H. Verlan Andersen (1914-1992), as with
myself, was strongly anti-war and only believed war was justified within a framework of what one would call a "just war theory." I rarely
discuss politics on this blog except for making reference to my opposition to
infanticide/abortion, but I am a Libertarian, just for those curious.
Writing during World War II, Andersen
wrote the following about the topic of war in his personal writings:
Wars
Should
hate replace faith in an ideal as a driving force toward winning the war? Would
we not find ourselves engaged in another world war at some future date if we fail
to find tolerance in our heart for our enemies and a helpful attitude toward
the solution of their problems?
What
statesman is there today who will say that hate, jealousy and the spirit of
revenge at the peace table at the close of the last war are not directly
contributing factors to the present struggle? What man is there who has studied
the events leading up to this conflict who will deny that national selfishness,
which is the result of individual selfishness, is not also a major cause?
Who among
us can point an accusing finger at the John Doe of Germany and say I would have
done differently had I been born a German? I would have withstood the Nazis’
attempt to indoctrinate me with their creed. I would not have gone to school
and believed their false history books. I would not have listened to their
radio broadcasts. I would not have read their newspaper. I would not have
believed the Nazis, whose methods have deadly efficiency and a scientific
approach.
You and I
may thank God that our forefathers were imbued with a faith in their ideals
strong enough to cause them to seek religious freedom in America. We may be
thankful that we still possess that freedom to search for truth so that we may
act and think without bias.
The urge
of necessity and the extremities to which man is forced in this era of violent
change should be the means of exacting from him his great contributions to
humanity. The existing candidates should be able to make plain the necessity of
faith in correct principles.
As
individuals may we see to it that we evaluate properly the gospel of Jesus
Christ as a guide in the solution of social problems. May we renew our faith in
the necessity for religion not only in the lives of others but in our own
lives. (Personal Notes,//1943)
We are
today witnessing a conflict, the magnitude of which has never been equaled as
far as we know. Millions of men are opposing each other in a struggle to the
death. It is strange to know that man in his knowledge could bring himself to
engage in such wanton destruction of life and property. No one man has a
personal quarrel with a single opponent in the other armed camp nor even with
the mass of men who are his opponents. His fight is against the ideas for which
his opponents stand. It is a war of ideals. Each soldier possesses a faith in
the superiority of his own way of life, a way of life which he feels called
upon to preserve.
This is
but to further demonstrate the tremendous power of faith in men’s lives, that
type of faith which moves men to supreme effort and brings out the
potentialites found in man in a degree unattainable in any other way. Man’s
desire for wealth, his thirst for glory and approval of his fellows, his quest
for security, all of these incentives fall into insignificance as a driving
force when compared with the power and will to action produced in man through
his faith.
If faith
can become such a power in a man’s life, how essential it is that man possess a
faith in a true philosophy of life. How necessary that such faith will inspire
man to righteous living. How regrettable if the ordinary man must become
engaged in a destructive way to preserve his freedom before such an exalted
faith can become effective in his life. (Personal Notes,//1944) (Teachings
of Elder H Verlan Andersen [Defending Utah, 2020], 270-71)
