James Madison, one of the founding fathers of the American republic, once stated:
"Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; and armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few. In war, too, the discretionary power of the Executive is extended; its influence in dealing out offices, honors, and emoluments is multiplied; and all the means of seducing the minds, are added to those of subduing the force, of the people. The same malignant aspect in republicanism may be traced in the inequality of fortunes, and the opportunities of fraud, growing out of a state of war, and in the degeneracy of manners and of morals engendered by both. No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare" (“Political Observations, 20 April 1795,” Founders Online, accessed 27 Aug 2021.)
Without spending time to note how opposite the current views on war by the government of the United States have become, let us here observe that the logic employed by Madison is perhaps the same as that used by the Lord when advising the saints against violence:
"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; and again, the hearts of the Jews unto the prophets, and the prophets unto the Jews; lest I come and smite the whole earth with a curse, and all flesh be consumed before me" (D&C 98:14 – 17, emphasis added).
Following the blanket policy to 'renounce war and proclaim peace,' the Lord gives a very detailed set of instructions regarding the time and place for proper implementation of retaliation or defense:
"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" (D&C 98:23 – 36, emphasis added).
The point is that violence is not to be employed until two conditions are met: an enemy must have repeatedly provoked and then, most importantly, the Lord must command to go up against the enemy. Per the devotional yesterday (link), it is clear that the Lord's plan of attack against the wicked in the last days will not involve the battle skills of the saints but rather the fated infighting of the wicked. Prophetically, this implies that the saints of the last days should adopt the attitude of Madison and the founding fathers to 'renounce war and proclaim peace,' neither giving in to division nor to sedition. As the Lord also spoke at the start of the revelation cited thus far:
"And now, verily I say unto you concerning the laws of the land, it is my will that my people should observe to do all things whatsoever I command them. And that law of the land which is constitutional, supporting that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges, belongs to all mankind, and is justifiable before me. Therefore, I, the Lord, justify you, and your brethren of my church, in befriending that law which is the constitutional law of the land; and as pertaining to law of man, whatsoever is more or less than this, cometh of evil. I, the Lord God, make you free, therefore ye are free indeed; and the law also maketh you free. Nevertheless, when the wicked rule the people mourn. Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold; otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil. And I give unto you a commandment, that ye shall forsake all evil and cleave unto all good, that ye shall live by every word which proceedeth forth out of the mouth of God" (D&C 98:4 – 11, emphasis added).
These verses indicate that the law of the land is to be observed by the saints when it is not 'evil' and inhibits their observation of 'all things whatsoever [God] command[s] them.' If they do this, turning the other "cheek" as their enemies come against them (see Matt. 5:38 – 39), their prophesied destiny is that the Lord will fight their battles. One account from early church history illustrates exactly what this may look like:
"We camped on an elevated piece of land between two branches of the Fishing River. Just as we halted and were making preparations for the night, five men rode into the camp and told us we should see hell before morning, and such horrible oaths as came from their lips I never heard before. They told us that sixty men were coming from Richmond, who had sworn to destroy us, also seventy more were coming from Clay County, to assist in our destruction. These men were black with passion, and armed with guns, and the whole country was in a rage against us, and nothing but the power of God could save us. All this time the weather was pleasant.
"Soon after these men left us we discovered a small black cloud rising in the west, and not more than twenty minutes passed away before it began to rain and hail; but we had very little hail in our camp. All around us the hail was heavy; some of the hailstones, or rather lumps of ice, were as large as hens' eggs. The thunder rolled with awful majesty, and the red lightnings flashed through the horizon, making it so light that I could see to pick up a pin almost any time through the night. The earth quaked and trembled, and there being no cessation it seemed as though the Almighty had issued forth his mandate of vengeance. The wind was so terrible that many of our tents were blown down. We were not able to hold them up; but there being an old meeting house close at hand, many of us fled there to secure ourselves from the storm. Many trees were blown down, and others were twisted and wrung like a withe.
"The mob came to the river two miles from us, but the river had risen to that height that they were obliged to stop without crossing over. The hail fell so heavily upon them that it beat holes in their hats, and in some instances even broke the stocks off their guns; their horses, being frightened, fled, leaving the riders on the ground. Their powder was wet, and it was evident that the Almighty fought in our defense. This night the river raised forty feet.
"In the morning I went to the river in company with Brother Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, Brigham Young and others, as we had it in contemplation to proceed that morning to Liberty, Clay County; but we could not continue our journey as there was no way to cross the river. It was then overflowing its banks; and I have seen the river since and proved that it was fully forty feet from the top of its banks to the bottom. Previous to this rain falling, it was no more than ankle deep. Such a time never was known by us before; still we felt calm all night, and the Lord was with us. The water was ankle deep to us all night, even on that eminence, so we could not sleep....
"The next day, when we moved into the country we saw that the hail had destroyed the crops, and we saw that it had come in some directions within a mile and in other directions within a half mile of our camp" (Heber C. Kimball, Orson F. Whitney ed., Life of Heber C. Kimball, an Apostle, Project Gutenberg, accessed 27 Aug 2021).
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