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 ©iStockphoto.com/George Cairns, John Cairns
On September 11, 2007,
Brigham Young University President Cecil Samuelson announced that
this was, “The Year of the Constitution.” In keeping
with that noble goal, BYU has planned numerous events to promote
that “Title of Liberty” on campus, including the free
distribution of pocket-Constitutions and free DVDs of “A
More Perfect Union” during this week —
Patriots’ Week — to the students.
Also,
Meridian Magazine has elected to support their effort by publishing
three articles, by three BYU professors, over three days (November
7th, 8th, and 9th), highlighting the sacrifices made by those who
have stepped onto the battlefields in defense of the God-given freedoms
guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States of America.
All three articles will be accessible at www.SaintsAtWar.com,
Monday, November
12th, we will celebrate Veterans Day with an article by Ken Cromar,
based on insights gained from over 80 video-taped interviews, with
LDS soldiers from around the world, including Germany, Japan, England,
Korea, Vietnam, Kuwait, and Israel, for the exciting new documentary
“Saints
at W
ar — Faithful Heroes”.
Watch for its release in early 2008.
At one point in my reading of the Book
of Mormon, I pondered why the Lord called a warrior to prepare a
sacred text. He could have chosen a merchant, a teacher, or some
other from any of a number of professions. Nevertheless, he did
not. He chose a warrior, Mormon, who during his lifetime had beheld
“a continual scene of wickedness and abominations” (Mormon 2: 18).
I wondered how these experiences particularly prepared him to author
a book of scripture for our day.
It appears that Mormon and Moroni understood that we, like them,
would live in an age characterized by wars and the rumors of war.
Certainly our own latter-day prophecies speak “of wars, and rumors
of wars. “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against
kingdom” (JS—M 1:28–29).
In a time of wars and rumors of war we cannot expect to escape
the realities described by Mormon and Moroni. Throughout our history,
members of the Church have accepted the call to the battlefront.
Those who have fought understand all too well what Mormon felt when
he reported that “it is impossible for the tongue to describe, or
for man to write a perfect description of the horrible scene of
the blood and carnage which was among the people” (Mormon 4: 11).
My purpose today is not to debate the issues related to past wars
or the conflicts that currently rage throughout the world. Nor is
my intent to provide further evidence of the horrible scenes of
war evident in our time. Rather, my intent is to invite you to consider
what President Hinckley described as the “silver thread” of war.
In 1966, there were more than 2,000 Latter-day Saint servicemen
in Vietnam. Elder Gordon B. Hinckley visited the troops in Saigon
to hold a district conference. During this visit, a servicemen's
conference was held in Saigon, where Elder Hinckley dedicated the
land of Vietnam for the preaching of the gospel. This trip was only
one of several he made to Vietnam to strengthen the Latter-day Saint
servicemen stationed there.
During his address at general conference in April 1968, he spoke
of his trips to Vietnam:
One cannot have been to Vietnam as I have on a number of occasions, and felt in some small measure the dreadful sorrow of the land, without making a plea for peace a part of his daily prayers. This war, like others, is fraught with terrible evil and unspeakable tragedy. I minimize none of these.
But notwithstanding the evil and the tragedy, I see a silver thread shining through the dark and bloody tapestry of conflict. I see the finger of the Lord plucking some good from the evil designs of the adversary. I see coming out of this conflict ... an enlargement of the Lord's program ...
I hope that some of you parents who grieve over your sons who could not go on missions because of the demands of the draft will derive some small measure of comfort from the assurance that your sons may perform an effective missionary labor through their examples, and that they may assist in lifting the veil in lands of darkness in which the gospel must someday be taught. [ Conference Reports, April 1968, 21–23]
The “silver thread” that Elder Hinckley described was woven in by efforts of faithful Latter-day Saint servicemen, young men of the age to serve missions who had responded to their nation's call. Their acts of faith and courage provide us with numerous examples that can help us prepare to meet our own unique challenges in these last days.
I believe that from the examples of faithful LDS servicemen, we can understand basic principles that will enable us to endure our particular season of war. I would like to limit my remarks to three important principles. I believe these will help us live in a time of wars and rumors of war. The first principle recognizes that “without faith [we] can do nothing” (D&C 8: 10).
Living in Faith
James D. Martin, an aircraft mechanic during the Korean War, described how the Lord blessed him because of his faith:
Because the men of the squadron did not keep the standards, which I was striving to diligently keep … I often wished that I could find the companionship of other LDS men ... One night after everyone had gone to bed, I went to the squadron line shack … I knew that no one would be there at that time of night and I would not be bothered.
There I poured out my heart to God as I had never done before. I pled with Him to help me find the companionship I felt so desperately in need of. I begged His forgiveness of my sins and weaknesses. Tears freely flowed. As I left the room, I felt a peace and calm I had never felt before. I knew that somehow the Lord would help me. [Saints at War archive, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, BYU]
As a young member of the Church in
Germany, Horst Hilbert was part of the largest congregation of Church
members outside North America. Like other German members, he feared
that as a soldier he would be forced to fight his American brothers.
He prayed that this would not happen. He laughed as he explained
that the Lord answered his prayers by sending him to the Russian
front.
