1970

A. PEACE, WAR, & STRATEGIES OF VIOLENCE TO SETTLE DISPUTES [1087]

[1087]
April 10, 1970 Peace, War, and the Use of Force

Whereas, Christ came into the world as the Prince of Peace, denoting God's concern for brotherhood within the human family throughout the world; and the Restoration message emphasizes the need for the "New Jerusalem" to be known as the "land of peace, called Zion," and we are commissioned to "lift up an ensign of peace, and make a proclamation for peace unto the ends of the earth"; and the official seal of the church, as a symbol of peace, should be a daily reminder of our individual and collective obligation to promote peace,

Therefore, We once again as a World Conference address ourselves to the broad subject of Peace and War and the Use of Force, as part of our continuing endeavor and growing maturity to clarify and emphasize anew our common concern on such matters which are of grave importance to the future of mankind. The following resolution represents an expansion and refinement of two previous Conference resolutions, GCR 1020 (1960) and GCR 1061 (1968).

Resolved:

I. We oppose war except as an unavoidable recourse.

The church is opposed to war and destructive violence as instruments for the settlement of internal and international differences except in those instances where all other reasonable avenues to settlement have been exhausted and resorting to force is morally unavoidable. War, like assault and murder, has its roots in the fears and frustrated lusts of humanity. War has always been characterized by unregulated violence and immoral behavior. It appears that as long as selfish interests, materialistic desire, or any forms of special privilege are valued above basic human needs, rights, and dignity, there will be armed conflict.

II. We share responsibility for world conditions.

A. The Christian ideals of turning the other cheek, returning evil with good, and doing to others as we would have them do unto us require a higher morality than is usually accepted, practiced, or appreciated. Christian love obligates us "to be in the world but not of it." It calls us to establish sufficient interrelationships with society at all levels that we may truly be "in the world," so that our witness may be effective toward bettering the society wherever we may be.

B. We recognize that human maladjustments and related evils in the social order often contribute to the development of the social, moral, and political criminal, the criminally insane, etc. These conditions call for Christian action with an extraordinary measure of love and responsibility.

C. The Christian must accept the obligation to help protect society from these criminals, in Christian love, regardless of the causes which have produced them. The Christian responsibility is twofold: to restrain in Christian love and to heal through active Christian faith and service. To neglect this stewardship would be to abdicate the Christian's God-given responsibility to love his neighbor as himself.

D. Modern society generally attempts to bring a healing ministry to the mentally ill and to the criminally insane, while seeking in non-violent ways to restrain them from hurting other members of society. It further attempts to reform and rehabilitate the criminal who may not be mentally ill, but who is nonetheless in part a result of a sinful environment. The political criminal is often disciplined in recognition of the potential threat which he represents to law and order and to the well-being of individuals and the community. Christian service is needed in all of these forms of rehabilitation.

E. Any one or all of these social ills, by extension, could be the cause of civil or international conflict. The Christian cannot ignore his responsibility for Christian service at this level any more than he should ignore his responsibility toward the individual offender.

III. We promote peace.

Christian love promotes peace through constructive and peaceful activities. The cause of peace is positively, though not exclusively, furthered in the following ways:

A. By the propagation of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ who has the power to regenerate men's souls, making them true brothers in a common love.

B. By providing equal opportunity for self-expression and recognition of equality of personal worth of the individual before God and man regardless of material, social, emotional, spiritual, or educational qualifications. This may be accomplished by cultivating a concern for those in need and encouraging Saints to qualify for and engage in those constructive professions and vocations* which contribute to meeting human needs and appreciating human dignity. These skills may be applied in both civilian and noncombatant military efforts throughout the world.

C. By upholding constitutional law which supports individual dignity and freedom, and by opposing oppression and tyranny. It is a Christian duty to participate in the voice of government, even when that participation is suppressed, and to support good and wise men in positions of leadership (Doctrine and Covenants 95:2).

D. By proclaiming loyalty to governments, consistent with the teachings of Jesus, which protect the inherent and inalienable human rights and dignity (Doctrine and Covenants 112:1-3,5).

IV. We respect individual conscience.

The Church of Jesus Christ believes in the exercise of individual conscience and the preservation of agency. When a person freely chooses to become Christian, he attempts to live in ways consistent with the Christian ethic. The present dilemma is whether or not the cruelties of war can ever be justified within the Christian ethic. It is recognized that not all members will hold the same view. Some will feel conscientiously obligated to render full military service. Others will just as conscientiously feel obligated to object to military service. Since the church desires to maintain fellowship with all who sincerely follow the guidance of conscience, it will respect such sincere decisions.

V. We urge the control of mass destruction.

We deplore conditions in world affairs which have resulted in and from the intensified development and stockpiling of nuclear and other instruments of mass destruction. These stand as a constant threat to the physical existence of men and nations everywhere. While we recognize that the development and use of such weapons is primarily the responsibility of heads of state and their advisers, yet it is the urgent and sobering obligation of the church and men of good will of all faiths to influence the leadership of all governments to labor for peace.

Communication between the people and their representatives in government is made difficult by disinterest and apathy on the part of the citizenry and by the alleged need for discreet control of information in the interest of national security on the part of the government. Both of these are potential threats to the preservation of an enlightened and self-determining electorate. Christian ideals will continue to make heavy demands upon both citizen and government to remain alert to assure that the citizen's voice is heard and that his choices are based on adequate information. The Christian citizen should labor to persuade all men to share in a responsible attitude toward the use of force, which finds its motivations rooted in love.

VI. We conclude:

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 existing social conditions. The best form of pacifism is that which removes the causes of war. These causes are removed from society by the application of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the life of the individual and of the community. To support our beliefs of the evil of war we proclaim again that we shall do all within our power to make the gospel of peace an incarnate reality. We resolve that we give ourselves wholeheartedly to the implementation of Zionic principles and the establishment of God's kingdom here on earth which, in the final analysis, is the only answer to the problem of war.

VII. We recommend:

A. See GCR 1129. ["Legal Alternatives to Military Service", adopted April 6, 1974]

B. That a comprehensive statement of Christian service and opportunities to witness for Christ within the framework of military service be made available to church members prior to reporting for active duty.

C. That further research and discussion articles and materials be included in church periodicals and study materials.

D. That the Presidency appoint a Standing Committee on World Peace to provide for a continuing study of the role of the church in relation to war, peace, and the use of force.

E. That all members contemplating legal alternatives to military service be requested to set forth their convictions and justifications for some in writing and submit a copy to the Standing Committee on World Peace.

F. That this resolution replace GCR 1020 (1960) and GCR 1061 (1968).

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*Such skills may include political science, medicine, nursing, engineering, religion, economics, agriculture, recreation, education, construction, sanitation, research, law, and social work – among others. They will also have value in such special endeavors as the Peace Corps, VISTA, Young Canadians, Older Youth Service Corps, and similar programs throughout the world.

Superseded by WCR 1177 in 1982