Nineteenth-Century Saints at War

Press release
Nineteenth-Century Saints at War Studied

When is war justified? A statement by President David O. McKay offers perspective: “There are … two conditions which may justify a truly Christian man to enter—enter, not begin—a war: (1) An attempt by others to dominate and to deprive another of his free agency, and (2) Loyalty to his own country. Possibly there is a third, viz., Defense of a weak nation that is being unjustly crushed by a strong, ruthless one.”  In a new book published by the Religious Studies Center, scholars examine the involvement of Latter-day Saints in nineteenth-century wars.

Edited by Robert C. Freeman, Nineteenth-Century Saints at War starts where other books on the topic end, with insights on the experiences of men and women who participated in the American wars of the nineteenth century.  Saints were required to choose war or peaceable solutions at least four times during this period in history. The first came in 1846, just after the Saints had begun their westward exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois.  It was at this time the Saints received their first beneficial government offer.

The “Utah War” or “Mormon War” was entered in an act of self-preservation in 1857.  The Civil War was the first formal conflict in which a Latter-day Saint died in battle.  In 1898 concern arouse over an international conflict; if there was war, the missionary effort could be stalled.  After mixed feelings at the April 1898 conference, President Wilford Woodruff “allied the Church with the United States of America.”

The authors highlight the various responses of individual Latter-day Saints and the Church itself to the national conflicts that engulfed America during a turbulent century.

Media Contact:
Robert C. Freeman
(801) 422-2484
Email: Robert_freeman@byu.edu

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