This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This is the 453rd week, and we’re covering the Sunday afternoon session of the April 2006 General Conference.
It’s not that often that I get so excited by a talk during the General Conference Odyssey that I feel inspired to start live-tweeting it, but that’s exactly what happened when I read Instruments of the Lord’s Peace by Elder Robert S. Wood. It’s hard to believe the talk was given eighteen years ago, because it feels so incredibly relevant to our world today. Truly, this is one of the most prescient talks I’ve ever read, and it starts right in the first paragraph:
I have a friend who is a member of a political panel that is seen each week on national television. Explaining her role, she said, “We are encouraged to speak before thinking!” We appear to be living in an era in which many are speaking without thinking, encouraging emotional reactions rather than thoughtful responses. Whether it be on the national or international stage, in personal relations or in politics, at home or in the public forum, voices grow ever more strident, and giving and taking offense appear to be chosen rather than inadvertent.
What a concise description of the outrage-powered media we all live in, where tribal anger is the key to unlocking clicks with their ad revenue and notoriety.
Elder Wood goes on to describe the troublemakers of the Book of Mormon–Laman, Amalickiah, Amulon, Nehor, Korihor, and Zoram–as “agitators who inspired distrust, fueled controversy, and deepened hatreds.” The pairing of these two issues–controversy and hatred alongside a lack of trust–is also spot-on for the troubles American society faces today.
I especially loved Elder Wood’s treatment of the difference between godly and human wrath. This is important because the scriptures are, of course, full of depictions of the wrath of God. And aren’t we supposed to emulate our Heavenly Parents? That’s precisely the dangerous misreading of scripture that Elder Wood anticipates and heads off:
Wrath is defined both as the righteous indignation of God and as the very human instances of impetuous ardor and deep or violent anger. The former arises from the concern of a loving Father whose children are often “without affection, and they hate their own blood,” whereas the latter wrath arises from a people “without order and without mercy, … strong in their perversion.” I fear the earth is experiencing both wraths, and I suspect the divine wrath is very much provoked by those who are stirring up the hearts of men to wickedness, slander, and violent hatreds.
Elder Wood has several additional trenchant points that apply at least as well in 2024 as they did in 2006:
- The first casualties of human wrath are truth and understanding.
- “The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.” (James 1:20)
- Beware of those who stir us up to such anger that calm reflection and charitable feelings are suppressed.
- It is far too easy sometimes to fall into a spirit of mockery and cynicism in dealing with those of contrary views… It is a primary tool of those who occupy the large and spacious building…
- Closely related to mockery is a spirit of cynicism.
- We cannot afford to be caught up in a world prone to give and to take offense.
My favorite section of the talk was this gentle but firm call to repentance:
Have we who have taken upon us the name of Christ slipped unknowingly into patterns of slander, evil speaking, and bitter stereotyping? Have personal or partisan or business or religious differences been translated into a kind of demonizing of those of different views? Do we pause to understand the seemingly different positions of others and seek, where possible, common ground?
If you’re on social media and especially if you’re on social media as a Latter-day Saint, then you should ask yourself these questions, not just once, but continuously. Check back in. If you answered them well last year, can you say the same this year?
This is important for how we interact with those who are not of our faith, but it’s especially important in how we relate to each other. , both for our own sake and because of the example that we’re putting out there for the world to see. And so I echo Elder Woods’ quotation of that great and optimistic prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley:
Now, there is much that we can and must do in these perilous times. We can give our opinions on the merit of the situation as we see it, but never let us become a party to words or works of evil concerning our brothers and sisters in various nations on one side or the other. Political differences never justify hatred or ill will. I hope that the Lord’s people may be at peace one with another during times of trouble, regardless of what loyalties they may have to different governments or parties.
If the Saints cannot find peace among each other, then where will be peace be found? If the Saints cannot find peace among each other, then we cannot call ourselves Saints.