By Joey Williams, Council of Twelve Apostles

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

The day before Easter, 8-year-old Quentin was baptized and confirmed at his familiar campground, Lake Doniphan Conference Center. When asked why he was excited to become a member, he said, “So I get to be with others… hope… peace… more of a community, more of something.”

I haven’t been able to stop thinking about that word: more.

Because the very next morning, Easter Sunday, “more” is exactly what Quentin found.

When Quentin walked into church that Sunday, his congregation had joined with the Light of Hope Swahili-speaking congregation. They had been sharing space with the East 39th Street congregation for over a year. Light of Hope had invited two more congregations that day… Good Vine from Des Moines and Sea Galilee from Louisville. The room was filled with nearly 200 friends and family, many reconnecting after first knowing each other in refugee camps in Tanzania before resettlement scattered them in different cities across the United States.

This Easter was not an ordinary service at East 39th Street. It brought “more.”

• More singing! Songs in Swahili rose in the sanctuary like resurrection!
•  More choirs! The room shook with dancing and joy, rolling the stone away to reveal an empty tomb.
• More life! Children ran between the pews! People danced in the aisles!
• Seven babies were brought forward for blessing!

You could FEEL what happens when community makes room for more: joy multiplies!

For Quentin, even the sacraments revealed “more” that Easter morning.

The small table, where the communion emblems were always placed, somehow felt wider that day… more diverse, more inclusive, more expansive than anyone had previously imagined. That table made room for more languages, more cultures, and more ways to worship. For the first time in that church, Quentin heard the prayers over the bread and wine read in Swahili by pastor Esandju, who had only a few weeks earlier been ordained and sustained to lead the Light of Hope congregation.

I looked back at Quentin, wide-eyed and leaning in, as he watched his father, Tyler, lay his hands on a small baby and offer a beautiful blessing. The “more” that Quentin had longed for in community was now being embodied in his father’s prayer; a prayer that made space for new life, new belonging, and for God’s new community to be born.

Prayer Phrase

“a new community…is being born” (Doctrine and Covenants 164:5).

Spiritual Community

Meditate on a time when you experienced true belonging—a moment when someone welcomed you, listened to you, encouraged you, or reminded you that you were not walking the journey of faith alone. Prayerfully consider the qualities that help build a Christ-centered community: hospitality, compassion, forgiveness, patience, courage, joy, and a willingness to walk alongside one another. Offer a prayer of gratitude for the communities that have shaped you and a prayer of commitment to help create spaces where all people can experience the love, peace, and presence of Christ.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.