book spotlight
Saints at War: The Gulf War, Afghanistan, and Iraq Kenneth L. Alford KENNETH L. ALFORD (alford@byu.edu) IS A PROFESSOR OF CHURCH HISTORY AND DOCTRINE AT BYU.
T
he opening chapter of the Book of Mormon concludes
with this insightful statement from Nephi: “But behold,
personal and individualized blessings, strength, p rotection, assurances, guidance, loving-kindnesses, consolation,
I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the
support, and spiritual gifts which we receive from and
Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of
because of and through the Lord Jesus Christ. . . . The
their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of
simpleness, the sweetness, and the constancy of the tender
deliverance” (1 Nephi 1:20).
mercies of the Lord will do much to fortify and protect
us in the troubled times in which we do now and will yet
In April 2005, Elder David A. Bednar testified that
“the tender mercies of the Lord are real and that they do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence.” He explained that “the Lord’s tender mercies are the very
live.”1
The latest volume in the Saints at War series shares
faith-promoting first-person accounts written by Latterday Saint men and women who served in the Gulf War, the War in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War. Many of the experiences outline tender mercies and miracles, both large and small, received by Latter-day Saints during those military conflicts. For each war, the book provides a timeline, a history of the Church’s presence in the country or region, and a rich set of photos submitted by participants in the war effort.
“The simpleness, the sweetness, and the constancy of the tender mercies of the Lord will do much to fortify and protect us in the troubled times in which we do now and will yet live.” —Elder David A. Bednar The armored vehicle that Elder William K. Jackson was riding in was attacked by a suicide bomber. This photo shows the damage the vehicle sustained. Courtesy of William K. Jackson.
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