Item Detail
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30313
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0
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10
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English
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The Restoration of Conscientious Objection
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Dialogue : A Journal of Mormon Thought
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Winter 2018
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51
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4
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Farmington, UT
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Dialogue Journal
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77-104
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In 298 CE, Marcellus, a Roman centurion, was converted to Christ while serving with his unit in Northern Africa. A respite from conflict was taken to celebrate the pagan Roman emperor’s birthday and pledge allegiance to the empire. Marcellus rose before the banqueters, cast off his military insignia, and cried out: “I serve Jesus Christ the eternal King. I will no longer serve your emperors.” Marcellus was immediately arrested for breach of discipline. At his trial, he declared that “it is not right for a Christian man, who serves the Lord Christ, to serve in the armies of the world.” He was immediately beheaded. According to the testimonies of those present, he died in great peace of mind, asking God to bless the judge that condemned him.
In the first three centuries of Christianity, the martyrdom of Marcellus
was not an isolated act of faith—like tens of thousands of early Christians,
he was following the example of those first apostles and disciples who observed intimately the words and example of Jesus of Nazareth.
Two millennia later, there are few Christian faiths that advocate conscientious objection to military conscription of their nation. Nearly all major Christian religions and churches have chosen another path, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of them. Its position is articulated on the Church’s website: “Latter-day Saints in the military do not need to feel torn between their country and their God. In the Church, ‘we believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law’ (Articles of Faith 1:12). Military service shows dedication to this principle. . . . [I]f they [Latter-day Saints in the military] are required to shed another’s blood [in war], their action will not be counted as a sin.”
Is this policy compatible with the words and life of Jesus, which he invited us to follow? Ultimately, the answers to these questions are a matter of conscience. But if our belief in Christ demands more than obedience to secular “kings, presidents, [and] rulers,” there is another way available to all LDS members: conscientious objection.
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