Look for Peace In this Day

There is so much information literally right at our fingertips today. We no longer have to go to the library or purchase expensive books to find the world's wisdom. We merely have to let our fingers search on bing, yahoo or google, and thousands (even millions) of links will be produced that claim have the answers to our queries.

With all this easily accessible information, we should be the most well informed, healthy, beautiful, rich, well-adjusted, peaceable and happy people that ever lived on the earth. If not, maybe we are not utilizing the technology we have at hand? Or maybe we are looking in the wrong place.

In actuality, there are more incurable diseases, less real beauty, more poverty, increased depression and less peace in the world today. The news is filled with disasters, wars, market fluctuations and maladjusted celebrities. Seems ironic doesn't it?

One thing to consider is that today you and I can be self-proclaimed experts in any field, from house organization to politics. All we have to do is put our fingers to the keys, push a button and publish what we think are the secrets to life's biggest mysteries. We can do this without a degree, certificate, or any distinct qualifications. And not only are you and I doing this, but literally myriads of others across the internet.

Even with all the information we can find today, it cannot bring true peace. All you have to do is look at the websites about survival in a world of turmoil. I often read survivalblog.com which gives much advice to prepare you and your family for when TEOTWAWKI arrives (The End of The World as We Know It). I actually wrote an article that was published there. There are articles about surviving pandemics, and all kinds of emergency preparedness tips. I also belong to a Preparation in Paradise Group on Google for those of us who live here in Hawaii. We share food storage ideas and the best places to purchase emergency supplies and other information. We have been hit with two tsunami warnings in a year, and have learned from our preparation or lack of it. However, I have noticed that more effort is put into physical preparation than in personal spiritual preparation. We seem to panic when things don't go the way we expected, especially when we thought we were prepared with all the food, first aid kits, and fuel we need. What we need is a paradigm shift in our thinking. I think we must first prepare our hearts and spirits to accept whatever comes.

In the LDS faith (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) we are taught every six months by living prophets. These people tell us what the Lord would have us hear in our day. Our current prophet, Thomas S. Monson, is a chosen servant who loves the Lord, and all mankind. His desire is to prepare us for whatever may come in our lives. You can watch a video regarding our semi-annual conferences here.

I am very excited to listen to him and our others leaders this weekend. Their words are worth much more than any blog, hub, or link that I might find through a search engines. Their words are also published so that we can refer to them throughout the year. These leaders quotescriptures and share real-life stories that inspire and direct us. If we heed their advice, we can find true peace in this chaotic world.

The scriptures seem to have been pushed aside with all the other information that is available through the internet, magazines, television, movies and other media. I think we need to get back to the basics, hopefully sooner than later, so that we will be ready for whatever comes our way. You can listen to past talks and Conference reports at this website: http://lds.org/ensign/2011/04?lang=eng

These messages can be listened to online or downloaded for free. You can also print out their talks and share them. I hope that we will all find inner peace in this world of sorrow.

If you are interested in watching the conference live:http://ldsmediatalk.com/2011/04/01/watch-lds-general-conference-live/