LDS Perspectives: Three Scriptures about War
This posting was left under the blog instructions, and I thought it might belong under the LDS Perspectives on War and Peace - but decided to put it out here in the main blog section (even though I didn't write it). This comment jumps the gun a bit - because there will be an extensive discussion coming about the justice of war - but I want you to think about a few things as you read these quotes:
When (if ever) is it appropriate for an LDS person to engage in war? Three Book of Mormon scriptures might be helpful to understand the LDS view:
Alma 43:46-47
46 And they were doing that which they felt was the DUTY which they owed to their god; for the Lord had said unto them, and also unto their fathers, that: Inasmuch as ye are not guilty of the first offense, neither the second, ye shall not suffer yourselves to be slain by the hands of your enemies.
47 And again, the Lord has said that: Ye shall defend your families even unto bloodshed. Therefore for this cause were the Nephites contending with the Lamanites, to defend themselves, and their families, and their lands, atheir country, and their rights, and their religion.
From Alma 48:14-15, 23-25
14 Now the Nephites were taught to defend themselves against their enemies, even to the shedding of blood if it were necessary; yea, and they were also taught never to give an offense, yea, and never to raise the sword except it were against an enemy, except it were to preserve their lives.
15 And this was their faith, that by so doing God would prosper them in the land, or in other words, if they were faithful in keeping the commandments of God that he would prosper them in the land; yea, warn them to flee, or to prepare for war, according to their danger;
23 Now, they were sorry to take up arms against the Lamanites, because they did not delight in the shedding of blood; yea, and this was not all—they were sorry to be the means of sending so many of their brethren out of this world into an eternal world, unprepared to meet their God.
24 Nevertheless, they could not suffer to lay down their lives, that their wives and their children should be massacred by the barbarous cruelty of those who were once their brethren, yea, and had dissented from their church, and had left them and had gone to destroy them by joining the Lamanites.
25 Yea, they could not bear that their brethren should rejoice over the blood of the Nephites, so long as there were any who should keep the commandments of God, for the promise of the Lord was, if they should keep his commandments they should prosper in the land.
And from 3 Nephi 20:20-21:
20 And it shall come to pass, saith the Father, that the sword of my justice shall hang over them at that day; and except they repent it shall fall upon them, saith the Father, yea, even upon all the nations of the Gentiles.
21 And it shall come to pass that I will establish my people, O house of Israel.
There are some interesting principles taught in these basic verses found in the Keystone Scripture.
- Do these scriptures endorse war? Or, do they acknowledge the tragic fact that people may be forced to defend themselves with force?
- Is there any significance that all of these scriptures pre-date the coming of Christ? What effect do Christ's teachings, and the changes that stemmed from the shift from Mosaic Law to the Law of Christ? The Sermon on the Mount taught us to turn the other cheek, and to love our enemies (see the quote in below from Pres. Kimball about becoming anti-enemy). Are there modern scriptures that express even this level of approval for war?
- These scriptures appear to justify defensive war. Obviously, a war of unprovoked aggression is morally wrong - but what about this new doctrine of "preemptive war" promulgated after 9/11? There is a very good argument that we cannot effectively fight terrorism without preemption - but the doctrine strongly challenges the traditional doctrines of just war, and defensive uses of force.
When (if ever) is it appropriate for an LDS person to engage in war? Three Book of Mormon scriptures might be helpful to understand the LDS view:
Alma 43:46-47
46 And they were doing that which they felt was the DUTY which they owed to their god; for the Lord had said unto them, and also unto their fathers, that: Inasmuch as ye are not guilty of the first offense, neither the second, ye shall not suffer yourselves to be slain by the hands of your enemies.
47 And again, the Lord has said that: Ye shall defend your families even unto bloodshed. Therefore for this cause were the Nephites contending with the Lamanites, to defend themselves, and their families, and their lands, atheir country, and their rights, and their religion.
From Alma 48:14-15, 23-25
14 Now the Nephites were taught to defend themselves against their enemies, even to the shedding of blood if it were necessary; yea, and they were also taught never to give an offense, yea, and never to raise the sword except it were against an enemy, except it were to preserve their lives.
15 And this was their faith, that by so doing God would prosper them in the land, or in other words, if they were faithful in keeping the commandments of God that he would prosper them in the land; yea, warn them to flee, or to prepare for war, according to their danger;
23 Now, they were sorry to take up arms against the Lamanites, because they did not delight in the shedding of blood; yea, and this was not all—they were sorry to be the means of sending so many of their brethren out of this world into an eternal world, unprepared to meet their God.
24 Nevertheless, they could not suffer to lay down their lives, that their wives and their children should be massacred by the barbarous cruelty of those who were once their brethren, yea, and had dissented from their church, and had left them and had gone to destroy them by joining the Lamanites.
25 Yea, they could not bear that their brethren should rejoice over the blood of the Nephites, so long as there were any who should keep the commandments of God, for the promise of the Lord was, if they should keep his commandments they should prosper in the land.
And from 3 Nephi 20:20-21:
20 And it shall come to pass, saith the Father, that the sword of my justice shall hang over them at that day; and except they repent it shall fall upon them, saith the Father, yea, even upon all the nations of the Gentiles.
21 And it shall come to pass that I will establish my people, O house of Israel.
There are some interesting principles taught in these basic verses found in the Keystone Scripture.
posted by talk hard, be heard at 11:00 AM
2 Comments:
For those of you who watched the General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints this weekend, a prominent member of the Church (acting president of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles) gave an address in which he talked about his struggle to reconcile his call to armed service in World War II. He quoted these scriptures to illustrate how he made peace with himself about his decision to fight for his country.
I don’t think the gospel or its prophets ever endorse war. I thought the comment to the Rwandan entry which quoted President Hinckley was good for this topic. I know growing up, the only thing my Dad would say about his time spent in war was that “it teaches people to hate.” I don’t think Heavenly Father ever wants his children to die in these conditions. However, there are times when defense is necessary. The choice to retaliate is much different for one man who has been offended than in these circumstances. Yes, Jesus taught us to turn the other cheek and forgive. But when a country must decide to defend their children and values (pure victims that did not cause the conflict with their hate, nor can they persuade the conflict in any way), I think war may be justified. “Justified” does not mean inherently good. I have noticed that the times in scripture when the Lord seems to accept that war may be necessary are only in defense, and only when the enemy is taking away the agency that every person should possess. Our children must have a chance to live where they can have agency. I think agency is central to God’s plan. Even after Christ’s higher law was set forth, I think there are certain truths that may need to be protected. However, in the case of our war on terrorism, I am a bit lost. I’m not sure what we are doing is really fighting terrorism, as much as trying to spread democracy and hope that will in turn squelch the effects of terrorism. How can you fight something as abstract as terrorism, when its proponents don’t have a central purpose, or following. It doesn’t completely sit right with me that we go in and fight a government who’s citizenry doesn’t agree with its actions, but they feel the effects. I don’t know, I understand arguments on either side. I feel bad for soldiers today because of how the hatred of war can have an effect on them, but they don’t have the set purposes of survival of self or survival of the gospel to sacrifice for, as in the days of the Book of Mormon.
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