An important part of our Heavenly Father’s plan is that he doesn’t want us to simply do what is right, but he wants us to choose to follow him and his will for us. Showing up with a willingness to God is a level of faith that will lead us to more peace. When we do this, we can know, like Nephi, that the Lord will prepare a way for us to accomplish his purposes as we courageously say, “I will go and do.”

"Peace comes at the end of your rope. That's where you push through and prove yourself as a disciple of Jesus Christ."

Cristi Brazao joins Kathryn on this episode of Magnify to discuss how willingness is an important attribute of a peacemaker and how it can lead to more personal peace in our lives.

Top takeaways:

• Heavenly Father will never force us to do anything because of our agency, but when we follow him, our return is everlasting peace.
• When we are facing hard times, we can remember to go back to those moments where God has proved us and we can then remember to follow his will.
• Accepting God's will for us helps us know that things will fall together.
• The Lord will help us to hold on when we simply try to get back to his will.

Small and simple challenge: Write down the times where you've seen answers to prayers. Those will be your personal scriptures when you face times that you need to find more willingness to follow God.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The dictionary definition of respect is, “to consider someone worthy of high regard or esteem.” The scriptures tell us that God is no respecter of persons, so how do we look at all of his children as worthy, even with those who we may differ from? In his talk, Peacemakers Needed, President Nelson said, “we can literally change the world—one person and one interaction at a time, by modeling how to manage honest differences of opinion with mutual respect and dignified dialogue.”

"Human kindness has to be part of our comfort zones."

When we treat each other with respect despite our many differences it creates a ripple effect of peace. Emily Snyder joins the podcast again to discuss how the Lord respects us, and how we can respect others with that same human-kindness.

Top takeaways from this episode:

• Respect is always earned, and never assumed. Treat people with the same respect you want to be treated with.
• Success in this life is measured by the interactions we have with others, and not how much we have accomplished.
• Self-respect comes from understanding our relationship with God and knowing that success is when we love him and ourselves.
• We all want similar things, but we often come at those things from different angles. When we recognize we have Christ with us, we can easily navigate those differences.
• God being no respecter of persons means that He sees us as our very favorite version of ourself.

Small and simple challenge: Throughout the week, as you are interacting with others, use the phrase "oh, they're human too" either verbally or in your head as you are dealing with others that you might need to find more respect for.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Philippians 4, Paul shared: “whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest…think on these things.” We’ve heard it before that “honesty is the best policy” so how do we discover what it really means to be honest with God, honest with ourselves, and honest with others? President Nelson has shared that we can change the world and find peace in our lives when we interact with others managing our differences with honesty and respect.

"Being honest is illuminating."

Sometimes it seems like the world’s definition of honesty and truth is a moving target: just look at how many times the definition of health has changed in the last hundred years for evidence. But God is a god of truth, so what can we do to fill our lives with truth and honesty and be in line with the Savior? Kayla Jackson was a speaker at BYU women's conference whose ability to be real stuck out to the listeners. She and Kathryn talk today about how honesty leads to more peace.

Top takeaways from this episode:

• Our goal here on earth is to create relationships that will last throughout the eternities, and when we can maintain honest and respectful conversations with others, we will build those relationships.
• The Savior and our Heavenly Father are bound by their promises, so we can trust that they are full of truth and light.
• One way we can fill our lives with truth and honesty is by seeking God's will for our lives.
• There are times when we need to be more honest with ourselves. Having questions and bringing them to the Lord is one way we can honestly seek the truth.
• The beginning of our relationship with God and with others is being honest about who we are and how we will show up.

Small and simple challenge: echoing the words of President Nelson, we can examine our relationships in the context of the way we treat others. Take a moment this week to prayerfully reflect and ask, "how is my discipleship in the context of how I treat others?"

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Being meek doesn’t have to equal being timid and quiet. What if we saw meekness as a principle of power that actually brings more peace into our lives?

Meekness is often misunderstood. The scripture, “blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth,” is found in Matthew 5:5. It's also found in the Old Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and it’s repeated by modern prophets in conference talks. The Lord has been telling us throughout history that we need to be meek. But what does it really mean for us today? What does it look like to live in meekness?

"I maintain meekness by watching my Savior first as my main example."

