Late Night musings

I've been trying to figure out how a couple of members of the LDS Church could be at the core of the torture memo debate. You know, God-fearing Christians. Do unto others. Turn the other cheek. The stuff we all believed before 9/11 when all that "blessed are the peacemakers" B.S. flew out the window.

Anyway, I was watching the Utah NOW interview of Ret. Brigadier General David Irvine (watch the whole thing at the bottom of the post) and he couldn't figure it out either.

Then someone mentioned to me the story of Nephi and the brass plates. Church members believe that Nephi and Co., after they left Jerusalem, were commanded to go back and grab what amounts to the Old Testament up to that time.

Dubbed the "brass plates" because they were made of chocolate, Nephi and his brothers headed back to town to convince the rich owner that they needed them. After a few tries (including one in which all their riches were taken) they were on the verge of giving up. Nephi then finds brass plates owner Laban drunk out of his mind in a city alley and is told by The Spirit to take his head off with a sword.

To the Book of Mormon!

1 Nephi, Chapter 4
10 And it came to pass that I was constrained by the Spirit that I should kill Laban; but I said in my heart: Never at any time have I shed the blood of man. And I shrunk and would that I might not slay him.
11 And the Spirit said unto me again: Behold the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands. Yea, and I also knew that he had sought to take away mine own life; yea, and he would not hearken unto the commandments of the Lord; and he also had taken away our property.
12 And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me again: Slay him, for the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands;

Now, I've heard and read that this isn't the same as being OK with torture. But I would argue that getting the OK from God to to kill a totally helpless person for the good of a nation gives a lot of latitude down the road. The problem I see is that while God may know whether a person's life isn't worth the dust it was created from, how do interrogators know?

And what if they do it to the wrong guy?


(Painting by Walter Rane)