Exploring Meekness & How to be a Peacemaker When There is Disagreement
Topic: Exploring meekness & how to be a peacemaker when there is disagreement
Definitions of Meek:
Meek: quiet, gentle, and always ready to do what other people want without expressing your own opinion (Oxford Dictionary)
Webster’s 1828 Dictionary - 1. Mild of temper; soft; gentle; not easily provoked or irritated; yielding; given to forbearance under injuries. Appropriately, humble, in an evangelical sense; submissive to the divine will; not proud, self-sufficient, or refractory; not peevish and apt to complain of divine dispensations. Christ says, 'Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest to your souls.
Meekness: Teachable and open to other opinions and possibilities, recognizing we have less than full understanding -
Allowing space and respect for others to express their own opinions.
President Nelson’s talk on Peacemakers - easy to describe what unites and what divides us -
Q: What gets in our way of being a peacemaker? Pride, fear, zealotry, extremism, judgment, condemnation, lack of awareness, jokes, sarcasm, gossip
Long-suffering = patience with others and ourselves
What will I hang onto when my mind doesn’t work as it once did? What can I work on now to conquer and release from my mind?
Teaching a lesson now puts us in a very vulnerable place, and we can sometimes feel the criticism from the room.
The Ways of the Devil from 2 Nephi 28:3-30 - Jack Welch https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/2-nephi-26-30
Gossip - trying to back out of gossip with colleagues - change the subject, ignore the conversation, don't engage.
Church letter on politics, etc. https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2023/6/6/23751117/first-presidency-letter-emphasizes-participation-in-elections-reaffirms-political-neutrality/
How to be a peacemaker when there is disagreement - Dr. Lili Andersen - the celestial response: not even think about being rude, just love them. Be aware of our feelings during tricky conversations.
In the past, we were not defined by politics. Now, it is a label.
Difference between contention (heated disagreement, anger) and conflict (unavoidable)
Responses: “I don’t really see it that way.” "That's something to think about." "That's not a topic I am going to engage in."
Remember: My responsibility is my response; I am not responsible for their response.
Get curious instead of being defensive. Anger is a threat response.
Book - American Nations by Colin Woodward -a good book for a better understanding of regional cultures in America
Speak to be understood and listen to understand
Create boundaries as we go when interacting with others— have a response ready to go.
Light and darkness can’t exist in the same place. Light is more influential. How can I bring light to this situation? We don’t have to answer every question. You can maintain power when you control how you respond.
Covenant Corruption Cycle instead of the pride cycle
The Fourth Turning is a theory proposed by historians William Strauss and Neil Howe in their 1997 book titled "The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy." The theory suggests that history can be divided into four generational cycles, or "turnings," each lasting about 20-25 years. The turnings include: "The High", "The Awakening", "The Unraveling" and "The Crisis".
Cycles - 1997 - The Fourth Turning - pattern - we are living in the crisis point of this cycle - it will be this way until we are all humbled
Follow Him podcast with Joseph Spencer - around 54 min. at Part 1