Kathryn Davis and Shima Baughman discuss how her career working as a lawyer and a law professor can often be an environment where meekness is not an asset. But as we are constantly striving to be more like the Savior, meekness can be a power and not a weakness!

Top takeaways from this episode:

• One way to lead to more meekness in our lives is by being teachable. If we can allow ourselves to learn from others—no matter their status or experience—we will develop greater meekness.

• Meekness is a strength: it is humility, courage, allowing the will of God to be more important than anything else.

• True meekness isn't a false sense of humility, but it's acknowledging that others have great strengths and that doesn't take away from our own.

• We can achieve meekness when we understand where we come from and know our divine worth.

Small and simple challenge: In whatever way it might work for you—going to the temple, asking for the Holy Ghost, speaking with others—figure out what contention in your life is keeping you away from the Savior. Ask for more of Him in your life.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As we continue in our “pursuit of peace,” it’s helpful to understand how agency plays a role in being a peacemaker. Agency is the greatest gift we’ve been given, but do we always use our agency for good to create more love and peace in our lives? Choosing to be a peacemaker usually isn’t the loudest or most popular choice, but it is what God has asked of us. Choosing peace is rising above worldly influence to care more about our relationship with God and others than anything else.

"Choosing peace can only come when we get to know the Prince of Peace."

Brooke Casanovas and Kathryn Davis discuss how peace is a premeditated choice when it comes to how we react in situations. We claim our identity as children of God when we choose peace.

Top takeaways:

1. Peace isn't a choice we can make in the middle of conflict. Peace has to be chosen before any conflict happens.

2. Let's practice being silent and taking the time to understand someone else's point of view as we are learning how to choose peace in our reactions.

3. How we treat others is evidence of how we claim our identity as children of God.

4. As we build personal relationships with the Savior, we will learn how to become more like him and make choices that he would make.

Small and simple challenge: Let's follow the Prophet's invitation to do a personal relationship inventory and audit on who could use some reconciliation. Do some ego-removing and offer forgiveness first with God and then with others. Create peace in that moment.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do we sometimes look at being humble as being self-deprecating or diminishing our strengths? Being humble doesn’t equal being unimportant. Humility isn’t shrinking out of sight or shying away from being strong, and it isn’t hating on yourself. When we are truly humble, we can appreciate our own strengths and lift others as well.  Like the saying goes, “All ships rise with the tide.” Being humble is another way to know our divine worth and the divine worth of others as children of God.

“If you start focusing on yourself, then you’re not humble anymore. I find that if I look up, I look up, I can see that we’re not in a race against each other, but we’re in a race against sin.”

Kathryn is joined by Maria Eckersley as they discuss how humility can lead to more peace in our lives, and what it takes for both of them to focus on the gifts and strengths God gives his children as a way to be more humble.

Top takeaways from this episode:

·      We’re all on God’s team, so we can help encourage and strengthen each other instead of envy. Like the saying goes, “all ships rise with the tide.”

·      We are often quick to look at the things we are not good at, but part of humility is actually acknowledging our strengths and recognizing where they come from.

·      We don’t have to develop a relationship with God that looks like other people’s personal relationships with God. We can grow from our own relationship with him and learn what kind of armor we have.

·      When we are humble enough to ask the Lord for help, he will show us what tools we need, just like he helped Nephi find ore when he was supposed to build a boat.

·      Humility doesn’t have to be self-deprecation. We can follow the Savior’s example when he said, “here I am. Send me.”

Small and simple challenge: when you think about your struggles this week, instead of praying to be relieved from those burdens, pray for ways to find tools to get through them. Heavenly Father wouldn’t give us challenges without the tools to get through them.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In today’s world, patience is a virtue that seems to be diminishing. We have access to everything so rapidly. Every situation has a quick fix. Even waiting in the drive-thru feels like an imposition. But patience is an important attribute of a peacemaker. God has told us to “be still and know that I am God.” Perhaps we should take the time to slow down and be still, and even though that can be uncomfortable, what can we learn about patience as we make that effort?

"Hard experiences are around every corner, and we can spend our lives waiting to get through those hard experiences, or we can choose do something about those trials."

Tara Bench and Kathryn discuss the attribute of a peacemaker which is patience. Tara lives in New York City and shares her spirit and faith through her blog Tara Teaspoon.

