Warriors of Peace: Part 8

Warriors of Peace

Talk given on Feb. 28, 2016

by Bill Peavoy

Part 8: We are to be Warriors in this Battle

There are countless talks about our role as warriors in this battle.  Durrel Woolsey of the seventy gave a talk titled “A Strategy for War” wherein he said, “Some of you may say, “I don’t have the time.” Then he said very seriously, “Brothers and Sisters, you simply cannot afford not to take the time.”   

The timing of my talk today is no coincidence.  I read in the church news yesterday that this very Sunday, across Utah, as has been done in other election years, Bishops are reading a letter over the pulpit from the first presidency encouraging the saints to get active and participate in the political process.   This particular first presidency letter is dated Feb 17 and one paragraph says…

“We are concerned that citizen participation rates in Utah are among the lowest in the nation, and we urge greater involvement by members of the church in the 2016 election cycle.”  Bishops and Stake Leaders have been asked to not plan any church related meetings or activities on the day that Utah will hold its party caucus meetings.  Obviously the church isn’t directing the saints on which party to support, only that they should get involved and make their voice heard. 

What I find interesting in their letter is that they point out that Utah currently has some of the lowest political participation in the United States.  Having lived there I can assure you that this hasn’t always been the case.  Utah has been known historically for its high voter turnout and impressive citizen involvement.  Why is participation diminishing?  I have many good and faithful friends that are getting tired in this battle.  Even though they know who wins in the end, they are sensing that the battle is not going well.  Consequently they are swinging the sword of truth less and less.  Perhaps they are sitting back, and waiting for the Lord to come and fix things.

The brethren have been very clear about whether we should just sit around and wait for the Lord to fix all our problems, or wait to be commanded in all things what we should do.  They recently released a series of talks about Getting Politically Informed and Involved.   To read them simply go to LDS.org and search for the words informed and involved.  The talk answers questions such as, How to Stay Informed? Why Should I Care? And most importantly, What Can I Do?