Two days before his martyrdom, the Prophet Joseph Smith declared: “There is one principle which is eternal; it is the duty of all men to protect their lives and the lives of the household, whenever necessity requires, and no power has a right to forbid it” (History of the Church, 6:605).
President Gordon B. Hinckley taught: “We are people of peace. We are followers of the Christ who was and is the Prince of Peace. But there are times when we must stand up for right and decency, for freedom and civilization, just as Moroni rallied his people in his day to the defense of their wives, their children, and the cause of liberty” (“Times in Which We Live,” 72).