pacifism

A Memorial to Peace

May 31, 2010
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A Memorial to Peace

“War, rather than any foreign state, is the supreme enemy of country and mankind. One day citizens will covet for this nation the prestige of being the first to escape the shackles of war.” (Jessie Wallace Hughan, Founder of the War Resisters League 1876-1955) Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday which “commemorates U.S. men and women who have died in military service to their country.”   At the risk of coming under the condemnation of Mormon bloggers everywhere, I wish to register my objection to the deplorable sentiments underlying this holiday.

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The Fourth Purpose: Haiti, and Who is My Brother?

January 26, 2010
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An article from the Salt Lake Tribune listed in the Mormon Matters sidebar sometime ago noted the official elevation of “care of the poor and needy” to the status of a “purpose” of the Mormon (LDS) church. Church news sources are noting how LDS resources are being mobilized from both the United States and the Dominican Republic, in coordination with partners such as Islamic Relief, CARE, Food for the Poor, and Healing Hands for Haiti. All of its missionaries are reported to be safe, and the church is using nine meeting houses to provide shelter for members and an...

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A Child Is Born In Bukavu

December 15, 2009
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A Christmas message, by today’s guest poster, mormongandhi. A child is born in Bukavu A child is born in Bukavu, and sadness fills his mother’s heart… Bukavu is not the city of David. It is a town in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. War has been ravaging the country for years. Ever since Kabila invaded the former Zaire with military support from the US. It is a war that no one speaks of – but it has cost the lives of millions of people and caused unimaginable suffering.

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Nuclear Disarmament Meets Mormon Patriotism

September 29, 2009
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Nuclear Disarmament Meets Mormon Patriotism

Lately more and more Church members have begun to wonder why the Church is so supportive of the United States military. We’ve experienced a long tradition of this, beginning with the Mormon Battalion in 1846. When the U.S. Army requested 500 men to join the service in the conflict with Mexico, Brigham Young responded positively despite the fact that our people were in the middle of a forced exodus from the country. This story is proudly retold in our Church lessons and manuals, making it a seminal moment in the formation of our military philosophy. Isolation in the West...

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