Alma 12 [RE] says, “Go forth among the Lamanites thy brethren and establish my word, yet ye shall be patient in long-suffering and afflictions, that ye may shew forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls.” If the great and marvelous work of the latter-days is going to be anything like the work Ammon and his brethren did, there will certainly be a need for patience and long-suffering. There will undoubtedly be many afflictions. People may respond violently. Christ’s messengers will have to endure it all as He did. That will mean constant forgiveness and a refusal to retaliate. That will require a lot of faith as those delivering the good news will have to rely completely upon the Lord for their protection and not upon the arm of flesh.
The latter-day work will have at its aim nothing less than Zion. As it turns out, the servants who go out and teach will have to live the laws of Zion, for those “who shall seek to bring forth my Zion…shall have the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost” (1 Nephi 3 [RE]). Those laws include a refusal to use violence. I once saw the following comment in an online discussion about Zion. I think it can help us understand why the path of complete forgiveness and non-violence is so important.
To create Zion, a city of peace, a city that the Lord protects and defends through His own power (you can look in Moses 7 to see how Enoch's city was defended - it wasn't through anything people did), I agree that we need to have Zion in our heart. I think that having Zion in our heart means having faith in God's laws that pertain to Zion. I think that having faith in God's laws that pertain to Zion means doing the works of Zion on an individual level, for faith without works is dead (James 2:17). I believe that our actions are the evidence and a by-product of our faith (Hebrews 11:1). I don't think that the faith that is necessary to be able to dwell in Zion will spontaneously appear if aspiring Zionites gather together. I think that the faith necessary to be able to dwell in Zion will have to exist in each person prior to any sort of gathering. What will those individuals be doing before a gathering begins? Will their individual conduct look the same whether they are in Zion or not? Or will their individual conduct change after they have gathered together?
When I look at D&C 98 [D&C 36 (RE)], I see two paths. One path allows for the destruction of your enemies (as long as a surprisingly strict set of limits are followed). This path is explicitly "justified" (v. 31) and is therefore no sin. Certainly such a path has been used over and over again in many books of scripture. What has also happened over and over again in many books of scripture is a lack of Zion (3 Nephi 10:5). In other words, people have continually rejected the offers from God to live according to the laws of Zion and to gather.
The other path in D&C 98 is in accordance with what was taught in the Sermon on the Mount. It is the consistent and perfect application of forgiveness and the utter refusal to reward your enemy "according to his works" (i.e. the refusal to give your enemy what he deserves) (v. 31). This is the path of blessing your enemy. This path is more than justification and is more than simply being without sin, but it is counted as "righteousness" (v. 30). This path provides blessings for "thy children and thy children’s children unto the third and fourth generation" (v. 30). Is Zion not an inheritance for a thousand years worth of generations of your descendants? If it is, then I suspect that aspiring Zionites will need at least three and four generations worth of blessings. And blessings only come when we obey the laws upon which they are predicated (D&C 130:21). This path of proclaiming peace is for those who "seek diligently to turn the hearts of the children to their fathers, and the hearts of the fathers to the children" (v. 16) which, interestingly enough, is exactly what is needed in order for the earth to avoid being utterly wasted/cursed at the Lord's coming (Malachi 4:5-6; 3 Nephi 25:5-6; D&C 2; JS-H 1:36-39). Again, the law upon which this blessing is predicated consists of renouncing war and proclaiming peace. Can you renounce war while partaking in it? Can you proclaim peace while carving out exceptions with the sword?
These are incredibly difficult topics, not only to explore, but to consider putting into practice. What would it mean for you and your family to renounce war and proclaim peace? What would have to change? What kind of trust in God does that take? If these things are hard, what does that mean? Does it mean they're of God or does it just mean that they're suicidal? Would God ever require anything seemingly suicidal? Are there people in scriptures who accepted death rather than practice war? What happened to them? What blessings did they secure for their children?
I suppose only God can let you know whether I'm on to something or whether I'm just on something. What marvelous decisions that need to be made.
So let’s apply the principles taught in that comment to the great and marvelous work that needs to happen at some point. Imagine going out to teach people the Gospel. Imagine what might happen to you if you did. Could you handle getting beat up? Getting thrown into jail? Having your clothes taken away? Being in chains? Getting mocked and spit upon? Being deprived of food and water? Having your life threatened? I could go on. Could you endure all these things and still seek to serve the very people who are abusing and tormenting you? Could you suffer death before striking your enemy? If we can’t do these things or can’t even desire to be able to do these things, we probably shouldn’t bother thrusting in our sickles. The Lord will wait for people who seek to bring forth Zion before granting the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost to convince the nations. Those people will already be living the laws of Zion.
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