Book of Mormon 32 - “They Did Obey … Every Word of Command with Exactness”

The War Scriptures continue in Alma 53 to 63. Alma 53 begins one of my favourite stories from scripture, the account of the 2,000 Stripling Warriors who marched under the leadership of Helaman.  These warriors were the sons of the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi, also referred to as the people of Ammon. These people were Lamanites, converted by Ammon and his brethren, brought to the land of Zarahemla, and put under the protection of the Nephites. In Alma 53:11 it states, “…they had taken an oath that they never would shed blood more.” When the people of Ammon saw the suffering of the Nephites in their conflicts with the Lamanites, they were moved to take up arms and support the Nephite war effort. Helaman persuaded them not to do this. In Alma 53:15 it says, “And Helaman feared lest by so doing they should lose their souls.” The people of Ammon had sons, who had not entered into the covenant to refrain from fighting and shedding blood. In Alma 53:17 it states that these young men “entered into a covenant to fight for the liberty of the Nephites, yea, to protect the land unto the laying down of their lives…” They swore to never give up their liberty. Alma 53:22 reads, “And now it came to pass that Helaman did march at the head of his two thousand stripling soldiers, to the support of his people in the borders of the land…”

Two Thousand Young Warriors by Freiberg (left); Two Thousand Stripling Warriors by Brickey (right)

The previous two photos are both of the Stripling Warriors. The reality of the first photo has been put into question in recent years. Phelps (2016, That’s not what *Stripling* Warriors would actually look like…, in Happiness Seekers) questioned, “But aren’t we doing the story a disservice by imagining a legion of 18-25 year old warriors who apparently had access to a 24 hr gym and a highly specialized regimen of supplements?” Phelps supported his argument with the definition of stripling that would have been Joseph Smith’s understanding of the word, as it is the definition from the online 1928 Webster’s Dictionary. It says, “…primarily a tall slender youth, one that shoots up suddenly, A youth in the state of adolescence, or just passing from boyhood to manhood; a lad.” I have thought about, and personally believe, that reality lies somewhere between the two. It is true that Māori and Polynesian youth (whom I believe are closely related to the Lamanite youth in Helaman’s army), from 18-25 years of age, are particularly well developed. I have two Māori sons in that age group, who do not work out excessively or take supplements, but both are over 6 feet tall and are definitely young “men”. The Stripling Warriors worked the land. They were taught to work hard and even the younger boys would have been physically fit. So yes, maybe the traditional painting we have seen for many years may be a trifle glamorised, but, I believe, it is not that far from the truth.

Farewell Stripling Warrior by Parsons

The Stripling Warriors may not have all been tall and athletic, but their souls were the souls of true warriors. In Alma 53:20 it reads, “…they were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted.” Brother Bytheway (Video 2006 Ed Week, Righteous warriors: Lessons from the War Chapters) made a very thought-provoking statement based on this verse of scripture. He said, “If you know the church is true, be true to the church.”

The end of Brother Bytheway’s Lessons from the War Chapters, covers Alma 53 to 55, then presents a summary of the spiritual lessons in the last chapters. Alma 54 leaves the Stripling Warriors and deals with Ammaron and Moroni. Ammaron sent a letter to Moroni requesting a prisoner exchange. Moroni’s reply is powerful and unwavering in righteousness. In Alma 54:6, Moroni says to Ammaron, “the justice of God, and the sword of his almighty wrath…doth hang over you except ye repent and withdraw your armies…” He teaches Ammaron an important spiritual lesson, i.e. fear God more than any army! He calls Ammaron “a child of hell” (Alma 54:11). Brother Bytheway suggests that the spiritual lesson in Moroni’s boldness is that meekness does not mean weakness. He defined meekness as great power under control, or great power that is submissive to its master. 

The story behind the release of the Nephite prisoners, in Alma 55, is better than any movie script. Moroni sends a Lamanite by birth, Laman, to give wine to the Lamanite guards. When they are in a drunken stupor, Moroni and his men cast weapons of war, over the wall, to the Nephite prisoners. The Lamanites surrender when they discover they are surrounded by Nephites outside the city walls, and faced with armed prisoners within the city walls! Moroni achieves great success without shedding blood. In Alma 55:31 it states, “But behold, the Nephites were not slow to remember the Lord their God in this their time of affliction…” Isn’t this a wonderful message for all of us? 

