Make Peace Not War: Lessons from the Book of Mormon

Peaceful Politics Please #8 of 11

We’ve all seen the posts and comments: they use jarring language; words and phrases like “idiot” or “slime-ball”. I’ve even seen “garbage wrapped in skin” to describe a person whose politics the writer disagreed with.

Rancor like that zings straight to my heart — not to stir it to agreement, as I imagine the originator intended, but, like Abish in King Lamoni’s court (Alma 19:28), to fill it with sadness. My daily prayers include literal tears over the impact of the COVID-19 virus, yes, but also over the disease of acrimony; a deadly force raging like wildfire throughout my country, even the world; infecting-not only my loved ones’ hearts and minds but my own. As completely antithetical as contempt is to the Savior’s gospel, and as much as my covenants provide a significant boost to my spiritual immunity, I am still susceptible to the contagious, addictive nature of sarcasm, cynicism, vitriol, and hate.

For more than what a pandemic might do to me, I fear succumbing to pride and contention.

“Pride is a sin that can readily be seen in others but is rarely admitted in ourselves. Most of us consider pride to be a sin of those on the top, such as the rich and the learned, looking down at the rest of us. (See 2 Ne. 9:42.) There is, however, a far more common ailment among us — and that is pride from the bottom looking up.” — President Ezra Taft Benson (1)

We know it’s dangerous. We know it’s wrong. But how do we recognize and admit it in ourselves, especially in regards to social media? How do I resist getting sucked in by (and propagating) harsh, hostile pronouncements and judgments on human beings that, in all fairness, are greatly unknown to me except through instantaneous media filters and opinion-makers? How in the world does the Savior expect us, His latter-day disciples, to forbear and judge hopefully of one another under such conditions? Is the “law of the gospel” even possible amidst the most opinion-glutted, informationally-deluged, media-drenched, hyper-connected culture in mankind’s history?

We actually don’t have to go far for the answers. Just a cursory glance at the scriptures tell us that whether you were a saint in the days just prior to the Flood, a disciple during the Savior’s mortal ministry, or a latter-day gatherer who ushers in the Second Coming — the quest and the question remains the same for every member of the church:

Will we love not only our friends but our “enemies”?

Thank goodness there are scriptural mentors that can help us eventually answer in the affirmative. As Elder Stephen D. Nadauld pointed out in 1996:

“Indeed, these are extraordinary times by any measure. And yet there is a wise saying in French: Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose, which means, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” Despite the progress, prosperity, and success of today’s Church, there seem to be challenges to Church members that are common to men and women of all ages. We are blessed to have written records of the experiences of members of Christ’s Church in previous eras, such as the Book of Mormon, a sacred record that provides wonderful insights about common challenges.” (2)

In a recent virtual discussion of with my fellow students of the Book of Mormon — during which we explored a number of “wonderful insights” and “common challenges” — it was pointed out how the Lamanites in the days of Kings Zeniiff, Noah, and Limhi were described as “ferocious and bloodthirsty” (3). Their “eternal hatred” toward the Nephites had been intentionally cultivated (4), passed down from father to son and from mother to daughter, as I later realized is described in the song from Rogers & Hammerstein’s “South Pacific”.

You’ve got to be taught

To hate

And fear

You’ve got to be taught

From year

To year

It’s got to

Be drummed in your dear little ear

You’ve got to

Be carefully

Taught (5)

The point was immediately taken up by the class, and a lively discussion followed, focusing on the injustice, fallacies, and dangers of the Lamanites’ cultural and generational approach to bias and prejudice (6). It did not occur to me until later, however, that the volatile relationship between these two peoples was more than one-sided. There were Nephites at the time, equally at fault.

Take Zeniff. As a spy for the Nephite expedition intent on reclaiming the ancestral Land of Nephi, the self-described zealot admits at the very beginning of his record that his intel-gathering among the Lamanites was to the end “that our army might come upon them and destroy them” (7). His incognito immersion into the real lives of his adversaries, however, including up-close and personal observations of “that which was good among them” (caring relations between husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, grandparents, and neighbors), shakes his view, and therefore, his intent, to the core.

Back at base camp, the Warrior-Turned-Peacemaker tries to communicate this transformation to his cohorts. But without the benefit of his personal experience among the Lamanites, much of the group remains entrenched in prejudice; so much so, that rather than consider a more merciful, liberal view of their enemies, the group ends up killing one another. The account ironically uses the words “austere” (rigid, unrelenting, unfeeling) and “bloodthirsty” (cruel, ruthless, savage) to describe Nephites, the “good guys” in the story, who we have to assume at this point, have been just as “carefully taught” as the Lamanites (8), and perhaps just as “carefully taught” as you and I are today by numerous voices on numerous platforms.

