Posted by:
Fully Disvested
(
)
Date: October 05, 2014 07:01PM
A snippet from Mormonthink.com
In December of 1933, a newspaper article was written in the Church News section of The Deseret News. The title of the article was “Mormonism in the New Germany.” This article praised the new regime of Adolf Hitler and sought to compare the glory of LDS teachings with the new doctrine of Nazism that was spreading across the German nations. The article’s author, Dale Clark, was not the only Mormon to openly praise Hitler and Nazi Germany. Many other Mormon publications, including The Millennial Star, were used to compare and contrast Mormonism with Nazi Germany.
The first correlation of the LDS church with Nazism centered on the dynamic leader of Germany, Adolf Hitler. He was charismatic, strong, dedicated to his beliefs, a great orator, and was widely viewed as a savior figure to the Fatherland. Many Mormons could appreciate the qualities of a figure like Hitler, as these characteristics were the same ones valued in a General Authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Looking back on these statements it is hard to imagine that a church of God would align itself with some of the most despicable leaders of the past century. It is a lesson, however, in how the Church should conduct itself in other nations and with other cultures. As the Church continues to grow and expand their missionary efforts in other countries, they must be prepared for unsavory and hostile governments.
The Church’s past diplomatic strategy has previously been defined by the twelfth Article of Faith: “We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.” By tacitly endorsing rulers like Hitler and the Nazis, it forever tarnishes the image of the Church in places like Germany, where such endorsements are not quickly forgotten.
From the adoration that the LDS Church showed Hitler and Nazi Germany in the 1930s, we have to ask where was the power of discernment amongst the prophet and apostles? How could they not have had any clue that this man, that the LDS Church wrote many praising things about, was within a few years of becoming the most evil man in history?