Horst described how his family gathered
in prayer before he entered the German army. He recalls how that
experience gave him the faith and courage he needed at a particularly
difficult moment during the war. Finding himself hiding in a small
shed surrounded by Russian soldiers, he knelt in prayer asking for
protection. Trusting in his faith and that of his family, he prayed
while bullets whistled around him without harming him.
Upon returning home after [WW2], Horst
related his experiences on the Russian front to his family. He was
surprised when they questioned him in detail about his experience
in the shed. Seeming satisfied, his father then told of the night
when his wife woke him, worried about their son. Waking all the
family, they had knelt in prayer pleading with the Lord to spare
their son. Horst believed that his family had prayed at the same
time that his life was threatened. (Saints at War, 2001,
135–36.)
It is interesting to note that Elder
Neal A. Maxwell reported a similar experience. While he was under
fire on a Pacific island, his mother woke her family to pray for
her son, whom she felt was in danger. Elder Maxwell said of this
experience, “Mothers just know” (Neal A. Maxwell, interviewed by
the author).
Trusting the Spirit
Our first principle was that we can
do nothing without faith. The second principle I would like to illustrate
is the counsel of the Lord to trust that the Spirit will lead us
“to do good” (D&C 11:12).
In our effort to understand how the
Spirit leads us to do good, we need to recognize that it sometimes
works in mysterious ways. The account of Brenner Hall, an army marksman
in World War II, known by his friends as “Dead-eye Dick,” illustrates
this point.
Fearing that a German patrol of two
soldiers would discover their position, Brenner and his comrades
decided to confront and capture them. One German soldier attempted
to fire on the Americans and was immediately gunned down. The second
turned and ran.
The leader of the American unit turned
to Brenner, a company sharpshooter, and asked him to shoot the fleeing
German. Brenner took careful aim and squeezed the trigger. Much
to the surprise of his friends, Brenner repeatedly missed his target.
Another American patrol captured the
fleeing German and returned him for questioning. As the GIs approached
the house, they shouted out that they had caught Brenner's friend.
Still smarting from the embarrassment of having failed to hit his
target, Brenner demanded to know what they meant.
“Well,” they reported, “he must be
your friend, because we found him praying on his knees, and you
are the only one that we have seen do that.” “He must be your friend,”
they teased.
Speaking through an interpreter, the
German soldier explained that he had a friend in Arizona. No one
was more surprised than Brenner when the German told of his friend,
a Mormon elder from Mesa, Arizona, who had baptized his family before
the war. Brenner recognized the name of his high school friend and
knew that he had served his mission to Germany.
“I know that guy,” Brenner exclaimed.
“Hey,” one of the GIs laughed, “Brenner's
a Mormon, too.”
“Brudder Hall!” the German said with
a big smile. Brenner embraced the German solider as a brother in
the gospel, thankful that for once he had missed every shot. (Saints
at War documentary, 2001.)
Building the Kingdom
The final principle I would like to
illustrate is the Lord's desire to establish the Church through
our individual efforts (D&C 31:7).
One characteristic of our LDS servicemen
has been their desire to share the gospel with their comrades.
One of the more creative examples was
that of Roland Wright, a fighter pilot in World War II. He named
his plane The Mormon Mustang in an attempt to create interest
in the Church.
Roland Wright, LDS airman, poses with his comrades
in arms. Stan Shultz used a similar approach during the Vietnam
War. When assigned a Jeep for his use, Stan discovered it covered
with graffiti. After painting over the crude words and phrases,
Brother Shultz decided to rename his Jeep after the brother of Jared.
It was his effort to create opportunities to discuss the gospel.
The jeep named Mahonri Moriancumer fostered
many gospel-related conversations for Stan Shultz.
Wherever the LDS servicemen went, they organized
units of the Church. They often met in the open or in buildings
provided by the military. When occasion permitted, they even built
their own chapels. While simple, the first LDS chapel built in Korea
served the purposes of the LDS troops stationed nearby.
Even on the deck of a battleship in World War II,
LDS sailors managed to hold a sacrament meeting. On the USS Cambria
in 1944, John A. Larsen was the presiding group leader.
These faithful young men listen to the spirit that
leads them to do good and are successful in establishing units of
the Church wherever they serve.
LDS sailors pray during a sacrament meeting
on the deck of the USS Cambria in 1944.
Recent Church activity in Afghanistan is evidence
of this effort in our present conflict. A young marine corporal
accepted baptism there after hearing the gospel from a friend while
stationed at a remote firebase.
In conclusion, we live in a period characterized
by wars and rumors of wars. Like the young Latter-day Saint servicemen
whose examples were mentioned here, it is our responsibility to
stand firm in the faith and hearken to the spirit that will lead
us to do good. We must always remember that it is by our hands that
the Lord will establish His Church throughout the earth.
Although it is true that most of us will not be
called to the battlefront, the Lord will have need of the faith
of all of us in the difficult times we will face in the last days.
It is our heritage to weave the silver thread through these challenging
times and, by doing so, bring hope to our Father's children. The
Lord has uniquely prepared us, like others before us, for this,
our finest hour.
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For the complete article see www.SaintsAtWar.com. Or call, (801) 422-2299 / E-mail: speeches@byu.edu / Speeches Home Page
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