Although support for the war in Iraq is currently at its lowest point since the war began, support continues to be significantly higher in Utah and Idaho than nationwide.
The fact that these states are considered the most heavily Republican undoubtedly accounts for their sustained support of a war initiated by a Republican administration. Other reasons may be the tendency of these Mormon-dominated populations to be patriotic, loyal and respectful of authority.
An additional reason may be unquestioning belief in special providence, the propensity to believe that we enjoy special blessings and protection of heaven not afforded others.
Since 9/11, rumors and urban legends have circulated in social and religious circles as well as on the Internet that not only suggest that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were spared in the terrorist attacks of 9/11 but that Latter-day Saint soldiers (many of whom are returned missionaries) were “called” to go to Iraq.
In one legend, members of the 1457th Utah National Guard's Engineer Battalion are credited with capturing Saddam Hussein, pulling down his statue, capturing the first Iraqi prisoners of war and winning a number of strategic battles - all without losing a single soldier.
The narrative suggests that all of this was according to divine plan: Why were these Mormon soldiers sent to Iraq?
The answer: “The Lord sent us to Iraq to start something for Him. Not since the days of Abraham has there been any significant Melchizedek Priesthood presence in Babylon.” Also, the legend reports that Mormon soldier-missionaries were holding services all over Iraq attended by thousands of non-Mormons.
Unfortunately, almost nothing about this legend is true, as verified by Lt. Col. Jefferson S. Burton, commander of the battalion. Although it is true that no members of the battalion were killed, that is not surprising given the fact that they “arrived in Iraq after major [combat] operations had ceased.”
The popularity of such legends may tend to increase Mormons' support of the war in Iraq - or at the very least to muzzle criticisms they might entertain about the moral justification for the war. If the president has led us into a God-sanctioned war (as he seems to have claimed), a war that has allowed the Melchizadek priesthood to be re-established in the ancient land of Abraham; if Mormon soldiers are indeed God's modern “stripling warriors,” who not only defeat the proponents of Islam and the architects of evil but who also show thousands of American soldiers the true order of prayer, then how can this be other than a justified war?
One of the consequences of such stories is that they undermine those instances where there seems to be a legitimate miracle or a convincing justification for divine intervention. Ironically, such legends undermine the very foundation of Christianity.
If, as scripture contends, “all are alike unto God,” then Iraqis are as valued by Him as Americans, the inhabitants of Baghdad as those of Salt Lake City, Muslims as Latter-day Saints.
If there is such a thing as chosenness, then surely it must mean not special providence to save us from the violence and vicissitudes of life, not a greater measure of grace than others enjoy, but rather a heightened call to consider others as ourselves, to take responsibility for those instances in which we multiply rather than diminish the suffering of others - as I believe we have done and currently are doing in Iraq.
If special providence works in the world, its outcome must surely lead to peace, not war - and it should lead us to pray not that God will bless America, but that he will bless the entire world - including our enemies.
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* ROBERT A. REES lives and works in the Santa Cruz Mountains. A more complete treatment of this subject, “The Cost of Credulity: Mormon Urban Legends and the War on Terror,” is featured in the next issue of Sunstone.



Since 9/11, rumors and urban legends have circulated in social and religious circles as well as on the Internet that not only suggest that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were spared in the terrorist attacks of 9/11 but that Latter-day Saint soldiers were “called” to go to Iraq.
Robert A. Rees


(posted in full due to Morman Mafia Censor fears...)