Along these lines, I began to also consider the brave and passionate acts of Captain Moroni. Ever since childhood, I fancied myself rallying to Captain Moroni’s Title of Liberty, standing unashamedly to the death for the rights of the righteous. But lately, as an adult in a complex world, I have found it much more helpful to remember that the phrases on the Nephite banners were about LOVE: love of country, love of family, love of liberty, and of faith (9). No “title” included derogatory descriptions or sarcastic sentiments or egregious epitaphs (or memes) about the enemy.

In the same man’s story, many years later, amidst the heat and passion and confusion of conflict, Moroni misjudges from afar an ally to be an enemy (10). Pahoran was engaged in his own battle for truth, one that Moroni was unfamiliar with, and therefore could not, from personal experience, fully appreciate. The well-intentioned captain’s judgments were based on the incomplete and no doubt, emotional reporting from others; some of which was true about some, but a lot of which was not; and certainly not of Pahoran.

The ensuing exchange between Pahoran and Captain Moroni teaches us that in our own confusing, contentious times — in addition to being well, if not deeply informed by a lot of facts from a wide variety of sources coming from a wide variety of angles — we ought to check ourselves by simply asking…

Is this thing I’m about to say, or promote, or repost, or believe, designed to stir me and others to truly helpful, productive action for the progress and benefit of family, friends, and fellowman? -OR- Does this thing I’m about to say, or promote, or repost, or believe more likely to stir me and others to anger, derision, distrust, accusation, contention, or contempt? Will it actually produce more helpless frustration and rage than fair clarity, understanding, and maybe even, reconciliation and progress?

As I have weighed out the answers for myself, over and over again, I’ve been thankful once more, for the Book of Mormon: particularly the book of Alma. The “war chapters”, I’ve discovered, are also the “peace chapters”; chapters that include accounts about winning over adversaries by risking everything, including preconceived notions and second-hand narratives.

Because of these examples, I am now committed, in true Sons of Mosiah style, to humbly approach those I perceive to be my political opponents, whether a neighbor, ward member, leader, or lawmaker, with respectful intent. It is in a personal and in-person exchange of ideas and opinions and facts, such as Ammon before King Lamoni, that we have hope of overcoming false and inflammatory stereotypes on both sides (11). The Sons of Mosiah approach also includes the literal burying of weapons and the welcoming of old “enemies” into one’s heart and homeland as friends (12), That is, afterall, the ultimate strategy, the only tactic with real power to defeat, or at least to neutralize, the enemy: the real enemy, the enemy-who-will-not-be-named here except by the Savior himself who dubbed him “the father of lies” (13) as well as the “the father of contention” (14).

President Benson warned:

“Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart, or core, is still missing. The central feature of pride is enmity — enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen. Enmity means “hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition.” It is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us” (15).

When we give in to his tactics, like Amlici, or later, Amalakiah, did, by rallying others to our viewpoint through hostility, opposition, division, distrust, or victimization (16), we “lose”, according to President Benson:

“…our independence of the world and deliver our freedoms to the bondage of men’s judgment. The world shouts louder than the whisperings of the Holy Ghost. The reasoning of men overrides the revelations of God, and the proud let go of the iron rod” (17).

Rather than risk our own salvation that way, and in the process, risk others’ as well, let us instead point towards The Prince of Peace. Let us proclaim on social media and elsewhere, strength-in-unity despite disparity and diversity. Let us show the world how to listen kindly to opinions that don’t necessarily match our own, and how to request help in understanding when we cannot fathom the “why” behind an opinion. Let us avoid the “identity” politics of our day by having an open heart to people. And let us pray with earnestness for the gift of discernment as we seek to learn from, associate with, and — if we feel truly inspired — respond to and persuade politically our brothers and sisters on this earth. And let us do so with hope, generosity, respect, and love.

This is our chance, this is our year, a year like no other, to remember, remember — as the Book of Mormon tells us we must. It is a year that makes clear that the lessons inside its covers were preserved, in truth, for OUR day.

1. President Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994), “Beware of Pride”, Ensign, May 1989
2. Elder Stephen D. Nadauld, “Pride: A Challenge for the Ages”, Ensign, July 1996
3. Mosiah 10:12
4. Mosiah 10:17
5. “You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught”, Matthew Morrison, Oscar Hammerstein II
6. Mosiah 10:11–17
7. Mosiah 9:1–2
8. Mosiah 9:1–2
9. Alma 46, Alma 48:7–19
10. Alma 59–61
11. Alma 19
12. Alma 24, Alma 27
13. 2 Nephi 2:18, 9:9, Ether 8:25
14. 3 Nephi 11:29
15. President Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994), “Beware of Pride”, Ensign, May 1989
16. Alma 46:1–10, Alma 47–48
17. President Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994), “Beware of Pride”, Ensign, May 1989

Image: Two male friends, by Mangostar, Adobe Stock