The Oregon Take-Over of Federal Land is to be Condemned

   It is wonderful to see the response of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the militia take-over of a wildlife refuge in Oregon. To me, it is wonderful to have such voices condemning an action such as this.
   Says the statement:
   "While the disagreement occurring in Oregon about the use of federal lands is not a Church matter, Church leaders strongly condemn the armed seizure of the facility and are deeply troubled by the reports that those who have seized the facility suggest that they are doing so based on scriptural principles. This armed occupation can in no way be justified on a scriptural basis. We are privileged to live in a nation where conflicts with government or private groups can — and should — be settled using peaceful means, according to the laws of the land."
   I appreciate this also: A Deseret News article quotes Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in a talk to students at BYU in 1992, as saying:
   "Love of country is surely a strength, but carried to excess it can become the cause of spiritual downfall. There are some citizens whose patriotism is so intense and so all-consuming that it seems to override every other responsibility, including family and church. I caution those patriots who are participating in or provisioning private armies and making private preparations for armed conflict. Their excessive zeal for one aspect of patriotism is causing them to risk spiritual downfall as they withdraw from the society of the church and from the governance of those civil authorities to whom our twelfth article of faith makes all of us subject."