Rejecting the Stone. Why Christ Must Be the Prism through Which All War Scripture and Theology is Interpreted The two presenters are currently working on a book discussing a Christ-centric approach towards issues of war and peace in scripture and LDS theology. Throughout our tradition’s existence, Latter-day Saints have selectively drawn upon war narratives from both the Bible and our own additional scripture to support and validate everything from imperial conquests, pre-emptive wars of ‘self defense,’ and even genocide. Contrary to the view among many that the scriptures are paradoxical and inconsistent, and therefore adaptable to essentially all U.S. declarations of war, we believe that a more critical and comprehensive reading of latter-day scripture reveals a clear, powerful, and consistent framework wherein we are invited to ‘renounce war[s] and proclaim peace’ (D&C 98:16). In particular, scriptural narratives about war and peace are quite clear if Christ’s teachings, life, and death are allowed to serve as the prism through which they are interpreted, understood, and followed.

Joshua Madson, Ron Madson, Michael Stevens