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My understanding about Mormon beliefs is that they do serve in armed forces in the country where they live.

Also I may be incorrect but, looking at this question, it seems that Mormons hold the United States in an especially high regard among nations. This can also be seen from the talk "This Nation Shall Endure" (by Ezra Taft Benson, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in 1973) linked to the accepted answer to the question.

So the question I wanted to ask is about Mormons living in Russia (where, according to this page, the church has 23,180 adherents).

Edited to a single question:

If a war broke out between Russia and the USA, would Mormons in Russia be instructed to not to fight, considering perhaps reasons such as that it could destroy the United States constitution?

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  • Removed question 1 ("If a war broke out between Russia and the USA, would Mormons in USA the Russian army fight against the United States?") and modified question 2. The question is now asking about the current existing beliefs of a US-based religious organization and as such is neither philosophical or sociological.
    – user19845
    Jun 5, 2017 at 1:52

1 Answer 1

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Latter-day Saints abide the law of the land in which they live; honorably answering a call when conscripted for military service is part of this belief. Volunteer military service is also respected as a way of serving one's country. Latter-day Saints should live in accordance with the revealed will of the Lord and according to their own conscience.

Latter-day Saints in the military do not need to feel torn between their country and their God. In the Church, “we believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law” (Articles of Faith 1:12). Military service shows dedication to this principle.

(From https://www.lds.org/topics/war)

This happened in WW2. There's even a movie based on a true account about this ("Saints and Soldiers"). War is awful, but Mormons accept this reality where they do not have the power to avoid it.

Further reading: http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/military-service

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  • Hi Matt, thank you for your answer. It is much appreciated. But considering that the Mormons view the US Constitution as (in some sense) "inspired by God", would it not be wrong for Mormons in other countries to fight against the US?
    – user19845
    May 26, 2017 at 17:24
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    The implications of this stance seem to be pretty broad. Does this mean that if a Mormon was given the option to disobey God or else die a martyr, they would disobey God? Or is war the only exception to being excused from their conscience?
    – user32540
    May 26, 2017 at 17:42
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    "War is awful, but Mormons accept this reality where they do not have the power to avoid it." If Mormons avoid war when possible, then why do they volunteer for military service? I can't tell if the conflicting statements in this answer indicate an incorrect answer, or if these are the actual beliefs of Mormons.
    – user32540
    May 26, 2017 at 20:03
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    I do gather, from the provided links and from Matt's answer that Mormons would serve in the armed forces of the country they live in, even if that country happened to be Russia. What was not so clear is whether they have any opinion on their foreign church members warring against USA, but considering the material found so far it looks like no formal church opinion exists on this subject.
    – user19845
    May 26, 2017 at 23:32
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    Also if one looks at books such as "Shades of Gray: Memoirs of a Prussian Saint on the Eastern Front" and "The Hitler Dilemma: A Mormon Boy in the German Army" (which is labelled as "a novel based on true events"), it seems that there are no official church statement regarding fighting in forces that are hostile to the United States. So the gathered information seems to cover my original questions, unless any other Mormon has other thoughts.
    – user19845
    May 26, 2017 at 23:50