Proclaim Peace is an extended meditation on what it means to follow the Prince of Peace in a world of violence. The book seeks not to promote any particular ideology, but rather to invite readers, especially the rising generation, to reflect seriously on the interpersonal, ethical, and social dimensions of Christian discipleship. As such, it represents a spiritual journey by two believing scholars of peace—a journey of scriptural exegesis and hermeneutics that breathe new life into familiar and beloved Restoration texts.
The Restoration encompasses a rich, if somewhat underappreciated, theology of peace. The heart of that theology is captured in a few core ideas: All humans are inherently divine and eternally interrelated. Enduring power can only be achieved through persuasion and love. Conflict is built into creation and can be constructively transformed for godly purposes. In rare instances violence may be justified, but only nonviolence based in love is truly efficacious and sanctifying. And the beloved community of Zion is not simply a utopian ideal but rather an achievable goal if individuals and societies embrace principles of love, equality, justice, and peace as exemplified by Jesus Christ.
In a world plagued by “wars and rumors of wars,” it is easy to be resigned to violence, to see it as an inescapable part of the human condition. But we believe, with President Russell M. Nelson, that “peace is possible” in this world and that the “descendants of Abraham . . . are in a pivotal position to emerge as peacemakers.” This book is an effort to lift up the Restoration’s distinctive principles that invite its followers, and others as well, to renounce violence and proclaim Christ’s good news of love and peace to a world that desperately needs it.
