So, I'm going to get a little political her and I apologize. As I was reading these chapters I found it very interesting that when the Nephites swore to get revenge against the Lamanites Mormon refused to be their commander. At first I was reminded of other instances where the Nephite leaders have refused to go up to battle against an enemy but instead wait for them to come to the Nephites. (3 Nephi 3:20-21) Because of our current issues with the Iraq war I couldn't help but think to myself that maybe it was wrong for us to go to Iraq to fight. I don't really agree with the war so I probably have preconceived notions, but I really feel like these scriptures are applicable to us. The Nephites were also defending themselves from an enemy, but the Lord would not help them defend themselves if they went on the offensive.
Mormon 3:15
Vengeance is mine and I will repay; and because this people repented not after I had delivered them, behold, they shall be cut off from the face of the earth.
Now because I was already thinking about the Iraq conflict, this scripture made me wonder if it was wrong of us to go to Afghanistan seeking for revenge against Osama Bin Laden. I don't really know, but I don't think it was. Then again, what good has come from it. Maybe we should have concentrated on defending ourselves and waited for God to deliver Bin Laden into our hands. I also think it's interesting that Mormon refused to fight in the Nephite army because he disagreed with it. That is something I believe that we should all be able to do. I think that it is the right thing to dodge a draft that you don't agree with, it takes courage and sacrifice but I believe it is the right thing.
Mormon 4:5
But, behold, the judgments of God will overtake the wicked; and it is by the wicked that the wicked are punished; for it is the wicked that stir up the hearts of the children of men unto bloodshed.
When I read this I thought that all wars caused by wickedness, and I don't think that our participation in Iraq was inspired by anything different. That's just my opinion, and it doesn't count for anything, God is the one who will judge. Which leads me to my next thought on these chapters.
In the end of Mormon 3, Mormon tells us all that we will all be judged of our works. What I found interesting was that In Mormon 3:18 and 19 Mormon says that The twelve tribes of Israel will be judged by the twelve apostles that Christ had in Jerusalem, and the remnant of the Nephites and Lamanites (who are also of the twelve tribes of Israel) will be judged by the twelve apostles that Christ chose in this land when he appeared to the Nephites, and finally that the twelve Nephite apostles will be judged by the twelve apostles from Jerusalem. To me this suggests that Christ will judge us all by delegation to his chosen servants. The twelve apostles from Jerusalem will oversee the judgment and they will judge other apostles who will in turn judge the people they are responsible for. So, we may be judged by a bishop, or a stake president, or a general authority who has been authorized by Christ to Judge (bishops are Judges in Israel). Or we might not, this is just an idea.
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2 comments:
Interesting to note that in Mormon 5:1, Mormon said he did "repent of the oath which [he] had made." Does that mean that he just changed his mind, or did he use the word 'repent' with the full religious significance of the word? If yes, that would imply that his decision not to help them was a sin. Furthermore, while all war is caused by iniquity on at least one side (if both sides were righteous not only would there not be no war, but I don't think there'd really be 2 sides), participation in war is not always a sign of iniquity. While in this case, the wicked are persecuting the wicked, sometimes the righteous persecute the wicked (there are a lot of scriptural accounts of this as well). In fact, in the Book of Mormon (Alma 46), Moroni puts to death those that wouldn't support the cause of freedom.
Anyway, when Mormon repented of his decision not to fight, he wasn't going to fight in a righteous war. So why did he do it? To me, this actually has some import in its relation to the Iraq war. I feel like the reasons for the Iraq war are many and muddied. All news reports seem to be laden with such political baggage, which really comes through in their reporting. I'm not sure that I'll ever know for sure the reasons for the Iraq war... and I'm sure there were a bunch of them and different reasons for different people. I'm also sure that a lot of people believe that they're not doing something wrong by being in Iraq (though undoubtedly the Nephites and Lamanites were both thinking the same thing, in Mormon's time). I am pretty sure that the Iraq side of the war is not righteous though (Saddam and Osama). Anyway, if anything, Mormon 5:1 leads me to a different conclusion than the one to which you arrived.
But yeah -- why did Moroni fight with them again, them not being righteous?
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