Carlos Enrique Mejia has been a member of the Council of Twelve Apostles since the 2007 World Conference, assigned to the Central and South America Mission Field. He and his wife, Carmen, live in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

Discernment Activity

Doctrine and Covenants 163
Commentary Series

Become a Sanctuary of Christ's Peace

by Carlos Enrique Mejia

As these ministries come to fuller expression, receptive congregations in the areas around the Temple and throughout the world will be revived and equipped for more effective ministry. Vital to this awakening is the understanding that the Temple calls the entire church to become a sanctuary of Christ’s peace, where people from all nations, ethnicities, and life circumstances can be gathered into a spiritual home without dividing walls, as a fulfillment of the vision for which Jesus Christ sacrificed his life.—Doctrine and Covenants 163:8c

I remember well the joy experienced by so many of my friends in the church when our prophet-president called us to respond generously from surplus to build the Temple. What a blessing to be active participants in that long-hoped-for special moment. God had inspired our prophet to issue the call, and in sensing that divine inspiration, we responded.

But other members responded in far different ways. Even now as I read through the paragraphs of Section 163, I still hear echoes of their questions and concerns: What is the true expression, value, and meaning of the Temple and its ministries for the church? This applies both to those physically near the Temple and in faraway places throughout the world.

Our current generations have been blessed by God to have had an active part in building and using the Temple, as well as developing the many ministries that emanate from it. Today, as underscored in Section 163:8c, we can begin to see the divine blessings the church will receive when these ministries reach their potential. What needs to happen so these ministries can find their fullest expression? I believe it depends on each of us recognizing, first, that God is here, bringing this divine work to realization.

As a church, we should be concerned about understanding the meaning of the Temple. This requires that we have minds open to the mind of God and that we see the church’s ministry coming from the Temple to the world for what it is. Many church members are growing spiritually and developing as disciples of Jesus Christ thanks to the ministries of the Temple. In this we find fulfillment of the promise that “receptive congregations in the areas around the Temple and throughout the world will be revived and equipped for more effective ministry.”

Isn’t it interesting that we are talking about receptive congregations? We must be receptive first before we can be revived and equipped, which in turn will lead to more effective ministry. Our communities need us, as a church, to offer more effective ministry. Yet there is so much hindering us from satisfying the world’s needs. But when I say “the church,” I am not saying we should just think and hope that directions to engage in these types of ministry should come only from International Headquarters.

No, I believe that in every local community where our congregations are found, there we need to offer different ministry. For we are the ones who are in those places with the responsibility to identify the ministry we need to offer.

There is something else in subparagraph 8c of Section 163, though. These congregations are to be revived and equipped. How can we satisfy the needs in the world unless we first see that our own congregations must be revived and equipped? If we are not receptive to the direction of God’s Spirit, we cannot accomplish anything, much less reviving and equipping our congregations. Further, without setting ourselves to this task, we will lose the great opportunity for which we have been sent into the world by Jesus Christ.

God is giving us this chance and offering a new revival. But for this awakening to occur, it is vital to understand something. The “Temple calls the entire church to become a sanctuary of Christ’s peace, where people from all nations, ethnicities, and life circumstances can be reunited in a spiritual home without dividing walls, as a fulfillment of the vision for which Jesus Christ sacrificed his life.”

Prophet-presidents of the Community of Christ have discerned the purpose of the Temple, revealed to us in divine revelation:

The Temple shall be dedicated to the pursuit of peace.—D. and C. 156:5

The Temple calls the whole church to become a sanctuary of Christ’s peace. —D. and C. 163:8c

We cannot fail to recognize that each of us is part of the message of Jesus Christ’s peace. We live in a world that yearns for, needs, and seeks that peace. The people of this world have sought it in many ways, through dialogue, treaties, and agreements—in short, through all possible means. Some efforts have been almost in vain. But now we as a church have something wonderful that backs up our message: God is our refuge and strength because the divine project of God is peace for the whole world, a peaceable reign on earth as it is in heaven.

Elsewhere in Section 163:8c we are told the sanctuary of Christ’s peace is where “people from all nations, ethnicities, and life circumstances can be gathered into a spiritual home without dividing walls, as a fulfillment of the vision for which Jesus Christ sacrificed his life.”

When we planted the church in Nicaragua, we began in the community of Diriomo in the southern part of the country. We employed a seventy from Honduras and asked him to serve as the first pastor. When he arrived he found the community sharply divided between a council of “official” pastors of the established congregations and another council of leaders who for one reason or another had separated from the established churches and formed their own group.

Both councils invited the Community of Christ pastor to share in their meetings and assume responsibilities. He asked us what he should do, because he didn’t know which council he should join. We told him he should accept both invitations and share a message of unity with both councils. This would help them see that the division did not represent the will of God or reflect the love of God among his children. In fact, the separation contributed to hardening the hearts of community members who witnessed the division among Christian leaders.

Our pastor went to them and shared Doctrine and Covenants 153:9: “My Spirit is reaching out to numerous souls even now and there are many who will respond if you my people, will bear affirmative testimony of my love and my desires for all to come unto me.”

Now, after years of association between the Community of Christ and the two councils, the results have been marvelous. There now is only one council. The leaders and pastors have joined as one, and our pastor is secretary of the unified council. The call to be a sanctuary of the peace of Jesus Christ continues to be a reality and continues to challenge us to go forward without fear to wherever God is sending us.

So many walls of division exist in our society today. Politics, sports, religion, and national borders divide us. These are walls that human beings have raised. But this is not God’s will. We remember that from the beginning of creation, because of humankind’s disobedience through sin, a barrier of separation was created between people and God. As a result, the link was broken; the relationship that once existed between humankind and God was broken.

The story is told of a king who offered a special prize to the artist who could reflect perfect peace in one painting. Many artists created paintings and brought them to be considered. The great day arrived for the king to evaluate all the paintings and award the first prize. After eliminating all but two paintings, he looked closer to decide the winner.

One artist painted a placid scene with a beautiful blue lake, which offered a perfect mirror reflection of mountains, blue sky, and white clouds. The canvas of the second artist revealed rugged mountains and a sky filled with big, black clouds bringing a fierce rainstorm beneath them. At the base of the mountains was a wild river with raging currents, flowing from a high waterfall. This entire panorama was anything but peaceful.

But looking closely, the king saw a bush with red flowers that somehow grew among the rocks behind the waterfall. In its branches was the nest of a bird, and placed in it was a beautiful chick singing amid the loud, roaring waterfall.

All the people wondered which painting the king would choose. He chose the second canvas and explained why. He said peace does not mean being in a tranquil place without noise or problems, a pain-free state where everything exists in our favor. Peace means that despite being in the midst of much adversity, calm remains in our heart, and we fully enjoy the peace that is within us. That peace has been given us by Jesus Christ.

Do we have this perfect peace?

I believe many of us already have had this experience inside the Temple, where we have been united with people of many nations and races, all speaking different languages but united by the same Spirit. Each can share a testimony about this kind of experience, whether they physically have entered the Temple in Independence or not. Whether it may be amid difficult situations in our personal lives, times of suffering or internal conflicts, we can know that within us is the peace that Christ gives. From this place our voice continues to invite the nations to be a sanctuary of the peace of Christ.

This peace is the perfect peace that we can find only in its giver.

We will contribute to having peace in the world if each of us assumes and incarnates the desire of God for a peaceful reign on earth. Let us continue to give and receive these ministries of the Temple so that the reviving and equipping of our congregations will lead to effective ministry and true growth.

May the peace of Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.