Living, as we are, in days when the love of men waxes cold and war is being poured out upon all nations means that peace can be hard to come by. The whirl of events and the rage that accompanies them are constant. They often leave us turning in every direction, eyes flickering around like we have been spinning too fast and long. These are signs of the times.
I have certainly felt this way over months and years, observing the world. Nothing makes sense; the world is too tragic for words. But in the middle of the vanity of my own expressions come these words from the Lord: “Therefore, renounce war and proclaim peace, and seek diligently to turn the hearts of the children to their fathers, and the hearts of the fathers to the children” (D&C 98:16). This verse and those that follow it contain the Lord’s pattern for peace in the world.
That peace is found in unity. The image of turning the children and parents’ hearts toward each other emphasizes connection across generations. Bonds that span time are bonds that help us escape the central prison of mortality. Each of us is given only one mortal life, marked in time by birth and death. The only way to reach beyond those boundaries during our mortal lives is to connect with those older and younger than us. This is God’s plan for families and communities.
One of the most dangerous divisions today is between generations. Claims that the old cannot understand the young or vice versa lead hearts to turn away from other generations. We cannot accept this. Instead, we must reach across, wholly but imperfectly, and turn our hearts to each other. Without this and the ordinances that accompany such bonds, the curse spoken of by the prophet Malachi will surely come.