart to destroy my peace,” reports 1 Nephi 4.27. #RandolphHarris 6 of 8

Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding. No matter how seemingly impossible any situation may be or how difficult any problem may appear, we should never become discouraged. We must continue in our work, knowing full well we are dealing with the invisible essence, the invisible substance, the great reality back of everything. It would be impossible for anyone to do this without being fully convinced that God is the only creative agency in the Universe and that we have direct and conscious access to God’s creativity. In our quest to live well, we must improve the justice and virtue of our human character, as this is at the heart of ideal living of an examined life. Resolution of present political problems will require much patience and negotiation. If pursed prayerfully, the process would be enhanced greatly. Peacemakers could lead in the art of arbitration, give relief to the needy, and bring hope to those who fear. Of such patriots, future generations will shout praises, and our Eternal God will pass judgments of glory. As individuals, we should follow things that make peace. We should be personal peacemakers. We should live peacefully—as couples, families, and neighbours. We should live by the Golden Rule and expand our circle of love to embrace the whole human family. It is also important to keep our principles on a high level and stand for the right. #RandolphHarris 7 of 8

Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. We must be conscious that right thought and true statements are the enforcement of this law of mind. Human being’s thoughts are the activity of the mind, for mind without thought or direct consciousness would have no real existence. There can be no existence apart from consciousness, then there is no one, no thing, and no intelligence to be aware of such existence. It is evident that without self-awareness there is not only realization of life, but no life to be realized. Hence we affirm that mind in action is law. “Spirits of righteous are received into paradise, a state of peace,” reports Alma 40.12. The person who understands this will not become discouraged. One will know that if he or she persists in declaring the truth, the pathway to reality will be cleared, obstructions will be removed, wrong forms will be dissolved. It follows that we will be both courageous and happy in our work. We will be happy because we are sure; doubts no longer assail us, fears do not possess us, negation no longer obsesses our thoughts. We continue to make our declarations with clam confidence and with divine assurance. “May peace of God rest upon you,” reports Alma 7.27. Ours is God’s supernal cause. Ours is the cause of eternal glory for all humankind. And as peacemakers, we shall be called the children of God. #RandolphHarris 8 of 8