As Kathryn Davis, host of the Magnify podcast, listened to President Russell M. Nelson deliver his April 2023 general conference talk “Peacemakers Needed,” she knew it was monumental.
In the following excerpt from a recent podcast episode, Kathryn and her guest, Nassari Everett, dive into why the prophet’s message on peace resonated so deeply with them.
This podcast excerpt has been edited for clarity.
Kathryn Davis: As I reread this talk, so much stood out to me, but I have been thinking about small adjustments that I can make that seem attainable in my life. At the end of the talk, President Nelson said, “The best is yet to come for those who spend their lives building up others.”
And then he invited us to treat others as a disciple of Jesus Christ would. And I thought, That’s something I can focus on: How I can build others?
So over the last couple of weeks, I’ve really tried to just build and build. In situations where I felt like I wasn’t being heard or not being valued, instead of getting defensive, I thought, Can I build? That is a small action that has helped me grow and, honestly, helped me learn about my Savior, Jesus Christ because He is a God who builds.
I want to ask you, What have you learned about Jesus Christ as you’ve studied this talk?
Nassari Everett: One of the things that came to my mind is that Jesus Christ really cares about what we are feeling. He cares about what we are struggling with. He knows that we want to be heard. I don’t think that it’s bad for us to speak up if there’s some kind of injustice, whether it is within our home, in our community, or within our churches. When we do that with Christ then we have that support from Him. And as we are seeking to correct injustice, there can be so much love. And it starts with our hearts.
Can I share something from the scriptures? In Alma, we learn of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. And all of a sudden, the Lamanites are going to attack them and destroy them. But they decided they did not want to react to what was coming the way they used to. And the scriptures say, “Thus we see that they buried their weapons of peace, or they buried the weapons of war, for peace.” And that stood out to me; I never realized that it started with, “They buried their weapons of peace,” and then it says, “Or they buried the weapons of war, for peace” (Alma 24:19).
We are all trying to achieve peace. But in that process, is it creating peace? Or is it creating more war? The Anti-Nephi-Lehies used their weapons to kill to try and create peace for their community, but now they’re realizing, no—those were weapons of war, and they need to be buried for true peace, the only peace that comes through Jesus Christ.
So the Anti-Nephi-Lehies bury their weapons, and then they pray vocally as the Lamanites come to attack. They are not going to fight. They trust the Lord with whatever will come. They know that if they die, they will be with Him. And the Lamanites saw that, and many of them put their weapons down, and they joined the people of God.
That account has been in my mind and my heart because sometimes we think we bring peace with our words, but are they peaceful? Is it the peace that the Savior brings or what the world promises?
When President Nelson was speaking, the Spirit for me was saying, “You need to concentrate on your home. Create a model of peace within.” And then when I am away from my home, and my children are away, I hope that we may be able to influence those around us with peace.
Nassari Alvarez Everett is a signature experience manager and content creator at Thanksgiving Point in Utah, where she enjoys directing the Dia de los Muertos celebration. She resides in Pleasant Grove, Utah, with her husband, Kent, and their three sons.
Listen to the rest of this episode at magnifythegood.com and on all podcast streaming platforms. You can also follow along on Instagram at @magnifycommunity.
