Among “amateur” LDS scholars (however you want to define that), Morgan Deane is, in my estimation, unfairly overlooked. While his specialty – military history – is something of a niche (though it shouldn’t be), it readily works with the Book of Mormon, especially with the accounts of wars.
Part of the issue, methinks, is that “war” and “violence” are not particularly palatable topics amongst academics, and so we get occasionally forced eisegesis like the kind in the book Proclaim Peace (which, I think, has a decent premise taken way too far; we really should eschew violence as often as possible and proclaim peace, but given that one of the authors of that book has backed away somewhat from his absolutist stance, perhaps more nuance will appear in the discussion soon).
In To Stop a Slaughter: Just War and the Book of Mormon, Morgan Deane (who is probably our #1 expert on Ancient war and the Book of Mormon) explores the ideas of Just War theory (something Proclaim Peace bafflingly ignores) in both Western and Eastern (mostly Chinese) history and applies it to the Book of Mormon (with applicability to modern times as well, though the focus is mostly on the text of the Book of Mormon). He covers ideas like when self-defense is justified, and even argues for a limited justification of preemptive strikes in certain extreme instances.
All in all, this is a very comprehensive investigation of historical and modern just war theory, how it applies in various situations in the Book of Mormon, and how sometimes war can be justified, though always treated with caution and a clear vision. As he says near the end:
“The Book of Mormon shows that sincere conversion, a mighty change of heart, can lead former enemies to become good friends and lasting peace between them. We must not neglect that idea when turning our hearts over to Christ’s love and attempting to let our compassion and light shine. That sometimes includes, unfortunately, having our love motivate us to wield the sword. Or in this age, supporting the use of force. In short, Latter-day Saints can and should support warfare when it is an outgrowth of love and a protection of rights. They should support the war when it is fought in a way that doesn’t show hatred or create more victims. They must continue to support war to stop a slaughter . . . because the alternative is unchecked slaughter on a scale to make God weep”
While I, personally, am not totally convinced by his arguments over preemptive strikes, I must admit he has caused me to seriously reconsider some of my ideas and preconceptions. Even if you are in the “Proclaim Peace” camp, this book is a must read if you want to understand Just War in relation to the Book of Mormon. You may not agree, but you should at least fully understand what it is you aren’t agreeing with.
For those curious about modern applications of pre-emptive strikes, especially as applied post 9/11, I recommend a little book by John Lewis Gaddis called Surprise, Security and the American Experience, published by Harvard in 2004. I’ll revisit this with your recommendation above. Thanks.
I love Gaddis but I haven’t read that one yet. The best book I’ve read on the subject thus far is Mark Totten, First Strike: American, Terrorism and Moral Tradition.