Mormonism and War: An Interpretative Analysis of Selected Mormon Thought Regarding Seven American Wars
America has been involved in seven major wars, but Mormonism's involvement in these wars has evaded scholarly attention. This has been unfortunate because, for the most part, individual Mormon leaders have taken very definite stands in relation to these struggles, and accompanying these stands...
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| Format: | Others |
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BYU ScholarsArchive
1974
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| Online Access: | https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/5145 https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6144&context=etd |
| Summary: | America has been involved in seven major wars, but Mormonism's involvement in these wars has evaded scholarly attention. This has been unfortunate because, for the most part, individual Mormon leaders have taken very definite stands in relation to these struggles, and accompanying these stands have been very definite goals for the outcome of these wars. This, in turn, has prompted many of these LDS leaders to view the wars from a religious perspective.This transcending religiosity combined the classical Christian wartime positions of the "just" and "righteous" war into one category. The third position however, pacifism, was also utilized during given wars. And it is this dual stance, passive aloofness and righteous support, which has made the militant Mormon mind ambivalent. Also contributing to this ambivalence has been the ambiguity of LDS scripture relating to war, and the ambiguity surrounding the LDS conception of Zion and millennialism. |
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