Book of Mormon and Peace

Book Of Mormon And Peace

By E. Cecil McGavin

WE often hear this question today, “Does God approve of war? If not, why does he permit it?” In 1833 the Lord revealed His will on this subject to Joseph Smith, which was thus recorded:

“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. …

“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 battles, until they had avenged themselves on all their enemies, to the third and fourth generation.”—Doctrine and Covenants 98:16, 32-37.

Since the dawn of history the prophets have been inspired to denounce wars of aggression. Hands stained with blood were never acceptable in the sight of God except when that blood was shed in defence of one’s land, religion and family. King David was not permitted to build the temple because he was a man of war. He lived at a time when godless warriors were trying to overthrow the kingdom of Israel and expel the Israelites from the land the Lord had promised to them.

The scriptures recommend the peace conference and arbitration as a means of settling disputes. “Turn the other cheek” policy is insisted upon as a means of first resort yet when all these peaceful efforts fail the Lord does not declare that the sword should not be lifted in defence of one’s homeland, family and freedom.

From the Nephites we learn a lesson in self defence and the insistence upon a lasting peace. About seventy-five years before the birth of Christ a savage horde of Lamanites invaded the peaceful valleys of the Nephites and sought to subjugate their inhabitants.

A glory-seeking dictator named Zerahemnah had exalted himself to a position of leadership among the Lamanite warriors. The account of this struggle reads much like the history we have read in recent years. Zerahemnah’s “designs were to stir up the Lamanites to anger against the Nephites: this he did that he might usurp great power over them, and also that he might gain power over the Nephites by bringing them into bondage.”

The Nephites were a peace-loving people comparable to the nations in Central Europe, who were quickly conquered at the dawn of the present war. We read of them:

“And now the design of the Nephites was to support their lands, ana their houses, and their wives, and their children, that they might preserve them from the hands of their enemies; and also that they might preserve their rights and their privileges, yea, and also their liberty, that they might worship God according to their desires.

“For they knew that if they should fall into the hands of the Lamanites, that whosoever should worship God is spirit and in truth, the true and the living God, the Lamanites would destroy.”—Alma 43:9-10.

A young man named Moroni was made General of the Nephites. At the age of twenty-five he began to prepare his people for defence. He knew the futility of begging for peace with the foe. He realized that if any peace conference would ever be held it would not assemble until the power of the enemy had been destroyed. “All out for defence” became the motto of the Nephites as they prepared “to defend their lands and their country, their rights and their liberties.”

Like modern aggressors it was the intention of the Lamanites “to destroy their brethren or to subject them and bring them into bondage that they might establish a kingdom unto themselves, over the land.”

After full preparations were made to repel the invasion of dark-skinned warriors, the Nephites. at once achieved remarkable success in the first engagements. The historians attributed the success to these reasons:

“The Nephites were inspired by a better cause, for they were not fighting for a 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 offence, 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.”—Alma 43:45-47.

In the present world conflict it is a far greater incentive to be inspired by the desire to protect one’s homeland, freedom and religion than to be intoxicated by the lust for power and dominion. It was this spirit of self defence which the ancient Joshua had said would enable “one man among you to chase a thousand; for the Lord your God, He it is that fighteth for you.” At a time when the outnumbered Nephites showed signs of discouragement and were being driven back toward their homeland, Moroni “sent forth and inspired their hearts with these thoughts—yea, the thoughts of their lands, their liberty, yea, their freedom from bondage.”

Inspired by these thoughts they achieved a miraculous victory, which is thus described:

“And it came to pass that they turned upon the Lamanites, and they cried with one voice unto the Lord their God, for their liberty and their- freedom from bondage.

“And they began to stand against the Lamanites with power; and in that selfsame hour that they cried unto the Lord for their freedom, the Lamanites began to flee before them; and they fled even to the waters of Sidon.”—Alma 43:49-50.

When the surrounded Lamanites surrendered, Moroni made a speech before them which is the type of doom that should be pronounced upon the aggressors when the present bitter struggle is terminated. Said he:

"But now, ye behold that the Lord is with us; and ye behold that he has delivered you into our hands. And now I would that ye should understand that this is done unto us because of our religion and our faith in Christ. And now ye see that ye cannot destroy this our faith.

"Now ye see that this is the true faith of God; yea, ye see that God will support, and keep, and preserve us, so long as we are faithful unto him, and unto our faith, and our religion; and never will the Lord suffer that we shall be destroyed except we should fall into transgression and deny our faith.

"And now, Zerahemnah, I command you, in the name of that all-powerful God. who has strengthened our arms chat we have gained power over you, by our faith, by our religion, and by our rites of worship, and by our church, and by the sacred support which we owe to our wives and our children, by that liberty which binds us to our lands and our country; yea. and also by the maintenance of the sacred work of God, to which we owe all our happiness; and by all that is most dear unto us—

"Yea, and this is not all; I command you by all the desires which ye have for life, that ye deliver up your weapons of war unto us. and we will seek not your blood, but we will spare your lives, if ye go your way and come not again to war against us.

"And now, if ye do not this, behold, ye are in our hands, and I will command my men that they shall fall upon you, and inflict the wounds of death in your bodies, that ye may become extinct; and then, we will see who shall have power over this people; yea, we will see who shall be brought into bondage."—Alma 44:3-7.

Like modern defeated monarchs, Zerahemnah argued that it was not God who protected the Nephites, but merely the cunning of the Nephites in hurriedly fashioning their ingenious weapons of defence. The Nephites did not want to see the foe return within that generation and renew the war, so Moroni insisted that "ye shall not depart except ye depart with an oath that ye will not return again against us to war. Now as ye are in our hands, we will spill your blood upon the ground, or ye shall submit to the conditions to which I have proposed."

It seems that Zerahemnah intended agreeing to an armistice, returning to his lands with his armies and secretly make preparations for another war in the near future. When asked to take an oath of peace he seized his sword and tried to kill Moroni, but a faithful Nephite guard struck the lifted sword a blow with his weapon and broke the defeated General's sword at the hilt. He then took the scalp of Zerahemnah, sparing his life. Moroni gave the command to slay the Lamanites until they were willing to take an oath to maintain peace in the land. After thousands were killed, Zerahemnah "cried mightily unto Moroni, promising that he would covenant, and also his people with them, if they would spare the remainder of their lives, that they never would come to war again against them."

The weapons of war were taken from the humbled Lamanites "and after they had entered into a covenant with him of peace, they were suffered to depart into the wilderness."

If this present world struggle is to be a war to end wars and make the world safe for democracy, we must approach the peace table at the end of the conflict with determined ambitions, such as Moroni’s, that the enemy must not be permitted to renew the attack after a few years of preparations for war. The spirit of Moroni must be at the battlefield on all the war fronts, but at the end of the struggle that same spirit must dictate the terms of peace. Only in that way can this war put an end to war.