The Armor of God: Peace
"And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;"
-Ephesians 6:15
This verse will be dissected, piece by piece, to expound upon what the Apostle said in having the gospel of peace.
The Feet
The image of the feet suggests to the reader the question: Where do you stand? What is the foundation which you find yourself standing upon? How shall you stand before God at His judgment-seat?
"For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"
-Revelation 6:17
"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works."
-Revelation 20:12
The Lord Jesus Christ gave the obvious statement for where we ought to stand, when He taught:
Matthew 7 (Cf. 3 Nephi 14, same verse numbers) [with the Greek translation in Green]
24. Therefore whosoever heareth these saying of mine, and doeth them, he will resemble a wise man, which built his house upon the rock:
25. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon the rock.
What is the rock which we are to be built upon? The Lord Jesus gave the answer to the Nephites during His ministry in the Americas.
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them."
-3 Nephi 11:39
Why must we build upon the rock, which is the doctrine of Christ? A father from the Book of Mormon, Helaman, taught to his sons, Nephi and Lehi the reason.
"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwinds, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."
-Helaman 5:12
Shod
To "shod" one's feet means to take action in the gospel.* One needs to have their feet shod with the Doctrine of Christ.
Preparation
Preparation is used as a prerequisite before one can have peace in living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What are we to be prepared for? Why must we be prepared with the gospel? We read the words of Amulek, as found in the Book of Mormon:
Alma 34 (emphasis added)
32. For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.
33. And now ... as ye have had so many witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed."
34. Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world.
The requirement, or the preparation for having peace in living the gospel comes from repenting of our sins. It means to live in righteousness by keeping the commandments of God. Preparation to live peacefully in the gospel involves not being led astray from the path the Lord has mark for us to tread.
Peace
With the the current circumstances around the world, there is continual clashing with mankind. How can one find peace with so much strife and contention? To whom can we turn for peace?
One of the titles which Jesus Christ bears is The Prince of Peace.(1) All are invited to come unto Christ.
2 Nephi 26
27. Hath he commanded any that they should not partake of his salvation? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but he hath given it free for all men; and he hath commanded his people that they should persuade all men to repentance.
28. Behold, hath the Lord commanded any that they should not partake of his goodness? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but all men are privileged the one like unto the other, and none are forbidden.
In a speech at a Brigham Young University Devotional, Elder Richard G. Scott spoke of peace as a fruit of obedience.
" ... I will point out ... the fruits of obedience that have or will assuredly come to you because of your determination to obey the Lord under all circumstances.
"One is peace, peace in a world where that word is hardly understood, let alone experienced. When all the challenges pour down on you, you will have a quiet inner feeling of support. You will be prompted to know what to do. You can live in a world of turmoil and great challenge and be at peace."
President M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles addressed how peace works through the lens of the Gospel.
"Just hours before He was to begin that glorious yet awful process of the Atonement, the Lord Jesus Christ made this significant promise to His Apostles: 'Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you' (John 14:27).
"Was He promising His beloved associates the kind of peace the world recognizes—safety, security, with the absence of contention or tribulation? Certainly the historical record would suggest otherwise. Those original Apostles knew much of trial and persecution throughout the remainder of their lives, which is probably why the Lord added this insight to His promise: 'Not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid' (John 14:27).
“'These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace,' He continued. 'In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world' (John 16:33; emphasis added).
"Peace—real peace, whole-souled to the very core of your being—comes only in and through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. When that precious truth is discovered and gospel principles are understood and applied, great peace can distill in the hearts and souls of our Heavenly Father’s children. Said the Savior through Joseph Smith, 'He who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come' (D&C 59:23)."
In closing this article, I quote from a prophet from the Book of Mormon:
"And now, may the peace of God rest upon you, and upon your houses and lands, and upon your flocks and herds, and all that you possess, your women and your children, according to your faith and good works, from this time forth and forever."
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