Good afternoon, brothers and sisters. I am thankful to be with you on this day at the start of this summer session at BYU-Idaho. I am grateful that each of you has made the decision to participate in this devotional, and I hope that you will continue to make devotional a priority during your time here. I know that small and simple actions, like choosing to attend a weekly devotional, can have significant impacts in our lives.
At the beginning of this meeting, President Burgener asked that we hold up our scriptures to show that we are prepared to be taught today. That tradition was started by Elder Bednar at the beginning of his tenure as president of Ricks College in the fall of 1997, which was my first semester at Ricks. In January of 1998, Elder Bednar gave a remarkable address on the value of personal scripture study, where he taught that studying the scriptures is important to us because of the covenants we have made, the direction we need, and that scripture study is a prerequisite for personal revelation.[1] I would like to add that regular devotional attendance enhances our study.
Today I would like to speak with you on the topic of support, specifically that support that we receive from others and the support that we can provide to others. Support can mean bearing the weight of something, holding up, giving assistance, sustaining, assisting, carrying, comforting, or strengthening. Please note the different times where I use the word support and the different situations and circumstances where support was either received or provided.
I am humbled to have the opportunity to speak to you on this day. July 25 is a special day for my family. Three years ago today, my grandmother Dorla Jenkins passed away.
She was a special woman whose Christ-centered life was a rich testimony of faith, work, and love. She was a great support to many throughout her life. My grandmother was born in 1935 to industrious farming and ranching parents whose lineage connects me to over 160 pioneer ancestors, whom I am especially grateful for as we have just celebrated Pioneer Day here in this valley.
To Dorla Rudd Jenkins, the world of 1935, as seen from the back of a cow pony, was a very different place than it is today. This is a picture of her sitting on her horse Roxy in 1940. I'm guessing that most of us were not in a saddle, riding horses, at five; my grandmother was. She had a love for horses that she passed to my 13-year-old daughter, Brynn, who is on the stand today.
A large portion of who and what we are, the things we love, how we act, and the way we treat one another is instilled into our hearts and minds through the words and actions of our ancestors.
In 1969 my grandmother was hired to teach English here on this campus. In other terms, she was hired to be a support to the tens of thousands of students who would go through her classes. That support meant that she would transfer knowledge and skills she had learned to them, the students, and teach them how to apply that knowledge in the world they would face-simple concepts like the correct placement of a comma, to difficult lifelong decisions like understanding faith, the power of prayer, or the strength of the priesthood. She spent the next 30 years teaching English, poetry, creative writing, and some religion courses. In those classes, the lessons she taught were, in effect, the same lessons I and her family were taught in her home. She loved this campus, loved the students whom she taught, and she loved the gospel. She would often bear her testimony by saying, "The gospel is true. I know it and I would walk into the fire for it." I can still hear her saying those words, and I never doubted that she meant what she said.
My grandmother had a great love for the scriptures; they were her support. She learned through difficult trials that often all we have to turn to is the Lord. She turned to Him and the messages of the Book of Mormon prophets. At a young age, and by result of a tragic accident, she became a widow, which she was for over 50 years. She lived alone for most of her life. I can remember many times stopping by her home and finding her studying her scriptures. She underlined, took notes, looked for answers to questions in obscure reference books and through fervent prayer.
She knew the doctrines of the gospel; they were a part of her life. She taught the truths she learned from the scriptures, by word and by action, to her children and grandchildren. As one of the oldest grandsons, I was especially blessed to live within a mile of her home and to be the recipient of the wisdom gleaned from her many years of study. Through her deep understanding of the doctrines of Christ, she was a great support to her family, her community, to Ricks College, to the Church, and to me.
My grandmother loved teaching the stories of the Book of Mormon. One of my favorite stories that she taught was the account of Helaman's two thousand stripling warriors. This group was a support unit. It was never big enough or experienced enough to really be an army. They were simply support, young men placed in a very difficult situation at a crucial time in Nephite history.
To begin our study of this group, I want to first focus on who these young men were. The word stripling is not often used in our language today. When we picture the two thousand stripling warriors, we often think of an image like this: nearly grown men, maybe 20 to 25 years old, large in stature, who had spent hours in the gym training and preparing for battle.