In Alma 56, we return to the Stripling Warriors. Helaman marches with his army to Judea, to support Antipas and his army. Another 2,000 soldiers join them from Zarahemla. A clever strategy is used to draw the Lamanite army away from the city of Antiparah. They believe they are chasing Helaman’s young men, without realizing that Antipus and his army are pursuing them. When Helaman realises the Lamanites are no longer in pursuit, he says to his warriors, “…what say ye my sons, will ye go against them to battle?” (Alma 56:42) Their reply is a demonstration of pure faith, “Father, behold our God is with us, and he will not suffer that we should fall…therefore let us go…” (Alma 56:46). Then Helaman states, “Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them” (Alma 56:47). After a successful encounter with the Lamanites, Helaman feared that some of his young men were slain. In Alma 56:56, Helaman rejoices, “But behold, to my great joy, there had not one soul of them fallen to the earth;”

In Alma 57, the Stripling Warriors are joined by 60 more sons of the people of Ammon. These 2,060 young warriors fight with the Nephites against Ammoron’s men, to take the city of Antiparah. In Alma 57:21, it states, “Yea, and they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them; and I did remember the words which they said unto me that their mothers had taught them.” The fighting is vicious and all of Helaman’s young men are injured. Yet, not one loses his life! A thousand Nephite soldiers are slain, but not one Stripling Warrior! In Alma 57:27, we read, “…they are young, and their minds are firm, and they do put their trust in God continually.”

The spiritual and temporal lessons from the War Chapters, chapters 53 to 63, are summarised in the chart below. (Brother Bytheway’s Lessons from the War Chapters).

The most important lesson for me was the power of a righteous mother. I am in awe of the mothers of the Stripling Warriors. I would dearly love to be half as faithful as they were. I would love to say that I have prepared my striplings with the same unwavering faith. I have not been anywhere near as successful as I would like. But, I do acknowledge that I know the power of a good mother.

I have always loved this Tribute to Mothers that was released, by the Church, on Mother’s Day, 2014.

In Thoughts, memories and tributes to mothers from LDS Church leaders (Deseret News, May 7, 2015), there are some wonderful, inspiring words to mothers and about mothers. Some of the ones that I selected for my own motivation are:

**Elder Neal A. Maxwell, “We men love you for meeting inconsiderateness with consideration and selfishness with selflessness. We are touched by the eloquence of your example.”

**President James E. Faust, “There is no limit to what a woman with a mother heart can accomplish. Righteous women have changed the course of history and will continue to do so, and their influence will spread and grow exponentially throughout the eternities.”

**Sister Elaine S. Dalton, on her own mother, “She understood what it meant to be a covenant keeper. She was never recognized by the world. She didn’t want that. She understood who she was and whose she was – a daughter of God. Indeed, it can be said of our mother that she acted well her part.”

One mother who has always inspired me is Mary, the other of Jesus. Imagine what a valiant spirit she must have been in the pre-existence, to be chosen as the Lord’s mother in mortality! This beautiful song, by Pentatonix, was released on a Christmas album. However, to me it is an everyday inspiration, a tribute to one of the most amazing mothers who has ever lived.

I must pay tribute to my own mother. She is truly a rare gem! My mum was a pioneer in the church. My mother joined the church in 1953, three years before I was born. The spectacular thing about that was that she was the very first member of the church in Kitwe, Zambia! Initial meetings in Kitwe were with my mum and the missionaries. Shortly after mum’s baptism, a friend of hers joined the church, making meetings of four members! My mum waited 11 years, before my father joined her in the gospel.

Mum started genealogy just two years after joining the church. One night she had a dream that was unforgettable. She saw her Nanna Mary Anne standing next to her bed. Mum felt scared as her nanna did not seem to be standing on the floor. She was dressed all in white. She spoke mum’s name, but mum did not want to consider the possibility it was really her! She held out her hand to mum. Mum noticed her very curved, smallest finger and she knew it was definitely her nanna. She said something about the temple, but, as mum was still nervous, she wasn’t sure of the exact words. Nanna left. Mum realised that her nanna wanted her name sent to the temple. Mum sent her name as soon as she possibly could.

My mum has sent many thousands of family names to the temple. Some of the family lines go back more than 16 generations. Mum instilled a love of family and genealogy into both her daughters. I remember family holidays in South Africa. My parents, my sister and I, would have family history holidays! We would visit archives, cemeteries, and old churches. I had several experiences where the spirit world was so close to our temporal world that miracles occurred. It would take a volume to include those experiences here. I am still working full-time, but my sister has been able to follow mum’s example and complete two family history missions.

When we lived in Christchurch, my parents worked as Directors in the Name Extraction programme. That work later continued when they moved to Hamilton. Thousands of names were again prepared for temple ordinances. My father passed away in 2001. Since then mum has never let a day go past without a dedicated effort in family history work. She started the indexing programme in January 2007. Her total to date is 20,112 indexed and 36,393 arbitrated. Her FamilySearch points calculated for degree of difficulty achieved is 123,863! She is such an inspiration. My mum’s birthday is next week and she will be turning 93. She is amazing!

Mum has always made time for me. I always knew she would be there if I needed her. Over the years, she has been my inspiration, my teacher, my adviser, my confidante, my accountant, my proof-reader, and my best friend. She is the best mother and the best grandmother! I love her dearly and I consider myself so fortunate to have her in my life.