What are just reasons to go to war?

Thomas R. Valletta

“President David O. McKay taught: ‘There are … two conditions which may justify a truly Christian man to enter—mind you, I say enter, not begin—a war: (1) An attempt to dominate and to deprive another of his free agency, and (2) Loyalty to his country. Possibly there is a third, viz., Defense of a weak nation that is being unjustly crushed by a strong, ruthless one. … Paramount among these reasons, of course, is the defense of man’s freedom. An attempt to rob man of his free agency caused dissension even in heaven. … To deprive an intelligent human being of his free agency is to commit the crime of the ages’” (Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, 230–34).

The Book of Mormon Study Guide: Start to Finish

References