Going to War
WAR:
War is so tragic and horrible. As a Christan Nation we love all of God’s children and desire peace and plenty for them. But at times, the war drum beats for various reasons and many of us hear the call and go to battle based on a fervent desire to protect our way of life. It seems that only in hindsight do we see the real reasons the drums were being beaten and may find that it wasn’t something we would have supported had we known the whole story. Wouldn’t it be nice if God had given us some kind of guidelines as when we should go to war and when we should not go to war especially with other nations. That way we could check it against what the drummers are telling us and make a more informed decision as to whether we would risk life and limb of ourselves and our fellow brothers and sisters. Luckily, we have such decrees from God. Uniquely, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints have additional revelations direct from Heaven that spell out the rules of warfare precisely. We should remember that we are extremely blessed (or cursed, depending on how you look at it) for having such clear passages to check against the cacophony of the world’s doctrine on war. I’ll be honest, I never paid much attention to these specific passages of scripture until about 4 years ago when I woke up to our awful situation. When I realized how clear and direct they were, I felt it was important to pass along what I had found.So what are they? Here’s a partial list:
Rules of Engagement:
Now, I speak unto you concerning your families—if men will smite you, or your families, once, and ye bear it patiently and revile not against them, neither seek revenge, ye shall be rewarded;
But if ye bear it not patiently, it shall be accounted unto you as being meted out as a just measure unto you.
And again, if your enemy shall smite you the second time, and you revile not against your enemy, and bear it patiently, your reward shall be an hundredfold.
And again, if he shall smite you the third time, and ye bear it patiently, your reward shall be doubled unto you four-fold;
And these three testimonies shall stand against your enemy if he repent not, and shall not be blotted out.
And now, verily I say unto you, if that enemy shall escape my vengeance, that he be not brought into judgment before me, then ye shall see to it that ye warn him in my name, that he come no more upon you, neither upon your family, even your children’s children unto the third and fourth generation.
And then, if he shall come upon you or your children, or your children’s children unto the third and fourth generation, I have delivered thine enemy into thine hands;
And then if thou wilt spare him, thou shalt be rewarded for thy righteousness; and also thy children and thy children’s children unto the third and fourth generation.
Nevertheless, thine enemy is in thine hands; and if thou rewardest him according to his works thou art justified; if he has sought thy life, and thy life is endangered by him, thine enemy is in thine hands and thou art justified.
Behold, this is the law I gave unto my servant Nephi, and thy fathers, Joseph, and Jacob, and Isaac, and Abraham, and all mine ancient prophets and apostles.
And again, this is the law that I gave unto mine ancients, that they should not go out unto battle against any nation, kindred, tongue, or people, save I, the Lord, commanded them.
And if any nation, tongue, or people should proclaim war against them, they should first lift a standard of peace unto that people, nation, or tongue;
And if that people did not accept the offering of peace, neither the second nor the third time, they should bring these testimonies before the Lord;
Then I, the Lord, would give unto them a commandment, and justify them in going out to battle against that nation, tongue, or people.
And I, the Lord, would fight their battles, and their children’s battles, and their children’s children’s, until they had avenged themselves on all their enemies, to the third and fourth generation.
Behold, this is an ensample unto all people, saith the Lord your God, for justification before me.
To me that’s pretty clear language on how often we should bear out retaliation before we are justified going to war against another nation or neighbor for that matter. Are we following that rule in our day?
Fighting for A Just Cause:
Nevertheless, the Nephites were inspired by a better cause, for they were not fighting for monarchy nor power but they were fighting for their homes and their liberties, their wives and their children, and their all, yea, for their rites of worship and their church.
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.
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, their country, and their rights, and their religion.
Although we should most definitely defend our life, liberty, religion, family to the death. However we must not be guilty of the first or second offense toward another people.
Notice here how the Nephites were taught NEVER to give an offense:
Alma 48: 14-16
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.
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;
And also, that God would make it known unto them whither they should go to defend themselves against their enemies, and by so doing, the Lord would deliver them; and this was the faith of Moroni, and his heart did glory in it; not in the shedding of blood but in doing good, in preserving his people, yea, in keeping the commandments of God, yea, and resisting iniquity.
The Great commander and Prophet Gidgiddoni refused to take an offensive approach even when it came to going after the Murderous Secret Combination band of the Gadianton robbers:
Third Nephi 3: 18–21
Now the chiefest among all the chief captains and the great commander of all the armies of the Nephites was appointed, and his name was Gidgiddoni.
Now the people said unto Gidgiddoni: Pray unto the Lord, and let us go up upon the mountains and into the wilderness, that we may fall upon the robbers and destroy them in their own lands.
Now it was the custom among all the Nephites to appoint for their chief captains, (save it were in their times of wickedness) some one that had the spirit of revelation and also prophecy; therefore, this Gidgiddoni was a great prophet among them, as also was the chief judge.
