They Shall Not Learn War Any More

As an introduction to his long quotation of Isaiah, Nephi wrote this, “And now I write some of the words of Isaiah, that whoso of my people shall see these words may lift up their hearts and rejoice for all men. Now these are the words, and ye may liken them unto you and unto all men.” I have written before about some of the passages he may have been thinking about when he suggested that these words of Isaiah should cause us to lift up our hearts and “rejoice for all men” when we read them. As I think about world events today, perhaps the most obvious writing of Isaiah which Nephi cited and which should cause us to rejoice (and which I didn’t mention previously) is the chapter that came very first in Nephi’s quotation: “And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plow-shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks—nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (2 Nephi 12:3-4). This is a declaration that at some future day, there will be no more war—weapons will be used for food production instead of killing, and nations will no longer be in conflict with each other. With that peace established, all people will be able to learn of His ways and walk in His paths because of the harmony that will prevail. This will only be fully realized in the Millennium, but surely that is a day to look forward to with great anticipation, particularly for the millions suffering today due to armed conflict.

                Most prominent today of armed conflicts is the terrible situation in Israel and Gaza, a war likely to end the lives of thousands and displace hundreds of thousands. There is also the war between Ukraine and Russia whose cumulative fatalities are estimated at around 200,000. In addition to these, there are conflicts in Myanmar, Ethiopia, and Sudan which have all taken the lives of more than 10,000 people this year or last year. Other areas of the world such as Mexico, Afghanistan, Columbia, Nigeria, Syria, and Yemen have ongoing conflicts causing the suffering of millions of innocent people. Related to that, the UN reports that “more than 110 million individuals have been forcibly displaced worldwide as a result of persecution, conflict, violence or human rights violations. We are now witnessing the highest levels of displacement on record.” It is hard to even fathom that number, and this highlights why we long for the day indeed when the Savior will return and when those wicked people responsible for so much of this will “be bowed down” and be “made low” and “the glory of his majesty shall smite them” (2 Nephi 12:17-19). Nephi had seen in vision the last days in the same way that John the apostle saw them and described them in the book of Revelation, so he understand the awful scene of the last days and the wars that would be across the earth. He wrote this description of what he saw, “And it came to pass that I beheld that the wrath of God was poured out upon that great and abominable church, insomuch that there were wars and rumors of wars among all the nations and kindreds of the earth.” He saw “wars and rumors of wars among all the nations which belonged to the mother of abominations” (1 Nephi 14:15-16). So, he could indeed rejoice himself knowing that the words of Isaiah concerning the Millennium would one day be fulfilled: “And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall give thee rest, from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve…. The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet; they break forth into singing” (2 Nephi 24:3, 7). I personally know nothing of the suffering that the millions across the world are experiencing right now because of war, but we can “rejoice for all men” knowing that one day peace will indeed reign upon the earth and nations shall not “learn war any more.”