Week Three: For They are Worthy to be Called Sons.

This last week in my Book of Mormon class, we started my favorite chapters, commonly called, "The war chapters." I seriously gobble these things right up. Anyways, there is so much that could be said about these chapters (seriously if you've never read them, or if its been a while, read em!) but I'll try to keep tonight's post focused on one of my favorite groups of all time, the stripling warriors.

Nearly a hundred years before Christ came (somewhere between 90-70 BC) a very wicked part of the Lamanites converted to Christianity. Before their conversion, they had fought in a lot of wars, and killed a lot of people. Shortly after joining the church, they made a covenant with God that they would never again pick up a sword, even in defense. To seal their promise, they buried all of their weapons of war deep in the earth. They took on the name Anti-Nephi-Lehi's, but eventually simply were called the people of Ammon. As time went one, the people of Ammon joined the Nephites who were also Christians. The Nephites gave them land and protected them in times of war. Now lets fast forward a little bit.

In about 64 BC, the Nephites were in a HUGE war with the Lamanites. The people of Ammon wanted to help in the war effort desperately. "They saw the danger, and the many afflictions and tribulations which the Nephites bore for them, they were moved with compassion and were desirous to take up arms  in the defense of their country" (Alma 53: 13). However, just as they were about to take up arms, Heleman (a leader of the church, army guy, and Nephite) stopped them, and basically refused to let them go to battle because he was scared that if they broke their covenant, "they should lose their souls (basically, the Lord would punish them)" (Alma 53:15)

Finally, the people of Ammon realized that though they had made a covenant with the Lord to never again take up arms, their sons  hadn't. And so, 2000 young men, ages 13-26, gathered together and elected Helaman as their leader to form The Army of Helamen. Shortly after forming the army, this is what the Book of Mormon says about them:

"And they were all young men, and they were exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and activity; but behold, this was not all--they were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted."
 
I absolutely love the way Heleman talks about these boys. He calls them "my two thousand sons "for they were worthy to be called sons," "those sons of mine," "my little sons," "my sons," "my stripling Ammonites," and "my little band" over and over throughout 56 and the following chapters.

Soon, these boys joined other Nephite armies.

Now, these boys literally knew nothing about fighting. They hadn't even played with swords as kids. They were young, and no one from the outside world would have thought that they could succeed.

They had every reason in the world to be terrified. The Lamanite numbers were huge, and many were really experienced. Here's what Heleman said about his sons while writing to a higher army official, Moroni:

"I say unto you, my beloved brother Moroni, that never had I seen so great courage, nay, not amongst all the Nephites...behold, our God is with us, and he will not suffer that we should fall...Now they had never 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...they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers saying: We do not doubt, our mothers knew it."

When in battle, they "fought most desperately" against the Lamanites. They "fought as if with the strength of God; yea, never were men known to have fought with such miraculous strength."

At the end of the battle, not one of the 2,000 Ammonites, the stripling warriors, been killed.

Though there was death all around them, that little army, with no experience, was spared.

 Now I've only read two more battles ahead of this point, but still, even then, none of them have died in battle.

Anyways, here's a little bit of what I got out of it:

• -If you keep your covenants and have faith in Christ, He will always help you find a way. Some of the details of the battles included a lot of trick plays from the Nephites. The Lord was helping them find a way to protect their people. Temptation and sin is the same, if we are righteous, He will help us find a way to escape.

• The Lord trusts His youth who have faith in Him. The 2000 had little experience, and no one expected them to succeed. I think Satan wants us to think today "Ha, look @ those 18 and 19 year-olds thinking they can spread the gospel,"  but I can only imagine the look of true horror on Satan's face when he heard the missionary announcement last October. You could say today's fight against sin is heating up.  Bring it on.

In this story, Heleman is a type of Christ. He is the guy in charge one of the armies for the good guys. Christ and Heavenly Father are in charge of the battle here on earth. Just like Heleman says that the 2000 were worthy to be called his sons, I hope to live my life in a way that at the end of it, Heavenly Father will be proud to call me His daughter.

Week Two: For When They Saw Your Conduct

Alma 39 in the Book of Mormon is all about Alma's (an ancient prophet from the ancient America's) advice to his son, Corianton . At this point, Alma, Corianton, and his brothers, have been on a gospel mission for quite some time. Heleman, the oldest son, gets gold stars from his father. He is an incredible missionary, and he's brought many people to the gospel. Shiblon, the second son has also done a lot of good for the church. He's not as... celebrated (idk if that's the right word) as Heleman, but he is a good man who serves the Lord. Corianton, on the other hand, isn't stalwart in the gospel like his brothers. According to Alma, he doesn't listen, is cocky, forsakes the ministry, and goes after the harlot, Isabel.

Alma says, "O my son, how great iniquity ye brought upon the Zoramites (the people they were teaching); for when they saw your conduct, they would not believe in my words."

For when they saw your conduct....

