I have been most disturbed about rumors of impending war in Iran. I believe in actively working for peace and finding other solutions to war. Yes, I love my family, home, and country, but if defending them means taking the lives of others, the price to pay is too large. If we truly believe that America is a Promised Land and a Divine Democracy, can’t we trust that the Lord will safeguard this country when our efforts are righteous and focused toward bringing peace?
Wednesday marked the deadline for Iran’s government to suspend their nuclear development plans in compliance with the U.N.’s demand. Now that this sanction has not been met, U.S. and world leaders are considering further measures. Tension in the Arabian Gulf has reached a point where any action by either side could trigger a major escalation of military activities. In his blog, John Dehlin stated, “When I pray, I pray that this won’t happen.” It made me think of my own prayers. I often pray for peace in the world. My own little private rebellion is that when I hear my fellow Church members praying for the troops, I will not add my “Amen” to that prayer. This does not mean that I do not wish for the safety and protection of each individual man and woman who serves in the military. Rather, I cannot in good conscience pray for the success of Americans as military units who are using mortal force to achieve their ends. I’ve especially been bothered when I hear this rhetoric in prayer circles in the temple. Only once have I heard someone pray for peace among the nations. Usually they are praying for the safety and success of our troops.
I’m not always confident of the effectiveness of prayer. It’s one of the things I ponder deeply and continue to practice. Today I plan to go to the temple and write on the prayer roll. This is what I will write, “I pray for peace in Iran and that American leaders will be directed to work in peaceful ways for the solutions to political tensions.” It comforts me to know that if it is aligned with the Lord’s will, the faith of many people will be directed to this prayer as it lies upon the altar of the temple today. Perhaps this isn’t a very large activist gesture. I’ll continue to look for ways to do more. But if prayer really works, who knows what could happen?
Booknotes 3.23
15 hours ago
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13 comments:
Perhaps we could start a bloggernacle fast for those likeminded people who likewise are upset by the rumors and repeating patterns.
I am curious as to what praying for lack of success in military goals is for. Are you against stabilizing Iraq or Afghanistan to return peace to those regions, or are you referring just to the original invasion itself?
First and foremost, I'm a Dove. I'm strongly opposed to the War on Terror. (I think its pointless.) I don't have as many issues with troops in Afghanistan because of the 9-11/Al-Quaeda link. When we prepared to go into Iraq, I was hoping it was a bluff. Now I look at the problems with Iran, and become increasingly frustrated with the current administration.
But I bleed green. I'm an Army brat and I served in the Army myself. I got out shortly after we entered Iraq. I feel for the troops, because they are not the ones making the decisions that control their lives. The people running the war aren't affected by the impact of the war.
The troops are the enlisted soldiers, with a base pay of $1500-$2000 a month. They have wives and children who are at home worried about them. Many troops joined the Army to etch out a better life, to get an affordable college education. All of my good friends in the Army (as well as myself) joined for the education benefits.
Please pray for the safety of the troops. They're just doing their jobs. And thank you praying for a peaceful solution. That's my preferred answer.
Doc, good question, and thank you for bringing it up. I would like to support stabilizing Iraq/Afghanistan through non-violent means. I realize there will now be some argument that it would be difficult to find alternative means to bring about stabilization. I simply feel that violent methods have not been shown to be effective and are not worth the cost.
Kaycei,
I also feel for the troops, as individual human beings. I hope this is what people are thinking when they pray for "the troops." I simply don't support the military actions being performed or involvement by any man or woman in the violence of war.
Doc,
A bloggernacle fast sounds wonderful. How would one go about doing this? Shall we do a fast on March 4?
BiV,
I have no idea, try e-mailing Ronan or Kaimi or DKL or all three and have them post something on it. I'm in for March 4.
Doc and BiV - I'm in for March 4. Can we make it a bloggernacle vigil, and allow people to choose their own means of petitioning worship, such as fasting, prayer, and/or meditation? I like the idea of specifically addressing finding other solutions to the current Iran situation.....I think many people could participate in this, through whatever means they feel comfortable with.