Top takeaways from this episode:

• Being still is choosing to be in tune with our Heavenly Father.
• Patience and receiving it is actionable. We don't have to wait for problems to get better, but can develop the tools we need to be more patient.
• Patience is not about waiting or enduring something painfully. It's about having the capacity to wait while not being upset, and instead trusting the Lord.
• Sometimes a good way to step outside ourselves when we are feeling a lack of patience is to ask how we can serve others and find joy in our lives.
• Challenges can teach us that we have loving heavenly parents and that we are developing patterns of patience in this life.

Small and simple challenge: this week, stop and take a step back in a moment of pain to say a prayer and ask for help through a situation. Give yourself validation and grace in whatever you are going through.

Links:

Elder Jaggi's 2020 General Conference talk

Tara's Cookbook

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As our community continues in the “pursuit of peace,” one attribute that encompasses all the other attributes of a peacemaker is charity. We’ve all heard that “charity is the pure love of Christ” and that “charity never faileth,” but when we stop to think about what that really means, it feels somewhat arbitrary. This episode dives into what is charity? How does it look in our everyday life? And most importantly, how does finding more charity lead to finding more peace in our lives?

“I think we underestimate the influence we can have in a simple interaction.”

In this episode, Brooke Romney and Kathryn discuss this attribute of a peacemaker and how the Lord allows us to become more like him when we develop charity.

Top takeaways from this episode:

1. Charity isn't always easy to understand or to treat others around us with, but when we work on responding with charity in our hearts, we will feel that it's worth doing for our own development.

2. When we take the time to notice others and to look up and look out, we will see that we can help fill many needs and change many situations.

3. The Savior is our ultimate example of charity in how he responded to others. He rallies around people to bring them up rather than push them down.

4. Charity can bring us more peace because when we respond with charity to the actions of others, we will see his children as God does.

5. Sometimes charity comes through allowing others to help us in our times of need.

Small and simple challenge: When you're in line or waiting in public with a group of people, take time to notice what is going on around you and do something charitable. It could be as simple as sending a text to someone who comes into your mind, buying the item for the person in front of you, or simply giving a compliment to someone next to you.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Effort! It’s a word President Nelson emphasizes often. He not only talks about it but has demonstrated it throughout his life—reminding us that the Lord loves effort. So much in our lives has become easy and instantaneous. But becoming converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ isn’t easy or instantaneous. It requires small, daily genuine efforts.

"You can’t have 100 priorities. You have to bring it down to balance."

As Becky Craven, second counselor in the Young Women general presidency says, it requires us to do something. Not everything. And certainly not everything perfectly! Rebecca Craven and Kathryn discuss how they find what matters most.

Top takeaways from this episode:

• We can't let the fear of perfectionism prevent us from progression. The Lord loves effort!
• If we pray to know how to prioritize our lives, the Holy Ghost will help us to know.
• Sometimes we just need to unclutter. Even some of the good.
• What matters most is following the Savior Jesus Christ.

Small and simple challenge: In our daily prayers, ask Heavenly Father to direct us in what we can do that matters most.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this world, relief is a feeling that we all crave as we are dealing with life’s burdens placed upon us and our loved ones. So, in this last General Conference, when Sister Camille Johnson shared that “Jesus Christ is Relief,” it resonated with our community. The Savior’s way is the only way to feel peace, and in turn, bring both temporal and spiritual relief and peace to others.

"The Lord helps take our burdens until we can do it on our own."

Kathryn joins Kaylen Nelson in this episode as they discuss what stood out about this specific talk, and how we can find our own relief in the Savior.

Top Takeaways:

• The miracle that the Lord provides of not just physical relief, but spiritual relief from our sins and the fallen world can be just as impactful.
• We are often "stingy" with the burdens we carry in this life, but when we give those to the Savior, we find that it's easier to go through this life with him as our partner in peace.
• We sometimes blame God or ourselves for the natural consequences of living in a fallen world, so it's important to remember that we need to turn to him instead of away.
• Helping be a relief to others is how we partner with the Lord to bring relief and share in his work.

Small and simple challenge: Read and study out Camille Johnson's talk, "Jesus Christ is Relief" and share your insights as to how the Savior is your relief! Join the Magnify Community online to study how these attributes can bring more peace into your life.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.