But Gidgiddoni saith unto them: The Lord forbid; for if we should go up against them the Lord would deliver us into their hands; therefore we will prepare ourselves in the center of our lands, and we will gather all our armies together, and we will not go against them, but we will wait till they shall come against us; therefore as the Lord liveth, if we do this he will deliver them into our hands.
The End of a Nation:
Finally after many struggle and battles for survival in the Nephite nation here in the Americas, Moroni is leading his people in defending their lands and freedoms until they broke the Commandments of War and wage and offensive attack against the Lamanites. When one reads these passages, your mind ponders if this wasn’t the deciding pivotal point in the Nephites thousand year history that proved their irreversible, utter destruction. It’s a sad ending to such a beloved people, but if we do not learn the lesson from the past, we will “reap the chaff thereof in the whirlwind (Mosiah 7:30)” as they did.
And now, because of this great thing which my people, the Nephites, had done, they began to boast in their own strength, and began to swear before the heavens that they would avenge themselves of the blood of their brethren who had been slain by their enemies.
And they did swear by the heavens, and also by the throne of God, that they would go up to battle against their enemies, and would cut them off from the face of the land.
And it came to pass that I, Mormon, did utterly refuse from this time forth to be a commander and a leader of this people, because of their wickedness and abomination.Behold, I had led them, notwithstanding their wickedness I had led them many times to battle, and had loved them, according to the love of God which was in me, with all my heart; and my soul had been poured out in prayer unto my God all the day long for them; nevertheless, it was without faith, because of the hardness of their hearts.
And thrice have I delivered them out of the hands of their enemies, and they have repented not of their sins.
And when they had sworn by all that had been forbidden them by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that they would go up unto their enemies to battle, and avenge themselves of the blood of their brethren, behold the voice of the Lord came unto me, saying:
Vengeance is mine, and I will repay; and because this people repented not after I had delivered them, behold, they shall be cut off from the face of the earth.And it came to pass that I utterly refused to go up against mine enemies; and I did even as the Lord had commanded me; and I did stand as an idle witness to manifest unto the world the things which I saw and heard, according to the manifestations of the Spirit which had testified of things to come.
Therefore I write unto you, Gentiles, and also unto you, house of Israel, when the work shall commence, that ye shall be about to prepare to return to the land of your inheritance;
- The Nephites Final struggle. Would they have survied had they kept the Commandments of War?
The Savior Jesus Christ Taught us how we should treat our enemies. We must error on the side of mercy wherever possible. We must not fall into the trap of “delighting in bloodshed”, and forget that everyone is a son or daughter of our Heavenly Father and “all are alike unto God (2 Nephi 26:33).”
ST LUKE Chapter 6: 27-38
¶ But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.
And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.
Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.
And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.
And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.
And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
Remember that we are all Children of God.
Abe, i love your stuff. But this time you haven’t detailed the whole picture. I agree with all that you have said. But it seems to be a little different when it is your own government tormenting you. First of all, I think we have let our enemy smite us so many times through taxation and regulation we are like a battered woman that keeps going back to the man who beats her expecting something different. I don’t think Moroni followed the pattern you have found when it came to his own government.
My son asked me what I think Moroni would do if he were here today. I told him that Moroni was here with us today, in the Book of Mormon, he saw our time, and he wrote to us what to watch out for and I think we have a good idea what he would do. Moroni tells us that the Spirit of God is the Spirit of Freedom. (Alma 61:15) I feel exactly as Moroni did in Alma 59:13, “And it came to pass that Moroni was angry with the Government, because of their indifference concerning the freedom of their country.”
The Moroni Option I believe is clear.
Alma 61:13–14. “…whatsoever evil we cannot resist with our words, yea, such as rebellions and dissensions, let us resist them with our swords, that we may retain our freedom…” We see first hand in Haiti and in Chile that a civil society is only 6-9 meals away from total anarchy. I believe the US is at its breaking point, and a sharp economic collapse, for example, could set off rebellions and dissensions within a 72 hour period. However, even more to the crux of the issue, when we have tried so long to resist with our words, perhaps the time is coming to resist with our swords, our guns, with force. I don’t know how many phone calls I made, emails and letters I have written opposing the bailouts, TARP and the health care takeover. My grand price with my words, a form letter “thanking” me for my support.
24 And now, except ye do repent of that which ye have done, and begin to be up and doing, and send forth food and men unto us, and also unto Helaman, that he may support those parts of our country which he has regained, and that we may also recover the remainder of our possessions in these parts, behold it will be expedient that we contend no more with the Lamanites until we have first cleansed our inward vessel, yea, even the great head of our government.
27 And I will come unto you, and if there be any among you that has a desire for freedom, yea, if there be even a spark of freedom remaining, behold I will stir up insurrections among you, even until those who have desires to usurp power and authority shall become extinct.
30 Behold, I wait for assistance from you; and, except ye do administer unto our relief, behold, I come unto you, even in the land of Zarahemla, and smite you with the sword, insomuch that ye can have no more power to impede the progress of this people in the cause of our freedom.