However, the American Dictionary of 1828 helps us understand what the word really meant when Joseph used it in translation. Stripling refers to a teenage boy at a particular time in his physical development: "[a] youth in the state of adolescence; a lad," or "a tall slender youth, one that shoots up suddenly."[2]
In today's times, a stripling young man might be found in our priests and teachers quorums. Picture a younger brother, relative, or someone from your home ward who is a priest or teacher. They are in that awkward physical time between boyhood and manhood when they are very capable but not fully grown, developed, or mature. Based on this understanding, these two thousand stripling warriors would have looked more like this. They would have been strong young men who were physically active, but not mature, prepared warriors. Helaman often referred to the group as his "little sons."[3] This context helps us better realize who this group was, the faith that they had, and the support that they were able to become.
In chapter 23 of Alma, we learn of the fathers and mothers of these two thousand young men: a group of Lamanites who, through the missionary work of the sons of Mosiah, were converted unto the Lord: "And thousands were brought to the knowledge of the Lord...and were converted unto the Lord...
"For they became a righteous people; they did lay down the weapons of their rebellion, that they did not fight against God any more, neither against any of their brethren."[4]
To fully grasp the change that came to these Lamanites through their conversion to the Lord, we need to recognize who they were prior to hearing the gospel. Ammon referred to them as a "stiffnecked" people, "whose hearts delight in the shedding of blood; whose days have been spent in the grossest iniquity; whose ways have been the ways of a transgressor from the beginning."[5] These once wicked and bloodthirsty men, who thrived in battle, believed what they heard and were taught by the sons of Mosiah through the Holy Ghost. With their conversion, these people, called the people of Ammon, covenanted with God that they would never again take up arms in battle against their brethren, even if that meant laying down their lives. Their conversion and the covenants that they made with God changed every aspect of who they were. In Alma 27 we learn of their actions after becoming converted and making covenants with God: "They were also distinguished for their zeal towards God, and also towards men; for they were perfectly honest and upright in all things; and they were firm in the faith of Christ, even unto the end."[6]
The word zeal means great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause. And the zeal that they had was not just for God, but it was also for their fellowmen. This was a complete transformation. They became a righteous people united in their faith and their covenants. Their conversion to the gospel is a lesson in opposites: sin to holiness, hatred to love, and death to life. These converted Lamanites experienced a complete change, and the sons from this group would later become the two thousand stripling warriors.
Now I pause from this story for just a moment to talk about covenants and their importance in our lives. Covenants are sacred promises that bind us spiritually to God. In making covenants, we promise to our Heavenly Father that we will live and act in accordance with His will, and in return we are promised blessings that can only come from Him, such as eternal life.
God has long made covenants with his people. Through the Restoration of the gospel, we have opportunities to make covenants with God at the waters of baptism, when we partake of the sacrament, and ultimately in the holy temples. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has said: "In a way it is the most fundamental thing we can discuss in the gospel plan, because only covenant makers and covenant keepers can claim the ultimate blessings of the celestial kingdom. Yes, when we talk about covenant keeping, we are talking about the heart and soul of our purpose in mortality."[7]
Covenants drive action and change behaviors. Covenants drove this extremely devoted group of Saints in their desires to live righteously. Speaking of covenants, Elder M. Russell Ballard said: "Sometimes we are tempted to let our lives be governed more by convenience than by covenant. It is not always convenient to live gospel standards and stand up for truth and testify of the Restoration...But there is no spiritual power in living by convenience. The power comes as we keep our covenants."[8]
Power comes from making and keeping covenants for us today just as it did for the Ammonites. With their covenants came support-support from scripture, support from the prophets and leaders, support from their families, and support from one another. Remember the covenants that you have made and that you will yet make, and commit to live by those covenants throughout your life. Choose covenant over convenience.
Fast-forward some 16 years from the time that these Lamanites were converted, and not much has changed in the land. Though these men and women had made dramatic changes, the world about them did not change. The Lamanites are still contending with the Nephites, and many thousands have lost their lives in these battles. Moroni is chief captain of the Nephite armies, and he has spent years fortifying cities and defending his people against the Lamanites.