This scripture just reminded me how important it is to watch my own conduct. Not because I'm in the same boat as Corianton, but because you never know who is watching.  I just hope that if someone were to watch my conduct, it would make them want to learn more about the doctrine of Christ rather than turn away.


Not one of us is perfect, not me,  not Corianton, or even Alma. But that's okay. As long as we try our best to become more like Christ, and rely on his atonement, it will all work out in the end.

Week One: Thou Didst Hear Me.

In Alma Chapter 33 of the Book of Mormon, the ancient prophet, Alma, teaches about prayer. He focuses a lot on the idea that prayers can be offered virtually anywhere at anytime. In fact, he quotes another prophet, Zenos, saying that the Lord was merciful and  heard his cries regardless of whether he was in his home, his field, or even his closet. Seven times he says that the Lord heard him. "I did cry unto thee in my field...and thou didst hear me." "When I did turn to my house thou didst hear me." "Thou has also heard me when I have been cast out and have been despised by mine enemies; yea, thou didst hear my cries." Finally, he brings it home by saying, (and I just love this part) "And it is because of thy Son that thou has been merciful unto me, therefore I will cry unto thee in all mine afflictions, for in thee is my joy;"
Now, I've never felt truly "cast out" and "despised," but I've still always felt like the Lord heard my cries. Whether the problems be big or small, He has never failed to answer me.

Here's just one example. Because I'm intending to turn this blog to a missionary blog, I think it'd be appropriate to start with you from the beginning. My decision to serve a mission.

Since I was about 14 I've had a desire to serve a mission. When I say desire, I mean that I decided that if I wasn't married when I was 21, I thought it would be something I'd enjoy. But 21 was so far away, and I hated the uncertainty of the typical plan "if I'm not married I'll go."

Then, like a quadrillion other girls, President Monson's announcement that missionary girls can now begin serving at 19 changed my life in only a few seconds. I quickly called my mom, and we talked about how exciting this news was. After a few minutes she asked me, "So are you gonna do it?" I responded with a, "Ya, mom, I really think I am." "I thought you would" was her reply.

About a month and a half later, I began to have doubts. I had prayed about whether  I should take advantage of this new opportunity, and it seemed like a good idea...but I was just really worried. What if this wasn't really Heavenly Father's plan for me? Did I want to serve for the right reasons, or was I just worried about being left out? Nineteen is just so young to go through the temple, what if I wasn't ready?

Then, one morning I was rummaging through the fridge when I saw a magnet my roommate had put up. It said something like "Learning the Lord's Will Can Give Direction to Our Lives" with a list of things you can do to find direction. Boy, if there was one thing I needed, it was direction. So I just started going down the list. After praying, I felt like the next step was for me to ask for a Priesthood blessing.

I had never just asked for a blessing before, but considering that my decision would without a doubt effect the rest of my life, I called up my dad and arranged a time for me to meet him in his office. Upon arrival, me and my dad just talked for a while about my concerns, and he gave me some great advice (like he always does, seriously, my dad rocks at advice). I won't share the details of the blessing, but afterwords I knew that the Lord would let me know, very soon, and very personally what I should choose. My confusion didn't go away, but at least my fears were calming down. He wouldn't leave me hanging, not with something this important.

The next day I went to the temple and read my patriarchal blessing. Going on a mission still seemed like a good idea, but I still didn't have the real confirmation that I needed.

The next day, the only thing left that I could think of and hadn't tried was fasting. It was a Sunday, and I went to class like normal... Though I'd been doing my best to be close to The Spirit, nothing seemed to pop out at me during Sacrament Meeting or Sunday School.

Then it came.

Sitting in class, listening to the teacher as she talked about something not relating to missions at all, my answer came. It's kind of hard to explain. The Spirit had been in our meeting and all of the sudden I felt like my mind was opened. Very clearly, I knew my answer. Whether I served a mission or not was completely, 100% my choice. I always had felt like there was ONE path that Heavenly Father wanted me to find. But sitting in that meeting, I realized how false that idea was. Heavenly Father loves us, and it doesn't matter which decision I made, He would bless me, and He would give me work to do.

I don't know if that makes any sense, but in that moment I decided that I was going to go on a mission, not because I felt like I had to to fulfill a secret plan, but because I truly wanted to. I want those missionary experiences. I want the long days, and the discussions, and the new culture, and people, and the discouragement, and the joys, and the service, and the families, and the conviction, and the worn shoes, and the ability to teach. I want to be a missionary.

From that moment on, my decision has been made. In fact, I'm expecting my call to serve as early as next week. The answer to my prayer may seem strange to some, but I know that what I felt was The Spirit. It was so strong, and so clear, and so comforting, it couldn't have been anything else.

Like Zenos, I can testify that thou didst hear me.

Getting Started

For my Book of Mormon Class this semester, I have to write weekly reflections on what we've read in class, and share them somehow.   I figure that while I'm serving a mission, my family will probably post my weekly letter to friends and family somewhere anyways, so I might as well make a blog that I can use now for BoM, and my family later to give updates on how I'm doing in the mission field. Here it goes!