Yea, he just kind of through your pattern to the side and said, you better fix the government or I will with my sword.
Semper Fidelis
Abe, thanks for the insight you have provided. I fear this Constitutional Republic is about gone for good. We are the only super power left that has becoming more of a belligerent nation instead being an benevolent nation. I fear the war drums beating now by our elected and non-elected officials to attack Iran are base on another lie, like the one for Iraq was done in 2003, will be the end of this nation that once was great. There is certain arrogance among our nation leaders and policy makers who think that just attack Iran nuclear sites and not expect some sort of retaliation from Iran or their allies. This would cause a economic shock to our country that hasn’t been seen in our world since beginning of time.
Think about this that we have close to half a million of our troops, civilian contractors and plus any other US personnel in that region. I will fear that many of them will be trapped and no way to get them back home when our country goes through this economic collapse of great proportion. Unlike the Soviet Union collapse, there countrymen were able to get home because their country was bordering with those nations they had the troops station at.
It will be interesting on how things will unfold in the near future.
Robert,
I think Abe is talking more about this nation’s lust for foreign war rather than our own internal strife. The Book of Mormon has given examples of people’s actions in regard to their government and the actions the Lord justified. I was pro war until I read the article “An LDS View on War”, which presents this same basic argument. I no longer follow that way of thinking. However, I completely empathize with your feelings regarding our day.
It will be very interesting to see what the future holds for this nation. Just remember to counsel the Lord in all thy doings as I’m sure Moroni did. Christ is the ultimate authority.
One more thought. I’ve recently been reading in Mosiah about two groups of people. Limhi’s group and Alma’s group. Alma’s people believed the words of a prophet of the Lord and, upon His warning fled into the wilderness to escape the prophesied Lamanite imposed bondage. Yet it was God’s will that both groups should be put into bondage, despite Alma’s group’s righteousness.
There is an interesting contrast however. Alma’s group endured that bondage by turning to the Lord, relying on Him, and submitting cheerfully to their taskmasters. Limhi’s group, however, did not turn to the Lord immediately. They fought back, three times it says and they lost big each time. After they had been sufficiently humbled the Lord emancipated them through the assistance of another group of righteous people. Alma’s group were saved by divine intervention. Which group endured their trials properly?
We are like the people of Limhi. We are a wicked nation and with wickedness comes bondage. Our destruction has been prophesied, yet those who embrace the Gospel have the promise of salvation. As the Lord’s people, as Christ’s disciples, we should be relying on Him, “come what may and love it”. He knows full well what is transpiring and we need to have the faith to accept whatever chastisement He sees fit to inflict upon us. That’s my belief anyway.
Rhone,
I agree, I believe Abe is focusing on foreign war. I know evil hands have controlled much of America’s involvement in Foreign Wars. I also listened, on my grandfather’s prosthetic leg, one of the many things he lost in the war, to the descriptions of the concentration camps he was part of discovering at the end of the war. Satan and his earthly minions may have started that war, but America, with some of our greatest generation found a way to do some good. All of us are endowed with certain personalities and abilities, yes gifts. The body of Christ has feet that perform different functions than Hands and different functions that hearts and brains. We are not all Moroni’s, we are not all Alma’s. Some of us are Anti-Nephi Lehis, others are their Ammonite sons. Some of us are Hyrum Smiths and some of us are Porter Rockwells. Some Jews resisted and some were concentrated.
I am not a “come what may and love it,” type person. Respectfully, I am glad the founding fathers didn’t take that attitude and weren’t of that make up or the Gospel would not have been able to be restored here. They were men of courage, that tried with their words, but were finally forced to take the option of arms, and the blood and sorrow that came with it, for freedom. Moroni the same. I see slavery and serfdom coming, and I will not let it come and love it. Edmund Burke once said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” I see that in spades right now. What good does it do to wake up to our awful situation, if you do nothing but “let come what may and love it.” We are all part of the Lords story. I am not suggesting some armed revolt, let me be clear! What is coming will be defensive in Nature. That is always the actions of the Lords people. But once awakened, it is impossible to not sense the War in Heaven coming to our shores. Since the 1830′s and accelerated in the 1930′s here in America, the seeds of anti freedom, planted by the father of lies himself, have been sprouting.
I see Freedom and Liberty as the keystone of our father in heavens plan. I pray to God every night that it does not come, but it seems inevitable. Government is force. Preparation for the loss of energy grids, for socio-economic breakdown, for the breakdown of food supply chains, and for civil war is all easily inspired by reading the keystone of our religion.
I will not let the Katyn Forrest Massacre happen here. I will resist. I will likely die trying, but i will resist evil in all of its forms. Joseph Smith prophesied that the Elders of Israel, not necessarily the church, but the Elders would save the Constitution of the United States. I don’t think we can save it by just letting things come. Again, we are all part of the Lords story, and he can see the end from the beginning, but it is yet to be written. Freemen, is not the title of pacifists when Freedom was as stake. And I will be free. We have let Satan’s plan advance too far already.