In 66 b.c. Moroni and the bulk of the Nephite army were marching north to assist Teancum in retaking several cities that the Nephites had lost, including Bountiful, the capital city. Moroni left smaller contingents of his army to protect the Nephite lands to the south and the west, which included the land of Jershon, where the Ammonites lived.
Knowing the armies were divided, the Lamanites began attacking the weakened parts of the land and obtained possession of a number of cities. These battles greatly weakened the smaller armies of the Nephites and threatened their entire existence.
This was a very difficult time for the Ammonites. It had been 16 years from the time that they became converted and made their covenants with God, 16 years of time during which they had been protected by the Nephites. They felt guilty that they were not fighting. The 13th verse of the 53rd chapter of Alma elaborates: "When 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."[9]
The word tribulation should not be passed over lightly. Tribulation is a very powerful word; it means a state of great trouble or suffering. They were suffering, their families were suffering, and the Nephites were suffering. Can you imagine the feelings of these men, who had once been warriors?
They wanted to help. They were willing to once again take up arms, but they had covenanted not to. Imagine the turmoil that they would have felt, not only as individuals but as a group, a priesthood quorum. Now, it is interesting to note that the cause for which they wanted to act was a righteous and good cause. They wanted to defend themselves; they wanted to defend their families; they wanted to support those who were fighting for them; and they were, as the scripture says, "moved with compassion." But even though their cause and their intentions were right and just, taking up arms once again would have been breaking their covenants with God. They were tempted in that moment to let their lives "be governed more by convenience than by covenant," as Elder Ballard said.
In Alma 53 we learn what happens next: "But behold, as they were about to take their weapons of war, they were overpowered by the persuasions of Helaman...for they were about to break the oath which they had made.
"And Helaman feared lest by so doing they should lose their souls."[10]
In this crucial moment for these converted followers of Christ, they were guided by a prophet of God. Helaman was a prophet, the high priest over the Church. He understood the importance of covenants. Even though the armies of the Nephites were weakened and they needed the support and help of this once fearsome band of warriors, he knew the significance of covenant over convenience. The people of Ammon, this quorum of stalwart men, followed the counsel of a living prophet and did not break their covenants.
We too have prophets of God living today. These modern-day prophets lead the Lord's Church and provide support-or, as we normally say, guidance and direction-to us. I know that we will never be led astray when we follow the prophets.
When I was a teenager, my dad was serving as a bishop here on campus. He really enjoyed this calling, but I wasn't such a big fan. To me, all that it meant was that there were groups of college kids at our house all of the time and extra meetings to attend. I remember one Sunday, October 29, 1995-I know the exact date because my grandmother made note of the meeting in her scriptures-being dragged by my dad here to campus to attend a regional conference. I wasn't excited about having to go to this extra meeting. The conference was held in the Hart gymnasium, and I sat on a back row in the red seats. I don't remember much from the conference except that the main speaker, and presiding officer, at the meeting was President Gordon B. Hinckley, then the First Counselor in the First Presidency. Toward the end of his remarks, President Hinckley pounded his fist on the pulpit and said, "The Lord will not let His Church be led astray. If I were to attempt to do so, the Lord would remove me from my place." On that day, the Holy Ghost testified to my heart that prophets are real. My dad was supporting me, against my immature judgment, by bringing me to a place where he knew that a prophet of God would be. And that prophet of God bore testimony of the work, and it was delivered to me personally by the Holy Ghost, the third member of the Godhead.
As the people of Ammon chose to follow the counsel of the prophet, a remarkable event took place. They realized that there were a large number of young men, their sons, who had not entered into the same covenant that they had to lay down their weapons of war. About two thousand of these, their young sons, assembled together and then entered into a new covenant with God that they would fight for their liberty and in defense of their lands and their brethren. They committed to providing the support that the Nephites desperately needed.
Now imagine, with me, you are a father or a mother of these young men. You are in your late 30s or early 40s. You are a once-hardened warrior who is still very capable of bearing arms. You are witnessing your sons, much younger, much weaker, and with little or no experience in the horrors of war, volunteer to fight a battle that you are much more prepared to fight than they are. You are standing and watching your young sons march off to defend the nation, to defend you. Can you now better understand tribulation and the significance of covenants? These parents were willing to watch their little sons depart for war because of their covenants. Even with the faith that these followers of Christ had, they had to have wondered if they would ever see their young sons again. Do we have the same level of commitment to keeping our covenants?
