‘Peacemaking Is a Choice,’ President Russell M. Nelson Reminds Church Members in New Video

This story appears here courtesy of TheChurchNews.com. It is not for use by other media.

By Kaitlyn Bancroft, Church News

During his surgical internship, President Russell M. Nelson once assisted with an operation to amputate a leg filled with highly infectious gangrene.

During the difficult procedure, the surgeon became angry with a team member who performed a task poorly — and threw the germ-loaded scalpel into President Nelson’s arm.

Thankfully, President Nelson didn’t become infected; but the experience left a lasting impression on him, and decades later, “I find myself wondering if the contaminated scalpel that landed in my arm was any more toxic than the venomous contention that infects our civic dialogue and too many personal relationships today.”

President Nelson told this story during his April 2023 general conference talk “Peacemakers Needed.” He shared it again in a social media video on Thursday, September 19. The video features selections from the talk and scenes of people choosing contention or peace.

“Contention is a choice. Peacemaking is a choice,” President Nelson says in the video, later adding: “Anger never persuades. Hostility builds no one.”

He also quotes from the Savior’s Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the peacemakers ...

“Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. ...

“Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:9, 39, 44).

President Nelson continues that Jesus Christ’s true disciples build, lift, encourage, persuade and inspire. Charity defines a peacemaker, he says.

“We can literally change the world — one person and one interaction at a time,” President Nelson says in the video. “The pure love of Christ allows us to ‘stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things’ (Mosiah 18:9). I urge you to be a peacemaker, now and always.”

‘Peacemakers Needed’

Download Photo

In the full “Peacemakers Needed” talk, President Nelson said he’s greatly concerned that so many people seem to think it’s completely acceptable to condemn, malign and vilify anyone who does not agree with them.

But disciples of Jesus Christ are to be examples of how to interact with others — especially when faced with differences of opinion. “One of the easiest ways to identify a true follower of Jesus Christ is how compassionately that person treats other people,” President Nelson said.

He also said the Atonement of Jesus Christ made it possible to overcome evil, including contention. He asked listeners to interact with others in a higher, holier way. “Please listen carefully. ‘If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy’ (Article of Faith 1:13) that we can say about another person — whether to his face or behind her back — that should be our standard of communication,” President Nelson said.

Everyone has the agency to choose contention or reconciliation, he continued. And charity — the pure love of Christ — is the antidote to contention.

“Examine your discipleship within the context of the way you treat others,” President Nelson said. “I bless you to make any adjustments that may be needed so that your behavior is ennobling, respectful and representative of a true follower of Jesus Christ.”

Reactions to ‘Peacemakers Needed’

Since President Nelson gave his “Peacemakers Needed” talk in April 2023, Church members all over the world have answered the call to choose peace in their lives.

Linda Millar, of the Yosemite Ward in California, told Church News that while she can’t control how others feel, she can feel at peace with her efforts.

“I can feel peace knowing God knows I am doing what I can to be a peacemaker,” she said.

Theresa McCormick, of the Chorley 3rd Ward in England, said she decided not to argue with inconsiderate people. “The Prophet’s message helped me to do this.”

And Saziso Ndlovo, of the Gwabalanda Ward in Zimbabwe, said accepting the Prophet’s invitation improved her marriage. “We have significantly reduced our arguments and have felt the Holy Ghost in our marriage,” she said.

President Nelson’s talk has also resonated with people who aren’t Latter-day Saints. Eboo Patel, founder and president of Interfaith America and a practicing Muslim, drew from “Peacemakers Needed” while speaking to young adults in January 2024 at the Salt Lake Institute of Religion adjacent to the University of Utah campus.

In what Patel called a “remarkable address,” President Nelson compares contention to evil and poison.

Again quoting President Nelson, Patel said being good stewards of diversity means building bridges with all kinds of people.

“The call of your faith is the need of our moment,” he said.

Copyright 2024 Deseret News Publishing Company.