Recently, I was studying President Nelson‘s talk called, “Peacemakers Needed”. In his talk, he shared an experience when he was a medical resident. He said, “During my surgical internship many years ago, I assisted a surgeon who was amputating a leg filled with highly infectious gangrene. The operation was difficult. Then, to add to the tension, one of the team performed a task poorly, and the surgeon erupted in anger. In the middle of his tantrum, he threw his scalpel loaded with germs. It landed in my forearm!”

Many years after this horrifying and dangerous experience, he wondered, “if the contaminated scalpel that landed in my arm was any more toxic than the venomous contention that infects our civic dialogue and too many personal relationships today.”

I have always considered myself a peacemaker. But, the Lord taught me otherwise, even while I was studying President Nelson’s inspired words. You see, I was driving to work as I was listening to his talk and was learning how our words can harm others. Then, I found myself getting upset at a driver who was driving very selfishly. I felt justified of this thought because this driver was being very inconsiderate of others. But, was she really being guilty of my accusation? Maybe but maybe not. How could I have judged this lady correctly without knowing anything about her? I now realize that the chance of my conclusion being correct was very slim.

As I realized that my thoughts were the exact opposite of what President Nelson was teaching, I felt embarrassed and humbled. I wanted to change and I resolved to be one of the peacemakers that President Nelson said were needed. I knew I had to practice being slow to judge others, having kinder thoughts, and trying to stop judging others because my initial thoughts often controlled my reactions.

In conclusion, let me leave these words of our prophet.

“As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are to be examples of how to interact with others—especially when we have differences of opinion. One of the easiest ways to identify a true follower of Jesus Christ is how compassionately that person treats other people.”

In the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, Amen!
Brother Sawada, High Council Advisor to Stake YW