At this long-awaited and very important rite of passage in your life, Sister Clark and I extend to you our congratulations and our love.
My purpose today is to look ahead briefly at the opportunities that lie before you and to give you three very specific and practical things you can do to realize the great promise that is yours.
Brothers and sisters, it is your destiny to live in a time of wonderful blessings—but also great wickedness, challenge, and turmoil. With that future in mind, we have sought to prepare you to become a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ and a leader in your families, in the Church, and in the world around you. There is a Primary song that captures much of what I feel about you and what lies before you. The chorus of the song goes like this:
We are as the army of Helaman.
We have been taught in our youth.
And we will be the Lord’s missionaries
To bring the world his truth.[1]
Every time I hear that song the Spirit bears witness it is true. You really are as the army of Helaman, and you really will build the kingdom of God and bring the world His truth. I would like to reflect with you for a few moments today about what it means to be “as the army of Helaman.”
The Army of Helaman
In Alma, chapters 56 and 57, we read the story of the 2,000 young men of the people of Ammon who volunteered to fight in the great war between the Nephites and the Lamanites. This is the army of Helaman. Theirs is a story of faith and courage. With no previous experience, but with great faith, they went to war and fought with “miraculous strength” under the leadership of Helaman. They faced the Lamanites in many battles, but not one of them was killed.
In Alma 57:27, Helaman describes the characteristics that set his army apart:
Now this was the faith of these of whom I have spoken; they are young, and their minds are firm, and they do put their trust in God continually.[2]
These three characteristics capture the essence of what it means to be “as the army of Helaman.” I want to consider each characteristic with you today. But before I begin, you should know that being young has nothing to do with your age.
They Put Their Trust in God
The young men of the army of Helaman had never fought in war, but they had been well trained in warfare[3] and in matters of faith. Their mothers had taught them “. . . that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.”[4] I imagine that these young men had been raised on stories of the great prophets like Nephi. They knew of the power of obedience, and they put their faith in action. Helaman said of them, “. . . they are strict to remember the Lord their God from day to day; yea, they do observe to keep his . . . commandments continually; and their faith is strong . . . .”[5]
For the army of Helaman, obedience was both the foundation of trust and its most important evidence. So it is with you. The years ahead will be full of opportunity and challenge that will test you every bit as much as the army of Helaman. The only sure power of deliverance is to be as the army of Helaman and trust in God. So here is something practical to help you secure and sustain the faith and trust you need: always keep the commandments of God, no matter what. No matter how poor you are, no matter what problems arise, always pay your tithing. No matter what situations you are in or temptations you face, always live the Word of Wisdom. Always hold family home evening, keep the Sabbath day holy, and pray morning and night. Never compromise your divine heritage as sons and daughters of God by always living the law of chastity. Keep the commandments of God—no matter what.
Their Minds are Firm
The army of Helaman fought with great courage and strength. Helaman said of them, “. . . never had I seen so great courage . . . .”[6] As they faced the fury of the enemy, they were “. . . firm and undaunted”[7] so that Helaman could say of them, “. . . their minds are firm . . . .”[8] Their minds were not weary,[9] nor darkened by unbelief.[10] They did not “. . . halt . . . between two opinions . . .,”[11] nor were they “. . . double minded . . . .”[12] In the words of Paul, “. . . God hath not given [them] the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”[13]
This is your heritage. God has “. . . not given [you] the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind.” You will need to be in your lives as courageous, as steadfast, as committed as the army of Helaman. Here is something practical you can do to avoid the distractions, fear, corruption, and darkness of the world and have minds that are firm: establish an architecture of righteousness in your daily life. Build a structure in your daily life around four activities: (1) have personal and family prayer morning and night; (2) get up early and study and ponder the scriptures for at least 30 minutes every day, and then read the scriptures together as a family, every day; (3) hold a temple recommend and (if you live close enough) go to the temple every week; and (4) do missionary work—share the gospel; invite people to read the Book of Mormon, meet with the missionaries, or attend Church with you. I give you a promise: if you do these things in faith and diligence, you will not fear, nor be weary; your minds will be firm; and you will have courage and strength beyond your own.
They are Young
The members of the army of Helaman were young men (Helaman says they “were very young”), but their age was not what mattered in their faith. What really mattered was that they were young in heart. They were fresh and new, energetic and enthusiastic. They were childlike in their willingness to do whatever Helaman asked them to do. Their obedience was so precise and so careful that Helaman said of them, “. . . they did obey and observe . . . every word of command with exactness . . . .”[14]
All this means that in their character, in their attitudes, and in their hearts, the young men in the army of Helaman were children of Christ. They were like the people of King Benjamin who made sacred covenants with the Lord and were “. . . called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters . . . .”[15]
If you would be as the army of Helaman, you, too, must be young in heart. You must be a child of Christ and, in the words of King Benjamin:
. . . [put] off the natural man and [become] a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and [become] as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [you], even as a child doth submit to his father.[16]
Here is something very practical you can do to be a child of Christ: always accept and always magnify callings in the Church, and always volunteer to be of service in the kingdom. If your bishop calls you to be the nursery leader, accept and magnify. If your stake president calls you to be the stake director of physical activities or the Young Women camp director, accept and magnify. When opportunities come to volunteer for service, be the first person with your hand in the air, the first person with your name on the sign-up sheet. When the call goes out to shovel the sidewalks, or set up chairs, or take a meal to a ward member, or make a visit to the hospital, be the first one to stand up and say, “. . . Here am I; send me.”[17]
In conclusion, I would like to leave you with a summary, a request, and my testimony. By way of summary, I hope you will keep the commandments of the Lord, no matter what; create an architecture of righteousness in your daily life through prayer, scripture study, service in the temple, and sharing the gospel; always accept and magnify callings in the Church, and always volunteer for service in the kingdom. I bear witness to you that if you do these things, it will be said of you, as it was said of the 2,000 stripling warriors: “. . . they are young [in heart], . . . their minds are firm, and they do put their trust in God continually.”[18]
Here is the request: When you leave here today, please take the Spirit of Ricks with you. Please take BYU–Idaho and what it means and what it stands for with you. You now represent the university. I hope and pray that wherever you go, whatever you do, you will act in such a way that people around you will see in you the principles, the purposes, and the spirit of BYU–Idaho.
My dear brothers and sisters, I know God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, the promised Messiah. This is His work, His Church, and His Kingdom restored to the earth through the Prophet Joseph Smith. I know Gordon B. Hinckley is the prophet of God today. You have a great work to do in the kingdom. May the Lord be with you and watch over you all the days of your life. And may you be as the army of Helaman—firm and undaunted, faithful and true. In the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
[1] Janice Kapp Perry, “We’ll Bring the World His Truth,” Children’s Songbook, p. 172
[2] Alma 57:27
[3] Alma 56:5
[4] Alma 56:47
[5] Alma 58:40
[6] Alma 56:45
[7] Alma 57:20
[8] Alma 57:27
[9] D&C 84:80
[10] D&C 84:54
[11] 1 Kings 18:21
[12] James 1:8
[13] 2 Timothy 1:7
[14] Alma 57:21
[15] Mosiah 5:7
[16] Mosiah 3:19
[17] Isaiah 6:8
[18] Alma 57:27