The scriptures teach us much about these young men. We learn that they had been taught to keep the commandments; that they were obedient, faithful, valiant; and that they did not doubt the things that they had been taught "by their mothers."[11] These young men were willing to show their faith by taking up arms and going to battle to support the Nephites.
We live in a world today filled with doubt and uncertainty. As levels of faith decrease in the world, our levels of faith as individuals within the Church need to increase. Never feel ashamed because of your faith. Never feel like you are missing out on something because you have faith. Never believe that your faith is holding you back or limiting your ability to live your life. Just as these young men did not doubt the things that they had been taught, we need to learn to follow the counsel from President Uchtdorf, who encouraged us to "doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith."[12] Your faith can support you just as it supported the individuals within this group of two thousand.
One of the things that I love about this powerful story is that as these young men assembled themselves together and entered into covenant, they asked Helaman to be their leader. That action may seem inconsequential, but it was an extremely important decision-a decision that highlights the great faith that these young men had, because Helaman was a prophet, a missionary, the high priest over the Church, but he was not an experienced war captain like Moroni.
In fact, prior to this event, there aren't any accounts of Helaman leading an army or participating in battles. We can assume that there would have been other men who were more seasoned in battle that would have been more logical choices to lead this young, inexperienced army; but the young men had faith that if they followed the prophet, even into a battle that they could not have felt prepared for, they would be protected. Helaman, the prophet, was the support for these young sons and for their parents during this very challenging time. Likewise, our prophets and apostles today can and will provide support for us during our trials and our challenges.
You will face challenges in your life; of this there is no doubt. During this preparatory experience in mortality, we will all experience trials, stress, hardships, difficulties, pains, and disappointments. Trials can and will come even when we are doing all the right things, like the righteous people of Ammon were doing. The question for each of us is, "How do I respond to the challenges that I face?"
Thirteen years ago this month, my wife Kristy's little brother Derrick was tragically killed in an ATV accident one Saturday morning when he was with his friends. He was a BYU-Idaho student who had just returned home from his mission. His sudden passing was a great trial that was unexpectedly thrust upon my wife, her parents, and the rest of the family. This was a difficult experience; it wasn't easy to process the tragedy. It would have been very easy, and even understandable, for his family members to ask why, to blame, to become bitter or angry, and to lose faith. They could have chosen to take that path-but they didn't. Never once have I heard Kristy, her parents, or anyone else in the family question, complain, or express bitterness about what happened. Instead, they chose to accept what happened and to move forward with faith, not letting that difficult experience become a stumbling block for them. It was tough. It hurt then, and it still does today, but they chose the better path-the path of having faith in a loving Heavenly Father, in His plan, in the covenants they have made, and in the knowledge that they will see Derrick again. They provided support to each other, and they received support from the scriptures, the words of the prophets, the Atonement of Christ, their friends and family members, and keeping their covenants.
When you experience trials-again, not if, but when-remember the counsel the Lord gave to the Prophet Joseph Smith when he was facing a difficult time: "Know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good...
"Therefore, hold on thy way...for God shall be with you forever and ever."[13]
I love that guidance. When you face a challenge or are experiencing a hard time, "hold on thy way," like my wife and her family did. God, your Father in Heaven, will be your support "forever and ever" as you "hold on thy way" and believe in Him.