Good, Elise!
I'm calling for everyone to pass this message on. Write a blog post on finding peaceful solutions to world conflict. Join us in a peace vigil on March 4. Spread the word!
Here's the thing, though: how can you say "yes, I love my family, home, and country, but if defending them means taking the lives of others, the price to pay is too large," when Captain Moroni's bannder in the Book of Mormon said: "in memory of our God, our religion and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children"? That banner was a rallying cry to war - to the "work of death" which took thousands of Nephite and Lamanite lives. True, the Nephites were very reluctant to take up arms, and did not delight in the shedding of blood - but clearly, they felt that their family and country was worth killing for. This directly contradicts your statement.
Not that I'm saying it was good for us to go into Iraq, or that your sentiment on this issue is less than normal. I'm just playing the devil's advocate and trying to keep you honest. If this is your opinion, that's fine - I'm not out to change it. You can keep it and that's fine with me. I just want to point out that your statement is in direct opposition to the Book of Mormon.
Also, Kaycei, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that the "war on terror" includes our occupation of Afghanistan. Our occupation in Iraq (technically, it's an occupation, not a war - not in the conventional sense, certainly) is, as I understand it, a part in the war on terror, but not the war on terror itself. So, technically, you're contradicting yourself when you say "I'm against the war on terror but I support what we're doing in Afghanistan." But I understood what you meant.
I personally don't think we're about to mount a conventional invasion of Iran. I don't even think we're going to launch airstrikes on Iranian nuclear installations. Those bunkers are buried deeper in the ground than our bombs can penetrate, and they're scattered all throughout the mountains. We don't even know where all the bunkers are, and if we tried to strike them, we'd only embolden the Iranian people and strengthen the hand of Ahmedinajad and his extremist ilk. If anything, I can see a US instigated revolution - lets face it, Ahmedinajad is not popular. I've talked with Iranians who all say that upwards of 70% of the people hate their government. Even among the Iranian government, Ahmedinajad faces a lot of opposition. If we play our hands right, we can cut his domestic credibility and support (without instigating a revolution) and, with multilateral pressure and carrot-and-stick policies, hopefully move Iran away from its nuclear ambitions. We should be prepared for war at all times with Iran, but I don't think that that's our only option. And despite all the crap that Bush gets, I still think that the US acts as a rational actor in the international arena, and that since it's so against our interests to flex our military muscle against Iran, we'll pursue other options.
one correction: I said "or that your sentiment on this issue is less than normal." I meant "noble," not "normal." A simple mistake.
Onelowerlight, You are correct in assuming that I do not agree with Captain Moroni that family and country are worth killing for.
BiV, excellent and articulate response.
Onelowerlight, I appreciate your arguement but it is solely founded on the assumption that we went to war and continued occupation is for the sake of our God, our religion, our freedom, our peace, our wives, and/or our children. I do not consider myself knowledgable enough to specifically address that issue, but I understand enough to know that it is a very complex issue and that it is quite possible our war/occupation is not founded on any of those causes.
BiV,
Congratulations, you made the Snarker hit list with this. I can't think of a more effective way to get this out to likeminded people in the Bloggernacle. ;)
To onelowerlight,
When I'm referring to the War on Terror, I'm referring to the umbrella title Pres. Bush uses as an excuse to go to war against other countries. I also strongly believe that due to the nature of terrorism, it is impossible to launch a war against it. Besides, one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. It just depends on what end of the gun you are at. If the War on Terror was specifically a War on Al-Quaeda, I'd probably feel differently, because then it would be a fight with a specific, attainable, objective, launched as a direct effort against an attack on this country. But, in my opinion, the War on Terror isn't that. It's an excuse, with a nice name attached to it. If you are really interested, I do plan to write more about this later, but not here.
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