As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, (often mistakenly called the “Mormon Church”), I have been inspired by many of the scriptures we study in the church.
There is a passage of scripture in the Book of Mormon, (a companion scripture to the Bible which testifies of Jesus Christ), that inspires me. It is about Helaman’s army- the “2000” young men that are often referred to as the “Stripling Warriors.” Helaman is a prophet of God written about in the Book of Mormon similar to biblical prophets.
The verses that inspired me are Alma 37:21-27. Verse 21 reads: “Yea, and they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them; and I did remember the words which they said unto me that their mothers had taught them.”
Two things from this passage and the passages that follow had a big impression upon me. First, the importance of mothers in our lives. The Mormon religion teaches the importance of strong, faithful women and mothers who teach about Jesus Christ. A leader in the Latter-day Saint Church (LDS or Mormon), Jeffrey R. Holland said of mothers:
Mothers, we acknowledge and esteem your faith in every footstep. Please know that it is worth it then, now, and forever.
These truths caused me to ponder on all the many things that my mother has taught me, how grateful I am for all that she does and has done for me. I feel very grateful for her love and affection and I hope and pray that people can realize the importance of mothers and stop undervaluing them.
Secondly I was impressed by the faith of the warriors in these passages. They “did obey and observe..everything..with exactness”, all that they accomplished was through their great faith in God. They were able to win a battle without losing a single warrior’s life because of their strong faith. Faith in Jesus Christ is a choice, therefore we can choose to have faith and believe or we can choose to not have faith. Faith also does not mean you believe God is able or can do something, it means you believe God will do something.
Prophet of The Church, Thomas S. Monson said,
“The scriptures also remind us that what we learn from our mothers comprises our very core values, as with the 2,000 stripling sons and warriors of Helaman, who “had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.” And He did!”
The stripling warriors believed with all their might that if they were obedient and followed with exactness that God would deliver them from their enemies. I hope that as I and others read these passages, we can learn from the stripling warriors and choose to have faith. If we already believe in God then it should not be much more difficult to have faith that He will also deliver us from our enemies and provide salvation through our obedience.
Mormon Beliefs
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