Alma 56

2,000 Stripling Warriors

We can learn great lessons from the faithful example of youth in the Lord’s Church. During a time of great war, Helaman led 2,000 valiant young men to victories that saved many lives. This lesson is intended to help you understand that as you courageously exercise faith in Jesus Christ, the Lord will bless you with His power.

Recognize that your students have divine potential. Remember that each student is a child of God. When students know you believe in their ability to become more like Jesus Christ, their confidence in their potential will grow. Acknowledge when students strive to be more obedient, treat others with kindness, and act in faith.

Student preparation: Consider inviting students to think of an example of a youth or group of youth who showed great faith in the Lord despite difficult challenges.

Possible Learning Activities

Having courage

Consider writing on the board the following tasks that may be scary or difficult. You could add or change tasks to be more relevant to your students. Additional examples of tasks include the following: share your testimony, share the gospel with a friend, and repent.

Imagine how you would feel, and why, if you were asked to do the following:

• Serve a full-time mission

• Keep the commandments even if they are unpopular

• Speak in church or teach a lesson

Invite a few students to select one of the tasks and share how they would feel and why.

• What doubts might you feel tempted to have in these situations?

To prepare students to understand the relevance of what they are about to study, invite them to carefully do the following:

In your study journal, write one thing the Lord may want you to do now or soon that may be scary or difficult for you. You can also record any doubts or concerns you might have. (You will return to this entry later in the lesson.)

Ponder what you would have to know or understand to face this task with confidence. As you study, seek the Lord’s guidance to help you find and understand truths that will help you.

Helaman’s epistle to Moroni

Alma 56–58 is a letter that Helaman wrote to Captain Moroni during the war. Helaman wrote about a group of young men from the Anti-Nephi-Lehies known as the 2,000 stripling warriors. These young men led by Helaman joined with an army led by Antipus and prepared to defend their land and families against the Lamanites (see Alma 56:9–12).

Help students understand what happens in Alma 56:30–44. Some ways you could do this include the following:

1. Write the following matching activity on the board, or give students a copy of the handout. The answers to the matching activity are 1-a, 2-c, 3-d, 4-b.

2. Have three students at the front of the room wear name tags designating each of them as one of the three armies (The 2,000 Stripling Warriors, Antipus’s Army, Lamanite Army). The students at the front of the room could reenact the movements of the armies as students read the verses.

The Situation the 2,000 Stripling Warriors Faced

Book of Mormon Teacher Manual (2024)—“Alma 56: 2,000 Stripling Warriors”

To learn about a scary and difficult situation the sons of Helaman faced, read the following verses and match them to the correct summary statements.

1.___Alma 56:30–33	a. Antipus ordered Helaman and his 2,000 warriors to pass by Antiparah in an attempt to draw the Lamanites out of the city.
2.___Alma 56:34–38	b. After three days, the 2,000 warriors could no longer see the Lamanites behind them. They did not know if Antipus’s army had caught up to the Lamanites or if the Lamanites were trying to lure them into a trap. Helaman asked his young soldiers if they were willing to go to battle.
3.___Alma 56:39–42	c. When the Lamanites left the city to attack the 2,000 warriors, Antipus’s army followed the Lamanites.
4.___Alma 56:43–44	d. Instead of turning to fight Antipus, the Lamanites sped up, hoping to slay Helaman’s army before Antipus could attack from behind.

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Deciding whether to fight

Imagine you had been with the stripling warriors and were asked whether you were prepared to go to battle. How might you respond? What would impact your decision?

Read Alma 56:45–48, looking for what these young men decided to do and why.

Invite students to share what they found. If they do not naturally share the answers to the following questions, consider asking them the questions.

• According to verse 46, what did these young men know?

  Consider encouraging students to underline the answer to this question in their scriptures.

• Who taught them this truth? (See Alma 56:47–48.)

• How might this truth have given them the courage to go into battle?

Imagine how God may have felt as these young men trusted so entirely in Him while in a frightening and challenging situation.

Protection in battle

Read Alma 56:49–56, and look for what happened as the stripling warriors courageously “did not doubt” (Alma 56:47), or in other words, exercised their faith in God.

