M E R I D I A N     M A G A Z I N E

The Silver Lining of War
By Dennis A. Wright

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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