I WILL MAKE WAR NO MORE, FOREVER

Although it is correct and popular to say such things as ‘We only have one life to live,’ or ‘You only live once,’ as I review my life I find that during my personal ‘only once’ span of mortality I have lived in a constant blur of changing eras.

There was an era of a second war to end all wars and a subsequent short period of peace and recovery needed to prepare for the next conflict. It is interesting that my most vivid memories of that era of my life was watching newsreels about the war and pounding tin cans flat for the war effort.

There was an era of innocence which included a bout with rheumatic fever and frolicking in parks.

There was an era which, when it was going on, was referred to as the fabulous days, but later a television show popularized the name happy days and thus it will always be referred as.

There were eras which shifted in and out during all the eras which were referred to as high fashion days or big or whatever hair days.

There is an era of technology which changes so rapidly that the whole world is in a continual hurry to keep up, but always seems to be one gadget behind.

I don’t know how it happened, but even though we had had two World Wars and from them learned of the tremendous loss which comes from warring, during my life there was an era of the Korean Conflict, an era of the Vietnam War, the Cold War era and an ongoing era of Peace Keeping Operations which resemble wars in every sense of the word.

As I was rereading chapter 24 of Alma in The Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ, the thought came vividly into my mind, that during my life I have lived in a country which loves peace, but seems to be constantly at war. I am reminded of Red Rider movies from the long ago era of television, where Red Rider, just before wiping out half the population of a county, would proclaim ‘I’m a peaceable man’.

As I evaluate the effect war has had on me during my life there is little doubt that what was going on during the Vietnam war caused me greater trauma than any other bloodletting between nations. I had friends who lost their lives. I had friends who escaped the war by going to Canada. I had friends who were staunchly patriotic. I had friends who joined the anti-war movement. Although I was never what one would call an activist I was somewhat of a mixture between being a patriot and an anti-war advocate. Since I was still a member of the Army Reserves being patriotic had to be part of me, but there were also many tugs which drew me away from worshiping war. As I have been blessed with a prolongation of my days I have definitely seen the viewpoint of being anti-war become a more prevalent philosophical position of my life.

I know it is entirely possible and indeed popular to use The Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ as text to justify war.

The Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ teaches about war being essential for the protection of family and religion.

The Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ teaches that since evil exists and their will be those who conspire to destroy others or put them into subjection, it is always essential to be prepared to protect your own lands and freedoms against such people.

However!

In the afore mentioned chapter 24 of Alma the converted Lamanites who had taken upon themselves the name of Anti-Nephi-Lehies in order to repent of their bloodthirsty past, buried their weapons deep in the earth and took an oath never to take up arms again.

The account of Ammon tells of the test of conviction which came upon them shortly after they had buried their weapons of war. The unconverted Lamanites who were mostly made up of groups which had at one time been Nephites, came upon them and true to their oath they bowed down before the invading army and before the Lamanites (previously Nephites) grew tired of slaying them, some 1,005 had perished.

Some important passages from Alma 24.

1 And it came to pass that the Amalekites and the Amulonites and the Lamanites who were in the land of Amulon, and also in the land of Helam, and who were in the land of Jerusalem, and in fine, in all the land round about, who had not been converted and had not taken upon them the name of Anti-Nephi-Lehi, were stirred up by the Amalekites and by the Amulonites to anger against their brethren.

6 Now there was not one soul among all the people who had been converted unto the Lord that would take up arms against their brethren; nay, they would not even make any preparations for war; yea, and also their king commanded them that they should not.

7 Now, these are the words which he said unto the people concerning the matter: I thank my God, my beloved people, that our great God has in goodness sent these our brethren, the Nephites, unto us to preach unto us, and to convince us of the traditions of our wicked fathers.

10 And I also thank my God, yea, my great God, that he hath granted unto us that we might repent of these things, and also that he hath forgiven us of those our many sins and murders which we have committed, and taken away the guilt from our hearts, through the merits of his Son.

14 And the great God has had mercy on us, and made these things known unto us that we might not perish; yea, and he has made these things known unto us beforehand, because he loveth our souls as well as he loveth our children; therefore, in his mercy he doth visit us by his angels, that the plan of salvation might be made known unto us as well as unto future generations.

15 Oh, how merciful is our God! And now behold, since it has been as much as we could do to get our stains taken away from us, and our swords are made bright, let us hide them away that they may be kept bright, as a testimony to our God at the last day, or at the day that we shall be brought to stand before him to be judged, that we have not stained our swords in the blood of our brethren since he imparted his word unto us and has made us clean thereby.

18 And this they did, it being in their view a testimony to God, and also to men, that they never would use weapons again for the shedding of man’s blood; and this they did, vouching and covenanting with God, that rather than shed the blood of their brethren they would give up their own lives; and rather than take away from a brother they would give unto him; and rather than spend their days in idleness they would labor abundantly with their hands.

20 And it came to pass that their brethren, the Lamanites, made preparations for war, and came up to the land of Nephi for the purpose of destroying the king, and to place another in his stead, and also of destroying the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi out of the land.

21 Now when the people saw that they were coming against them they went out to meet them, and prostrated themselves before them to the earth, and began to call on the name of the Lord; and thus they were in this attitude when the Lamanites began to fall upon them, and began to slay them with the sword.

22 And thus without meeting any resistance, they did slay a thousand and five of them; and we know that they are blessed, for they have gone to dwell with their God.

24 Now when the Lamanites saw this they did forbear from slaying them; and there were many whose hearts had swollen in them for those of their brethren who had fallen under the sword, for they repented of the things which they had done.

25 And it came to pass that they threw down their weapons of war, and they would not take them again, for they were stung for the murders which they had committed; and they came down even as their brethren, relying upon the mercies of those whose arms were lifted to slay them.

26 And it came to pass that the people of God were joined that day by more than the number who had been slain; and those who had been slain were righteous people, therefore we have no reason to doubt but what they were saved.

27 And there was not a wicked man slain among them; but there were more than a thousand brought to the knowledge of the truth; thus we see that the Lord worketh in many ways to the salvation of his people.

28 Now the greatest number of those of the Lamanites who slew so many of their brethren were Amalekites and Amulonites, the greatest number of whom were after the order of the Nehors.

To those who believe in the blessings of our next stage of existence the lost of mortal life has little significance when one has an eternal perspective.

I recognize the uniqueness of this story, but it reminds me of when the Lord said it was the Peace Makers who would be blessed.

Although the radical anti-war movement never moved me from my Uniformed patriotism, I was moved by the words of Carl Sandberg from his book The People Yes, ‘Sometime they will give a war and nobody will come.

It is also of note that with all the justifications of war because of protection for family, the end of the wars in The Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ is the utter death, desolation and destruction of a nation.

It seems that Isaiah foresaw a different ending for the era of the Latter Days when he foretold the following; And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord. (Isaiah 2: 2-4)

Just as Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt or Hinmatóowyalahtq̓it, popularly known as Chief Joseph, Young Joseph, or Joseph the Younger the great leader of the of the Wal-lam-wat-kain (Wallowa) band of Nez Perce proclaimed ‘I will make no war, forever’, I pray the day will come when the children of the Universal Heavenly Father will come to be so converted that we will likewise go and make no war, forever.


THOUGHTS FOR A SABBATH DAY – WILLIAM L. RILEY

EDITED BY – KATHLEEN W. RILEY

THINK + PLAN + PREPARE + DO + HUGS + PEACE + JOY + LOVE + INTEGRITY + FAITH + HOPE + CHARITY = THE GOOD LIFE