Well put. BTW, is there anyone here on the list who DID think Elder Nelson was making an official statement about Iraq? Or was there someone who felt that given that there's not even an imminent danger from Iraq, no one can justify a war of aggression against Iraq on religious grounds?
Paul Osborne wrote: > Regarding the current political environment: > > At present, the apostles of Mormonism have no business making public > announcements about whether a specific war should be fought or not. Apart > from revelation and authorization from God, it simply is not the business > of the church to assume a responsibility they are not qualified to > undertake. The apostles are not privy to Top Secret intelligence and > can't necessarily determine whether a war is just or not. > > Now--if the Lord sees fit to have a revelation declared, seeing that God > knows everything, and it is the Lord's will to officially renounce a war > fought by the US government; that is another story. But, in such a case > there won't be any arguing from the church body whether the prophet said > yes or no. > > There is a general separation between church and state and that means the > state does not tell the church what to do and the church does not tell > the state what to do. The church doesn't get involved in politics. Church > buildings (including the Conference Center) are not to be used for making > public statements about the government's war making decisions. Elder > Nelson was not breaking that policy. He was simply proclaiming peace at > the pulpit. That is what prophets are suppose to do, but he was not > condemning a war with Iraq and it must NOT be construed as such! Only the > President of the Church can alter church policy on the spot and President > Hinkley remains dead silent on the Iraq issue. > > Paul O > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > ________________________________________________________________ > > GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! > > Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! > > Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: > > http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/. > > ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// > /// ZION LIST CHARTER: Please read it at /// > /// http://www.zionsbest.com/charter.html /// > ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// > -- Marc A. Schindler Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada -- Gateway to the Boreal Parkland "The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark." --Michelangelo Buonarroti Note: This communication represents the informal personal views of the author solely; its contents do not necessarily reflect those of the author’s employer, nor those of any organization with which the author may be associated. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// /// ZION LIST CHARTER: Please read it at /// /// http://www.zionsbest.com/charter.html /// ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ==^^=============================================================== This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?aaP9AU.bWix1n Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^^===============================================================
