The Counsel the Prophet Gave During the Iraq and Afghan Wars and how it Applies to Ukraine

With the invasion of Ukraine, the world is being thrown into the greatest turmoil since the end of the Cold War. When the invasion started I turned to the prophets and apostles to find counsel. As I studied the words of the prophets over the last 100 years on war and peace. One time period stuck out to me, the words of President Hinckley right as the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq started. His words felt extremely applicable to our current situation in Ukraine.

So, here are some excerpts from his teachings and how they apply to us during this war in Ukraine.

Get your food storage.

As we have been continuously counseled for more than 60 years, let us have some food set aside that would sustain us for a time in case of need. But let us not panic nor go to extremes… I cannot forget the great lesson of Pharaoh’s dream of the fat and lean kine and of the full and withered stalks of corn.

Gordon B. Hinckley, “The Times in Which We Live” Oct. 2001

The need for us to have our food storage has never been greater during my lifetime. Between rapidly increasing inflation, the war in Ukraine, and the supply chain issues around the world, the time is coming that President Ezra Taft Benson’s prophetic warning will be fulfilled. He warned, “The revelation to store food may be as essential to our temporal salvation today as boarding the ark was to the people in the days of Noah.”

The reason for food storage is not just for ourselves, but to share with those around us. When asked the ‘why’ behind food storage, and self-reliance, President Marion G. Romney taught, “Food for the hungry cannot come from empty shelves.” In other words, the purpose of your food storage is to enable you to keep your baptismal covenant to “feed the hungry. Already in Ukraine stories like Andre Zinkovski’s have come out about members using their food storage to bless those around them.

Get out of Debt.

Occasions of this kind pull us up sharply to a realization that life is fragile, peace is fragile, civilization itself is fragile. The economy is particularly vulnerable. We have been counseled again and again concerning self-reliance, concerning debt, concerning thrift. So many of our people are heavily in debt for things that are not entirely necessary… I urge you as members of this Church to get free of debt where possible and to have a little laid aside against a rainy day.

Gordon B. Hinckley, “The Times in Which We Live” Oct. 2001

Almost as frequently, if not more, than the counsel to get food storage has been the counsel to get out of debt. Some will say that in times of high inflation it is a time to get into debt, but the prophets have warned about debt at all times. On debt, President Gordon B. Hinckley also taught, “I urge you, brethren, to look to the condition of your finances. I urge you to be modest in your expenditures; discipline yourselves in your purchases to avoid debt to the extent possible. Pay off debt as quickly as you can, and free yourselves from bondage. This is a part of the temporal gospel in which we believe. May the Lord bless you, my beloved brethren, to set your houses in order. If you have paid your debts, if you have a reserve, even though it be small, then should storms howl about your head, you will have shelter for your wives and children and peace in your hearts.”

This counsel from President Gordon B. Hinckley to free ourselves from debt, if observed, would prepare Latter-day Saints for the economic turmoil that comes with heightened inflation, diminished buying power, and the effects of the war in Ukraine.

We must NOT hate either side.

We recognize and teach that all the people of the earth are of the family of God. And as He is our Father, so are we brothers and sisters with family obligations one to another… We can give our opinions on the merits of the situation as we see it, but never let us become a party to words or works of evil concerning our brothers and sisters in various nations on one side or the other.

Gordon B. Hinckley “War and Peace” Apr. 2003

President David O. McKay, in the middle of World War II, taught: “War impels you to hate your enemies. The Prince of Peace says, Love your enemies. War says, Curse them that curse you. The Prince of Peace says, Pray for them that curse you. War says, Injure and kill them that hate you. The Risen Lord says, Do good to them that hate you. Thus we see that war is incompatible with Christ’s teachings. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the gospel of peace. War is its antithesis, and produces hate. It is vain to attempt to reconcile war with true Christianity.” (Conference Report, Apr. 1942, Page 71) We are all brothers and sisters, we are never right to attack, vilify, bully, or demonize people.

It saddens me to see my social media feeds full of people acting in violence against their ‘opponents’ when in reality they are acting out against their own brothers and sisters. I think of the words of Ezra Taft Benson during the height of the Cold War when he declared, “The people of the world long for peace — and I specifically include the people of Russia” (Conference Report, Apr. 1960, Page 99). I feel like this highlights the fact that most people want peace, there may be evil men, tyrants, and dictators who seek to amass power. But even then, the actions of others do not absolve us from our covenant obligation to love our fellow men.

Wise are the words of Spencer W. Kimball when he said, “When threatened, we become anti-enemy instead of pro-kingdom of God… What are we to fear when the Lord is with us? Can we not take the Lord at his word and exercise a particle of faith in him? Our assignment is affirmative … to carry the gospel to our enemies, that they might no longer be our enemies.”

We can find Peace in Christ even in War.

Even when the armaments of war ring out in deathly serenade and darkness and hatred reign in the hearts of some, there stands immovable, reassuring, comforting, and with great outreaching love the quiet figure of the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world.

Gordon B. Hinckley “War and Peace” Apr. 2003

Gospel peace does not mean an absence of war. In fact, the peace the gospel brings is meant to carry us through the horrors of war and this life. Think of Joseph Smith leaving Nauvoo for Carthage, he said he was “calm as a summer’s morning” surely his life was void of earthly peace as he rode to his certain death; but he was full of inner peace that comes in Christ. Of Joseph Smith’s experience, President Marion G. Romney stated, “This is a classic example of a person having at the same time tribulation in this world and peace in Christ.”

Jesus Christ told us how we can find peace in these troubling times of wars and rumors of wars. He said, “Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me” (D&C 19:23). President Russell M. Nelson testified that as we come unto Christ “we can feel enduring peace and joy, even during turbulent times.”

The work will move forward.

Our strength is our faith in the Almighty. No cause under the heavens can stop the work of God. Adversity may raise its ugly head. The world may be troubled with wars and rumors of wars, but this cause will go forward.

Gordon B. Hinckley, “Living in the Fulness of Times” Oct. 2001

As war and turbulent times rage around us it would be easy to wonder what will happen to the Church? But if you read the history of the Church you will find a history where war is actually the catalyst for people accepting the gospel. There is no greater example of this than Japan. Japan now boasts over 130,000 members, with 3 temples, and a 4th announced. But back During World War II, they had no members of the Church. If during World War II you told Saints in Utah that within 35 years there would be a temple in Tokyo they would’ve thought you were crazy. But it happened.

Why did it happen? Because the War had plowed the field, the people were humbled. And in that hour the members in the uniforms of the armed services planted and harvested with great success. Thomas S. Monson declared, “Each year, our young men in uniform bring thousands of souls into the kingdom of God… Many returned missionaries have testified that their missionary experiences in the military were equally as bountiful and richly rewarding as in the mission field itself.” (Conference Report, Oct. 1969, Page 95).

We simply do not know what will result from this war in Ukraine. But we do know that the Lord always figures out a way to move the work forward. Because in the words of Joseph, “No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing: persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly and independent, till it has penetrated every continent; visited every clime, swept every country and sounded in every ear; till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the great Jehovah shall say the work is done.” (History of the Church, 4:540).

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