1960

A. PEACE, WAR, & STRATEGIES OF VIOLENCE TO SETTLE DISPUTES [1020]

B. JUSTICE, EQUALITY, HUMAN RIGHTS [1019]

[1019]
April 7, 1960 Worldwide Worthy Assistance

The report of the Committee on Worldwide Worthy Assistance was approved with the following recommendations:

That members individually continue their support of reputable local and worldwide charitable organizations;

That they urge their respective governments to continue the support of the United Nations service organizations;

And that most of all they pay their tithing according to the law of the church, and increase their contributions to the offerings (including oblation), whereby church officials may more fully carry on their divinely appointed work.

 

[1020]
April 7, 1960 Report on Peace, War and the Use of Force

The viewpoint of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on peace, war, and participation of the membership in military affairs:

1. The Church of Jesus Christ restored through the power of God and the instrumentality of the American prophet, Joseph Smith, and continued in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is opposed to war as an instrument for the settlement of international differences. War, like assault and murder, has its roots in the fears and frustrated lusts of the human heart–fear of being shut out from certain important opportunities or of being attacked, and lust for some real or imagined value by some key person or persons of a social group, believing that other social groups are standing in the way or competing too successfully for the same values. War has always been characterized by unregulated violence and immoral behavior. It appears that as long as property rights, racial rights, or any form of special privileges are valued above basic human needs and rights, there will be conflict between men.

2. Christian love involves a double imperative–an imperative against violence but also an imperative to restrain evil. It is the belief of the Church of Jesus Christ that governments are instituted of God to give protection to people and to unite them in a common cause. In order to assure freedom, men must oppose oppression and tyranny, being opposed to war, for it is evil, but being also opposed to tyranny which would destroy freedom and uphold evil. The Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the Doctrine and Covenants state that when threatened with the loss of their religious freedom and with the destruction of the means of worshiping God, men may wage sanguinary battle. The stories of Helaman and his young striplings, of Mormon and Moroni in their prophetic and military capacity, and the instruction given in verses 5 and 6 of Section 95 of the Doctrine and Covenants support this view. It is difficult for the average man to determine whether the governments are waging wars of aggression or in defense of personal liberties and opposition to tyranny. Therefore, it is difficult to make a blanket statement for all times. It is consistent with the foregoing to say that when men are called upon by the governments under which members of the church reside they may proclaim their loyalty to that government if needs be by carrying arms.

3. One of the bulwarks of the Church of Jesus Christ has been the protection of individual conscience and the preservation of agency as given by God and redeemed by our Lord Jesus Christ. We are concerned, then, that the rights of individuals be protected. When motivated by sincere religious conviction and provided with an opportunity by the laws of the land to escape the bearing of arms, the church supports such individuals in thoroughly conscientious conviction, asking that they be allowed to serve, if possible, in noncombatant positions, but not in less dangerous positions. Such conscientious objection should be filed with the President of the Church, recognizing that such requests by the individual do not reflect on his good standing in the church but that we place sincere value on the peace of conscience.

4. It must be emphasized that peace of conscience cannot be satisfied by mere non-participation in war. To some extent all of us are responsible for the social conditions in which we find ourselves. The only true pacifism is that which removes the cause of war. It has always been the purpose of the Church of Jesus Christ to proclaim the gospel of the brotherhood of man wherein the establishment of Zion shall proclaim equality of opportunity for all men. To support our beliefs of the evil of war we proclaim again that we shall do all within our power to announce the gospel of peace and whenever possible to emphasize that announcement by our participation in the voice of government as it is given to us. We resolve that we lend ourselves wholeheartedly to the teachings of the principles of Zion and the establishment of God's kingdom here on earth which, in the final analysis, is the only answer to the problem of war.

Expanded and refined by WCR 1087 in 1970