A Stripling-Warrior Family

By Sister Michelle D. Craig

First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency

“Ye must take upon you the name of Christ, which is my name” (3 Nephi 27:5).

I once visited a family in Chile. Their father had died in an accident a month before I came. One of the children was a boy named Benjamin. He was 10 years old.

Before his dad’s accident, Benjamin gave a family home evening lesson. It was about the stripling warriors from the Book of Mormon (see Alma 53:16–22; 56:42–57). He talked about how brave they were and how they trusted God.

When Benjamin’s mom heard about the accident, she thought of Benjamin’s lesson. She told her family, “We need to be brave like the stripling warriors. We have another battle to fight.”

It was hard for Benjamin’s family. It felt like their lives were turned upside down. They had to move to another house to live with their grandma. And they really missed their dad. But they knew they would be together with him again someday. They decided to be a stripling warrior family. Benjamin told us, “I’m being brave.”

I walked into their house wanting to comfort them. But I was the one who left feeling blessed. Benjamin and his family are fighting this battle so bravely. Their faith is inspiring to me.

We can all be brave like Benjamin. Being brave doesn’t mean never being sad or afraid. It means having faith that Heavenly Father will help us get through tough times. When hard things come our way, we can choose to trust in Him. We can all be stripling warriors!