Book Review, Peace be Still by David S. Baxter

 

“No waters can swallow the ship where lies
The Master of ocean and earth and skies.
They all shall sweetly obey thy will:
Peace, be still; peace, be still.”

(Hymns, “Master, the Tempest is Raging,” no. 105.)

 

Cover Excerpt:

Our modern world is full of fast-paced stress and jam-packed schedules. Both trials and blessings happen to us so quickly that there is rarely a moment of peace. It is easy to be overwhelmed and lost.
In Peace, Be Still, Elder David S. Baxter of the Seventy describes ways for us to find peace in our crazy world by turning to our Lord, Jesus Christ. He speaks of principles to learn, habits to gain, and places to go to find peace in our daily lives and at home. This inspiring book will help us through the tempests in our lives and lead us to a greater sense of personal peace by encouraging and instructing us to follow Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.

My thoughts:

Who couldn't use a little more peace in their lives?

 I love inspiring nonfiction books, (which is why I've written two) and Elder Baxter has written one on a topic we all can learn from--peace. In the preface he shares his thoughts for us, the readers:

 "My own hope is that the contents of this book will enable every reader to identify, feel, and realize a greater sense of personal peace and find out how to obtain it, to a degree at least, some moments of personal pause from the debilitating, suffocating stress of life--to enjoy some serene stillness in the midst of cacophonous commotion."

This book, wrapped in a cover of a tranquil lakefront scene, with water smooth as glass reflecting a sky filled with warming rays of sun invites one to come, sit a while, read, reflect, and be refreshed.  The final chapter of ten, and my favorite, is fittingly entitled, The Prince of Peace.

In it Elder Baxter reminds us of the story in the  New Testament in the book of Mark..."And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that now it was full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on the pillow; and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. (Mark 4: 37-39)

He goes on to say: "In the midst of the tempest of our lives, we can be brought to "great calm" as we too call upon the Master. If He has the power to cause the wind to cease and the waves to subside from the deck of a ship, He can, from the sanctuary of heaven, certainly still our distress and bring the chill winds of trouble in our lives to a stop. It is not just Galilee that can be made a place of peace; it is also possible in our minds, our hearts, and our very souls."


Meet the Author:

David Baxter was born in Stirling, Scotland, and became a General Authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2006. He previously worked in senior leadership roles in the telecommunications industry and on the boards of various UK government agencies and holds a bachelor of science in economics. In his Church service, he has been a bishop, a stake president, a member of a mission presidency, and an Area Seventy, and he is currently a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. He has served in Church Area Presidencies in Europe and the Pacific. His early home life was traumatic and disrupted, and in 2009 he underwent surgery to remove two brain tumors. He and his wife, Dianne, are the parents of four children and the grandparents of nine grandchildren.

Peace Be Still