I have written many times about the teachings of Restoration scripture and the words of our modern prophets about war. The prophets unequivocally warn us that the Church of Jesus Christ is against war because war is complete of Satan and those who support war do so in opposition to and as a rejection of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ makes it unmistakably clear that the duty of a Christian is to completely reject war and the thundering voice of the Almighty warns us:
And now, behold, I speak unto the church. Thou shalt not kill; and he that kills shall not have forgiveness in this world, nor in the world to come.
D&C 42:18
There is no exception made for war or self-defense. Those who kill another humans commit a sin that will not be forgiven in this world or the afterlife. Those who kill other people bring down eternal damnation onto their soul.
These commandments and warnings have had a hard time finding a place within the culture of the church. This is likely because so much of the church is dominated by Americans. And, as a US Department of Defense report explains, American as a “war-like people” that has had a pro-war culture since the Colonial Era. Further, this pro-war culture has only gotten stronger and more influential throughout American history. Church members have grown up deeply entrenched in this pro-war culture, miseducated into it in their youth, and indoctrinated into a warmongering political culture where human lives are sacrificed to ensure the continued dominance of the ruling social and political elites.
But not everyone has been deceived. When you look for them you can find the pro-Gospel, pro-God, pro-peace voices warning people of the wickedness of war and calling upon people to embrace peace.
Such an example is this lost LDS Classic, the poem WAR by W. W. Phelps. William Wines Phelps, in addition to be one of the most influential leaders in the Restoration, is known as a prolific poet and hymnist. As a man, even later in his years he was willing to challenge the cultural status quo if he believed it would help the Saints better live the Restored Gospel. WAR, written for July 16, 1842 edition of The Wasp, the newspaper of Nauvoo, Illinois, captures the true nature of war, its only source, and its impact upon those who engage in it.
WAR
By W. W. PhelpsWhat is the token ere evils unbar;
Pestilence, famine; the black list of crime;
Thieves rush for honor, and vagabonds fame
Kingdoms for conquest, when plunder’s the game?—
WAR.What is the signal of nations ajar;
Murder and treason; the banquet of fools;
Tempest of passions; the bonfire of wrath;
Hero of death, like Goliath of Gath?—
WAR.What is the ‘fire-shower of ruin’ afar;
Waste and destruction; the lion of wo;
Cup full of fury, from Babylon’s whore;
Feast of the Devil to revel in gore?—
WAR.What is the red-sign of misery’s car:
Women bereaved, and children distressed;
Cities in ashes, and virtue forgot;
Curse of all curses;—old Lucifer’s blot?—
WAR.
The message is as straightforward a sit is true. There is nothing good in war. It does not right wrongs. It does not protect the innocent. It does not ensure liberty. Instead, war only unleashes all the worst evils of man and justifies us in our most savage cruelty. Starvation and disease sweeps the Earth, slaying the innocent while the worst kind of people prosper the most. War heroes are the best murderers, their greatest vice is peace and greatest virtue is mass slaughter. The greater the genocide, the more likely they will be labelled heroes. The less like the Lamb of God and the more like the Servants of Satan the better.
Lucifer the Despoiler, the Father of Contention, rejoices as wars ruin not only the nations, countries, and people ground beneath the boots of the victorious conquerors but the victors themselves as their societies are corrupted by the necessities of war. War is of Babylon the Whore, not Zion the City of God. The only outcome of war are death, destruction, horror, and evil. Men, women, children, all will be slaughtered and the survivors will be cursed by the hatred and evils war has brought upon them and their people. As President Spencer W. Kimball, the Prophet of God, taught:
We are a warlike people, easily distracted from our assignment of preparing for the coming of the Lord. When enemies rise up, we commit vast resources to the fabrication of gods of stone and steel—ships, planes, missiles, fortifications—and depend on them for protection and deliverance. When threatened, we become anti-enemy instead of pro-kingdom of God; we train a man in the art of war and call him a patriot, thus, in the manner of Satan’s counterfeit of true patriotism, perverting the Savior’s teaching:
“Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven.” (Matt. 5:44–45.)
The False Gods We Worship
As we look to the New Year and think about new ways of think and being, about new ways to make ourselves and our lives better, to make the world a better and holier place, a place of goodness light and truth, it is my prayer that we will heed the words of our poets and prophets, both new and old. Let us refuse to spread the propaganda of war. Let us stand for the Truth. Let us stand for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Let us follow the commandments of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us reject Babylon and embrace Zion. Let us teardown the church of the devil and build the Kingdom of God. Let us renounce war, proclaim peace.
Let us be what Jesus Christ wants us to be.
Let us be what the world needs us to be.
Let us be the doers of Zion.
Let us be peacemakers in word and deed.