By Paul Y. Hoskisson, ’69
An associate professor of ancient scripture, Paul Hoskisson, offers scripture-based frameworks by which to analyze the Iraq situation.
Let me outline the issues I would like to discuss, issues that I think our scriptures help make clear: (1) What in general should be our attitude toward war? (2) What are the causes of war? (3) If we as a people are righteous, God has promised His protection. And (4) What is our responsibility if our civil government is involved in a war and we as Saints are required to participate? I will address all of these issues directly from the scriptures.
Attitudes Toward War
First of all, what should our general attitude be, as members of the Church, toward all forms of violence, including war? First of all, from 3 Nephi 12:39–45 (Matt. 5:39–45):
I say unto you, that ye shall not resist evil, but whosever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also; And if any man will sue thee at the law and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also; And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn thou not away. And behold it is written also, that thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy; But behold I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father who is in heaven; for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good.
From Proverbs 25:21–22, which is quoted again in Romans in the New Testament:
If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee.
From D&C 98:14–16:
Therefore, be not afraid of your enemies, for I have decreed in my heart, saith the Lord, that I will prove you in all things, whether you will abide in my covenant, even unto death, that you may be found worthy. For if ye will not abide in my covenant ye are not worthy of me. Therefore, renounce war and proclaim peace, and seek diligently to turn the hearts of the children to their fathers, and the hearts of the fathers to the children.
What happens, though, if we cannot avoid violence? In Alma 43:47:
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, their country, and their rights, and their religion.
Causes of War
I could go on quite a bit more, but I would like to go on to the second topic that I was asked to cover, the causes of war. I think it is best summarized again in a passage of the Book of Mormon, in Alma 50:21. (I will change all the pronouns to nouns, so you understand what he is talking about here.)
And we see that these promises [the promises made to the Nephites that they would prosper in the land if they kept their covenants] have been verified to the people of Nephi; for it has been [Nephite] quarrelings and [Nephite] contentions, yea, [Nephite] murderings, and [Nephite] plunderings, [Nephite] idolatry, [Nephite] whoredoms, and [Nephite] abominations, which were among [the Nephites], which brought upon [the Nephites] their wars and their destructions.
It is clear from the Book of Mormon and other passages that war is caused by wickedness and evil. In particular, if you are supposed to be God’s people and you are not righteous, the Lord will—as he said early on in the Book of Mormon—scourge you (1 Ne. 2:24).
Divine Protection
Now the third point I wanted to cover is the fact that God will protect us if we are righteous.
From D&C 98:22:
If ye observe to do whatsoever I command you, I, the Lord, will turn away all wrath and indignation from you, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against you.
From President Kimball’s 1976 address “The False Gods We Worship”:
We forget that if we are righteous the Lord will either not suffer our enemies to come upon us . . . or he will fight our battles for us. [Ensign, June 1976, p. 6]
Duties to Civil Governments
Let us now turn to our duties as Saints toward the civil governments that we are subject to. The key passage here, of course, is D&C 134:5:
We believe that all men are bound to sustain and uphold the respective governments in which they reside, while protected in their inherent and inalienable rights by the laws of such governments; and that sedition and rebellion are unbecoming every citizen thus protected, and should be punished accordingly; and that all governments have a right to enact such laws as in their own judgments are best calculated to secure the public interest; at the same time, however, holding sacred the freedom of conscience.
This principle has been reiterated by many of the prophets. In the October 1940 General Conference the First Presidency issued the following statement:
Our brethren and sisters are found on both sides of this terrible struggle. On each side they are bound to their country by all the ties of blood, relationship, and patriotism. As always happens in such cases, each side claims to believe it is in the right. As the war progresses in its cruelty and horror, each may come to aim at the complete subjugation or extermination of the other. This would be an inhuman and unrighteous purpose. God’s way requires that nations shall live in peace and amity, one with another. [See Luke 6:27–28] The Saints on either side have no course open to them but to support that government to which they owe allegiance. But their prayers should go up day and night that God will turn the hearts of their leaders towards peace, that the course of war may end.
I would like to read the rest of my 12 pages of quotes, but my time has run out. Thank you.