Now we return once again to the two thousand stripling warriors. This young group went forth with faith, following the prophet. The Lamanite armies were gaining strength. They had taken many Nephite cities, and the Nephite armies did not have the ability to stop them. This was a very tenuous time for the Nephites' survival, but when Helaman's army came to join the battle and provide support to the armies of the Nephites, we read that the Nephite leader Antipus did "rejoice exceedingly."[14] Later we read that his armies were "about to fall into the hands of the Lamanites"[15] and would have had it not been for the arrival of Helaman's army. These two thousand stripling warriors were key to the Nephites' winning many battles, retaking cities that had been previously lost, and protecting the faith and freedoms of the Nephites. Alma chapter 57 tells us that these young men "fought most desperately," "were firm and undaunted," "did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness," and that they did "put their trust in God continually."[16] Remarkably, through all of the battles, not one of these two thousand young men lost his life. They were all injured, but they were all preserved, as Helaman said, "to our great astonishment."[17]
Imagine what Helaman must have felt as the group gathered together after their battles. Can you see him counting his "little sons" one by one and then being overcome with joy and gratitude as he realized that they were all still there? Every last stripling warrior had survived the battles. Truly remarkable! Helaman tells us that there were a thousand of their brethren, the Nephites, slain. When referencing the Lamanites who lost their lives in the battles, Helaman simply says, "Who were many."[18] In describing what had taken place, Helaman used the following words: "And we do justly ascribe it to the miraculous power of God, because of their exceeding faith in that which they had been taught to believe."[19]
Miracles are wrought by faith. These young men were individually sustained and protected by the Almighty God, in battles against grown men who delighted in the shedding of blood, because of their exceeding faith in Him. Their faith in God supported them as they supported the Nephites.
I know that God our Father loves and cares for each of us every bit as much as He loved and cared for the two thousand stripling warriors. He will support each of us every bit as much as He supported them if we will but have faith in Him. Life is not always easy. Living the standards of the gospel is not always easy, but we need to remember that, as spirit children of our Father in Heaven, each of us comes from a divine heritage and has eternal potential and divine destiny. Speaking of our destiny, President Uchtdorf has said: "No matter how many times you have slipped or fallen, rise up! Your destiny is a glorious one! Stand tall and walk in the light of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ! You are stronger than you realize. You are more capable than you can imagine."[20]
Out of all that is written in the Book of Mormon about Helaman's two thousand little sons and their experiences, my favorite verse is Alma 53:19. When speaking of these young men, Helaman says, "And now behold, as they never had hitherto been a disadvantage to the Nephites, they became now at this period of time also a great support."[21]
As these young men changed, or progressed, from not being a "disadvantage" to becoming a "great support," miracles happened. Their covenants and their faith sustained them through their trials as they were led to do an amazing and an important work. They were a great support to many.
So, brothers and sisters, my question for all of us today is this: What can I do-what can each of us do-to undergo a similar change in our lives? Are we not a "disadvantage," or have we become a "great support"?
The Lord needs you, the young people of the Church, to become a great support now and throughout your lives. Today's world is entirely different from what it was some 2,100 years ago. We may never be called upon to go to battle to defend our liberties, like the stripling warriors were, but we will face trials and tough times that will require more faith than perhaps ever before. We will need the support of each other and of our Father in Heaven, and we will need to become a great support for those around us.
Brothers and sisters, I know that, like my grandmother and Helaman's two thousand stripling warriors, each of us has the potential to become a great support. I know that we can accomplish this as we follow the prophets, exercise faith, make and keep covenants, face our challenges, and remember our potential. I pray that we will go forth with faith doing those things that our Father in Heaven would have us do, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
[1] David A. Bednar, "Understanding the Importance of Scripture Study," Ricks College devotional address, Jan. 6, 1998
[2] "Stripling," Webster's Dictionary 1828, http://www.webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/stripling
[3] Alma 56:30
[4] Alma 23:5-7
[5] Alma 26:24
[6] Alma 27:27; emphasis added
[7] Jeffrey R. Holland, "Keeping Covenants: A Message for Those Who Will Serve a Mission," New Era, Jan. 2012
[8] M. Russell Ballard, "Like a Flame Unquenchable," Ensign, May 1999
[9] Alma 53:13; emphasis added
[10] Alma 53:14-15; emphasis added
[11] Alma 56:47
[12] Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Come, Join with Us," Ensign, Nov. 2013
[13] D&C 122:7, 9; emphasis added
[14] Alma 56:10
[15] Alma 56:50
[16] Alma 57:19-21, 27
[17] Alma 57:25
[18] Alma 57:28
[19] Alma 57:26
[20] Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "You Can Do It Now!" Ensign, Nov. 2013
[21] Alma 53:19; emphasis added