Area Leadership Message
And They Were Not Afraid
In the Book of Mormon, we read the detailed stories of war from a prophet and military leader named Helaman. He was the same Helaman who faithfully led the 2,000 young men in battle. After the battle had been won, Helaman explained how these young men were victorious because “they [were] young, and their minds [were] firm, and they [did] put their trust in God continually” (Alma 57:27).
These young men, along with the other men in Helaman’s army, continued to fight under his direction and went on with the task of obtaining the city of Manti from the Lamanite army (See Alma 58). This was no small goal; the Lamanite army was much larger and was also better positioned for battle. In addition, Helaman’s army was lacking in provisions and strength and even as Helaman sent word asking for assistance, none came to their aid. He says, “we did wait in these difficult circumstances for the space of many months, even until we were about to perish” (Alma 58:7).
They did not know why help never came but they “were grieved and also filled with fear” (Alma 58:9).
But something changed in the way Helaman decided to move forward in the middle of such difficult circumstances. He says, “Therefore we did pour out our souls in prayer to God, that he would strengthen us and deliver us out of the hands of our enemies, yea, and also give us strength that we might retain our cities, and our lands, and our possessions, for the support of our people” (Alma 58:10).
In the middle of their trial, Helaman chose to repent and turn to our Father in Heaven for deliverance. We often think of repentance as a painful or shameful step that we must go through after we have committed a sin. But repentance is a gift; it is our ability to change our understanding and develop a new perspective about God and about ourselves and about the world. Without repentance we cannot move forward. Without it we cannot truly abandon our natural ways and thereby put our complete trust in Him who has all power to deliver (See Bible Dictionary, “Repentance”).
After this change of heart, Helaman explains the change that took place in them. We read “And we did take courage with our small force which we had received and were fixed with a determination to conquer our enemies, and to maintain our lands, and our possessions, and our wives, and our children, and the cause of our liberty” (Alma 58:12).
Helaman goes on to explain the strategy they employed to conquer the city of Manti and they did so without the shedding of blood. Their circumstances did not change. The Lord did not remove them from their situation, and aid never came, but He gave them the courage and hope they needed to face their trials. Helaman explains, “We do not know the cause that the government does not grant us more strength. . . .
“We do not desire to murmur. . . .
“But behold it mattereth not—we trust God will deliver us, notwithstanding the weakness of our armies, yea, and deliver us out of the hands of our enemies” (Alma 58: 34–35, 37).
When I was a young mother, I remember wondering why the Book of Mormon had so many accounts of wars and even hesitated when reading them to my children. But over the years I have grown to see how the Book of Mormon was written for our day and these chapters provide so much insight and guidance for our lives today. We are constantly at war. We war against the evils of this world, we war against insecurity and injustice, war against famine, war against our own natural man, and even war against our own mental prisons. At times we may find ourselves falling to our knees in despair when the darkness of the world conspires against us.
Like Helaman and his army, we may struggle to find our way out and wonder why we are not getting the aid we seek. But we too can repent and choose to “remember the Lord [our] God from day to day; yea [to] observe to keep his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments continually; [because our] faith is strong in the prophecies concerning that which is to come” (Alma 58:40).
We will continue to listen to our faith more than we do our fears. We will seek healing, knowledge, and understanding. We will continue to pray and teach our children to pray. And when we falter, we will not be discouraged but will use the marvelous gift of repentance to change, to learn, and to grow. We will continue to share the message of the gospel. We will continue to march to the temples and obtain the blessings we have been promised. We will continue to “mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times” (Mosiah 18:9).
Our minds are firm, and our trust is in God. We will not be afraid but will stand in hope for better days to come, for we know whom we serve.