Marching across the pages of the book of Alma in the Book of Mormon, with valiance and fortitude, is a group of young men who came from the land of Jershon which joined the land Bountiful, a land given to their Lamanite fathers by the Nephites in 90 B.C. These young men were men of valour and courage, men of truth and soberness, "men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted'' (Alma 53:20), who "exemplified the type of manhood that all of God's sons should emulate and stood as a witness to the Nephite nation that God would deliver them if they were faithful" (Book of Mormon Student Manual, p 257). These young men chose the prophet of God to be their military leader (Alma 56:5) whom they regarded and addressed as 'father' for the duration of their military service. These young men were 'stripling warriors' who fought Nephite battles with such conviction and trust in the power of God's deliverance that not one of the 2,000 of them was lost. More than their military conquests, these young men whom Helaman affectionately called 'little sons' (Alma 56:30, 39) stand today as a testament of good parenting.
When Ammon and his brothers brought King Lamoni, his father and their subjects to the knowledge of the truth, their conversion was so deep that they buried their weapons of war as a token of their repentance, never to be used again for the shedding of blood. This token also extended to their desire to be distinguished from their brethren the Lamanites whereby they sought to take upon themselves a new name. Being more Lamanites by their biological nature and more Nephites by the changed nature of their hearts, they chose the name of Anti-Nephi-Lehies (Alma 23:16,17). This name also suggests the joining together of the descendants of Nephi and Lehi's other posterity, meaning they were now one: "The name of 'Anti' of 'Anti-Nephi-Lehi' may be a reflex of the Egyptian
nty 'he of, the one of''. Thus, rather than having the sense 'against', it has the meaning 'the one of Nephi and Lehi'" (Stephen D. Ricks, "Anti-Nephi-Lehi", in Dennis L. Largey, ed.,
Book of Mormon Reference Companion [2003], p 67).
It is remarkable to note that not one of the Lamanites who were converted through the preaching of Ammon and his brethren, 'according to the spirit of revelation and of prophecy' ever did fall away from the truth (Alma 23:6). Rather they went on to raise a righteous generation which became a blessing to the Nephite nation. Helaman's 'little sons' were taught at their mothers' knee the power of God's deliverance and they adopted that conviction as their own (Alma 56:47,48), a conviction with which they gave the rest of the Nephi army 'great hopes and much joy' (Alma 56:17). Whereas their mothers taught them about God, the sins of their fathers and their subsequent conversion offered invaluable lessons to these young men and to us also.
Because of their past sins, the fathers of the stripling warriors had to rely on their teenage sons and Nephite's mercy to provide them with protection they could no longer give to their families. Herein lies a great lesson for us. In our unwise efforts to exert our right to choose, we very often act on the theory, 'this is my life and I'll do what I want', not realising that we are not the only ones who bear the brunt of our sins. Imagine with what trepidation the fathers of these young men sent them off to war to fight in their stead. Such was their keen sense of responsibility that they considered breaking the covenant which they had made to never again shed human blood. Had they broken that covenant, however, they would have become vulnerable to Satan's attempt to exploit their memory of any previous guilt and would by this lure them back into his influence. Through guilt the adversary might have succeeded in making them believe that they will never be better than the sins they have committed and that it is useless to forsake them. Had the Ammonite fathers broken their covenant and succumbed to their previous sins of murder, all would have been lost. Any spiritual headway they had made up to then would have been in peril, and not just for them but for the generations to come. By adhering to their covenant instead they ensured that "their humble, lifelong commitment to forsaking their sins did more to protect their families than anything they could have done on the battlefield" (Elder Richard G. Scott,
Personal Strength Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, Ensign Nov 2013). The positive ripple effect of not breaking the covenant they made is felt even today amongst countless people who have studied the Book of Mormon and have been edified by the story of the 2,000 stripling warriors.What an amazing example they are to the youth of this Church, an example that is so badly needed in our world. Had these boys' fathers broken their covenant and regressed in their spiritual journey, we would not have this example to draw on today.
The legacy of sin is always short or long term consequences. More often than not, weaknesses are born out of those sins and sometimes these weaknesses do not stop with us. For a long time I have been troubled by the fact that I have not been a better parent to my children and also that my parents were not better parents to me. I have agonized over the issues and hang ups that have followed me from my childhood and weaknesses, incorrect teachings and false thinking that have been passed down to me by my parents. Likewise, I have worried about all the bad 'stuff' I have passed on to my children. I read many years ago about 'inter-generational sins' and how easily we can pass them on to generations of our posterity; seemingly innocent weaknesses and false traditions that somehow end up being serious stumbling blocks to someone down the line. In other words, how we live not only affects us but many others whose lives we impact.
Would it have been better for the stripling warriors that their fathers had never sinned? Of course, but a sinless life is something that escapes all of us in mortality. Even before this world began it was decreed that we would be born to imperfect parents and in turn become imperfect parents ourselves. What is more, I think we chose which imperfect parents we would be born to according to what weaknesses they could give us so that by overcoming them we could develop the strengths that we needed. Being born into mortality to parents who are less than perfect offers us opportunities to grow from overcoming those imperfections, learning accountability for ourselves and learning how to make wise choices independent of what our parents before us have done. We knew long ago that we would sin in this fallen world and God knew too so provision was made for assistance to be given and that through this assistance we would come to Him: "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them" (Ether 12:27).
In all of this there is good news and hope: "The joyful news for anyone who desires to be rid of consequences of past poor choices is that the Lord sees weaknesses differently than he does rebellion. Whereas the Lord warns that unrepented rebellion will bring punishment, when the Lord speaks of weaknesses, it is always with mercy" (Elder Richard G. Scott,
Personal Strength Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, Ensign Nov 2013). It is with mercy He looks upon the weaknesses we have inherited from our parents, it is with mercy He looks upon the weaknesses our parents have inherited from
their parents, and it is especially with mercy that He looks upon the weaknesses of the penitent, those who always seek to do better, for those who seek to do better understand this important truth:
"In light of the ultimate purpose of the great plan of happiness,
I believe that the ultimate treasures on earth and in heaven
are our children and our posterity."
- Dallin H. Oaks