• What did you learn from these verses?

One of the principles we can learn from the stripling warriors is that as we have the courage to act in faith, we will receive strength from God.

It is important to know that while God preserved all of Helaman’s army, He may not always physically preserve the faithful. But He will always bless them in ways He knows will benefit their souls (see Alma 60:12–13).

• What does this account teach you about God and His strength?

Invite students to select and complete one of the following activities to help them liken the account of Helaman’s army to themselves and their circumstances. It may be helpful to display the options so students can refer to them as they choose and complete them. Let students know that they will have the opportunity to share their findings with their classmates.

Option A. Real-life situations

Identify a situation in which today’s youth may need to choose to courageously act in faith like Helaman’s faithful young soldiers did. List a few doubts youth might have in that situation. Then list one or two ways youth could exercise faith in God despite having doubts. Share ways that Heavenly Father might bless them with strength as they act in faith.

Option B. Their mothers taught them

Write about your mother or another woman in your life who, like the mothers of the stripling warriors, has taught you to have faith in God and Jesus Christ. Take a moment to record what she has taught you both in word and by example and how she has influenced you. You might include ways you have followed her example to exercise faith in the Lord and experience His strength.

Invite students to report what they learned to the class. It may help to first invite them to share with a classmate who chose a different option than they did.

Think about one thing the Lord may want you to do now or soon that may be scary or difficult for you. You can also recall any doubts or concerns you might have. In your study journal, write what you know about God and what you learned about Him from the account of the stripling warriors that may help you in this situation. You may include ways you feel inspired to show faith in Him and how He may strengthen you.

Commentary and Background Information

How can I have courage today?

President Thomas S. Monson (1927–2018) stated:

Courage comes in many forms. Wrote the Christian author Charles Swindoll: “Courage is not limited to the battlefield … or bravely catching a thief in your house. The real tests of courage are much quieter. They are inner tests, like remaining faithful when no one’s looking, … like standing alone when you’re misunderstood.” I would add that this inner courage also includes doing the right thing even though we may be afraid, defending our beliefs at the risk of being ridiculed, and maintaining those beliefs even when threatened with a loss of friends or of social status. He who stands steadfastly for that which is right must risk becoming at times disapproved and unpopular. (Thomas S. Monson, “Be Strong and of a Good Courage,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2014, 67)

What role does our testimony of Jesus Christ play in helping us be courageous?

President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency explained:

The Lord told His leaders of the Restoration, and He tells us, that when we stand with faith upon His rock, doubt and fear are diminished; the desire to do good increases. As we accept President Monson’s invitation to plant in our hearts a testimony of Jesus Christ, we gain the power, the desire, and the courage to go to the rescue of others without concern for our own needs. (Henry B. Eyring, “Fear Not to Do Good,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2017, 101)

What if I try to be faithful and do not feel like the deliverance is coming?

Elder Alvin F. Meredith III of the Seventy counseled:

In the face of affliction or trial, you may be like me and hope that the rescue will be immediate. … When we must wait, rest assured that the Savior is always watching, ensuring that we will not have to endure more than we can bear. To those who are waiting … , perhaps still in the midst of suffering, do not lose hope. Rescue always comes to the faithful, whether during mortality or in the eternities. (Alvin F. Meredith III, “Look down the Road,” Liahona, Nov. 2021, 115–16)

Supplemental Learning Activities

The role of parents in teaching children

Helaman mentioned the role of mothers in strengthening the faith of Helaman’s army (see Alma 56:47–48). Being sensitive to students in different family situations, invite them to think about the following questions: What role have family members and others played in building your faith? What can you do to strengthen the faith of your family and friends? Invite students to write a note of appreciation to someone who has taught them the gospel.

Teaching multiple lessons in one day

If you would like to teach about the stripling warriors in one lesson, consider inviting students to ponder what characteristics they want in their lives. Then invite them to look for the characteristics of the stripling warriors in Alma 53:16–21, Alma 56:45–48; 57:19–21; 26–27. They could then draw a quick illustration of themselves and write characteristics they have in common with the stripling warriors and characteristics they would like to develop to more fully follow the Lord.