1 - Select a word to focus on.
2 - Look it up in the Webster 1828 dictionary. It can be found online, here. Select the definition for your focus (sometimes there is more than one definition)
3 - Underline key words that stand out to you and define them if you don't know what they mean.
4 - Looking at how the word is used in Conference addresses. (Not in general quotes or other articles, at least for this purpose...) "Words of the Wise"
5 - Looking at how the word is used in the scriptures.
6 - Rewrite the definition in your own words.
7 - Write a short paragraph about how you will apply what you learned.
SAMPLE WORD STUDY ON "PEACEMAKER"
Word
Study on PEACEMAKER
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. Matt.5.
I. Words of the Wise
"Have
you ever wondered how you could be a peacemaker? I would like to
mention a few possibilities. Really, our opportunities are unlimited.
Certainly in
our homes, as
well as elsewhere, we can all be peacemakers by exhibiting love
and goodwill,
thus offsetting
the evil of contention,
envy, and jealousy. Where misunderstandings exist between children
and parents we can encourage adjustments on the part of both. We can
pray together
for the spirit of peace.
Homes can be seriously disrupted because of family strife. At times,
husbands and wives in an atmosphere of contention destroy their own
happiness as well as that of their children."
---FRANKLIN
D. RICHARDS Oct 1983
"Happily
I am seeing more and more skillful peacemakers who calm
troubled waters before harm is done.
You could be one of those peacemakers, whether you are in the
conflict or an observer. One way I have seen it done is to search
for anything on which we agree.
To be that peacemaker, you need to have the simple faith that as
children of God, with all our differences, it is likely that in a
strong position we take, there will be elements of truth. The great
peacemaker, the restorer
of unity, is
the one who finds a way to help people see the truth they share. That
truth they share is always greater and more important to them than
their differences. You can help yourself and others to see that
common ground if you ask
for help from God
and then act. He will answer your prayer to help restore peace, as He
has mine."
---HENRY
B. EYRING Oct 2008
"In
Romania I met Raluca, a 17-year-old young woman who had recently
joined the Church. Her baptism was a happy event because, among other
things, her whole family attended. Her mother and sister felt the
Spirit there and wanted to have the missionary discussions too. This
concerned the father, for he felt he was losing all of his family to
this unfamiliar church. So he did not allow it, and for a time there
was a feeling of discord in their family. However, Raluca remembered
that she had made a baptismal covenant to take upon her the name of
Jesus Christ. She tried to hold
up His light by doing in her home the things He would do.
She was a peacemaker. She was an example. She was a teacher. She was
a healer.
Eventually her father’s heart softened, and he allowed the others
to learn more about the Church. Then they too were baptized. And
finally, much to everyone’s joy, the father of the family also
joined the Church. At his baptism he spoke and said that for a time
their family had been as two hearts beating at a different rhythm in
the same household. But now they were of one faith and one baptism,
with their hearts knit together in unity and love. He gave thanks to
the missionaries and members who had helped them. Then he paid a
special tribute to his daughter Raluca for being so Christlike
in their home during that difficult period, for being the peacemaker,
the healer, the teacher, the example, and the light that eventually
brought their entire family to the Church of Jesus Christ."
---
SUSAN W. TANNER Apr 2006
"Sometimes
being benevolent
is most difficult in our own families. Strong families require
effort. Be
cheerful,
helpful, and considerate of others.
Many problems in the home are created because family members speak
and act selfishly or unkindly. Concern
yourself with the needs of other family members.
Seek to be a peacemaker rather than to tease, fight, and quarrel.
Remember this: 'kindness
begins with me.'"
---
MARY N. COOK Apr 2011
II. Scriptures
Matthew 5:9 & 3
Nephi 12:9
"Blessed
are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God."
Psalms 133:1
"Behold,
how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together
in unity!"
Ephesians 4:3
"Endeavouring
to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."
Mosiah 18:21
"And
he commanded them that there should be no contention one with
another, but that they should look forward with one eye, having one
faith and one baptism, having their hearts knit together in unity
and in love one towards another."
III. My definition
My
definition of PEACEMAKER is anyone who makes peace, restores unity
and offsets contention. A peacemaker is someone who seeks love and
goodwill holding up the light of Christ and doing all the He would
do. Being a peacemaker requires effort. It requires a resolve to
concern ourselves with the needs of others first and ask for God's
help so that our hearts can be knit together in unity and love.
- Application
I
can and should always strive to be a peacemaker and make peace
, especially in my home where Satan is trying to destroy my family
through contention, selfishness, unkindness, teasing, fighting and
quarreling. As a mom, if I have the spirit of contention I can
destroy the peace of not only myself, but also of my children. I
must always remember that “Kindness begins with me!”
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