Listen, children, to a story
That was written long ago
About a kingdom on a mountain
And the valley folk below
On the mountain was a treasure
Buried deep beneath a stone
And the valley people swore
They'd have it for their very own
So the people of the valley
Sent a message up the hill
Asking for the buried treasure—
Tons of gold for which they'd kill
Came an answer from the kingdom
"With our brothers we will share
All the secrets of our mountain
All the riches buried there"
Now the valley cried with anger
"Mount your horses! Draw your sword!"
And they killed the mountain people
So they won their just reward
Now they stood beside the treasure
On the mountain, dark and red
Turned the stone and looked beneath it
"Peace on Earth" was all it said
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The choice is ours. Do we want to honor the humanity around us and strive for real peace? Do we know that the great reward of lasting peace is not a gift that we receive, but a creation of our own, for which we must strive?
We cannot be acted upon to establish peace. We must act.
Peace is not found in a feverish frenzy, but in consciously choosing stillness, no matter what is stirring around us.
Let us choose to reject the lilting deceptions from those who would have us seek to extract contentment from our circumstances by force:
Go ahead and hate your neighbor!
Go ahead and cheat a friend!
Do it in the name of Heaven
You can justify it in the end
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgment day
On the bloody morning after
One tin soldier rides away
See also:
John 14: 27
Matthew 5: 9
Isaiah 52: 7-10
Mosiah 15: 11-19
2 Nephi 28: 7-10
Alma 41: 10-11
Helaman 13
Luke 12: 15-34