Alma 58-59

Alma 58

Helaman and the armies in his quarter of the land aren’t receiving help from the government despite their desperate requests. They begin to fear they will be outnumbered and destroyed, but their faith in God keeps them afloat.

11 Yea, and it came to pass that the Lord our God did visit us with assurances that he would deliver us; yea, insomuch that he did speak peace to our souls, and did grant unto us great faith, and did cause us that we should hope for our deliverance in him.

Meanwhile, Helaman and the other leaders devise a clever strategy to re-capture the land of Manti. They camp in the wilderness just outside the city, and successfully entice the large Lamanite army inside to prepare to come out and attack them. The Lamanites think they can easily squash Helaman because his army isn’t very big. Secretly Helaman divides his army into three parts. Gid splits to the left and hides in the wilderness with his men. Teomner splits to the right and does the same. And Helaman stays where the Lamanite spies initially found them in the middle. When the large Lamanite army comes to attack, Helaman and his men turn and run deeper into the wilderness and the Lamanites chase them, passing unaware through the middle of Gid and Teomner and their men. After the Lamanites have passed Gid and Teomner, they unite and take over the city Manti which only has a few Lamanite guards left behind. Re-capture successful!

The Lamanites are still chasing Helaman and his men in the wilderness, but Helaman is getting closer and closer to the city Zarahelma, and the Lamanites begin to panic that they are walking into a trap, so they stop and turn back toward their city of Manti. But it is night time now, so they camp for the night. In the middle of the night, Helaman and his men sneak around the Lamanites and travel all the way back to the city of Manti to join with Gid and Teomner.

When the Lamanites make it back home, they discover it is no longer “home” and the Nephites have outsmarted them.

Alma 59

All the stories we have been reading about Helaman and his armies have been in a letter he wrote to Captain Moroni updating him on the affairs of that part of the land. After Moroni finishes reading Helaman’s letter, he shares the good news with the people in his part of the land and writes a letter to the governor in Zarahemla requesting that they send more provisions and support to Helaman. Moroni’s part of the land also needs more support, and an important city called Nephihah is captured by the Lamanites. Moroni is getting increasingly angry with the government for their neglect and indifference toward their armies.

Alma 56-57

Alma 56

It’s time for the story of the 2,000 Stripling Warriors! Remember, they were introduced back in Alma 53 and now they are entering the field of battle!

Helaman is the captain of the little band of 2,000 Stripling Warriors, and they are assigned to strengthen Antipus and his army in the city Judea. The Lamanites have captured many cities in that part of the land, and Antipus is trying to figure out how to get some back, but it is too difficult to attack the Lamanites inside the fortified cities, and the Lamanites refuse to come out. So Antipus and Helaman develop a strategy.

Helaman and the little band of Stripling Warriors march past the city Antiparah, which has the largest Lamanite army, pretending they are carrying supplies to a nearby city of Nephites. Because their group is so small, and the Lamanites are stressed about the Nephites receiving any more strength or supplies, the Lamanites in Antiparah decides to chase after the Stripling Warriors. Just what the Nephites wanted to happen! As soon as the Lamanite army is out, Antipus’s army (who has been hiding) chases after them from behind.

For two days there is a 3-player chase. Helaman and the Stripling Warriors (who were basically the bait) are in the front, marching their hearts out to not be caught by this huge Lamanite army. And next, the Lamanites are being chased by Antipus and his Nephite army.

Then on the third morning the Stripling Warriors wake up, and the Lamanites are nowhere to be seen. Did Antipus catch up to the Lamanites, and now they are fighting and need the Stripling Warrior’s help? Or did the Lamanites stop and hide, and they are waiting to ambush the Stripling Warriors if they turn around and go back? This is a dangerous and tense situation.

Helaman asks these 2,000 young men what they want to do. Can you see why these boys are my heroes?

46 For as I had ever called them my sons (for they were all of them very young) even so they said unto me: Father, behold our God is with us, and he will not suffer that we should fall; then let us go forth; we would not slay our brethren if they would let us alone; therefore let us go, lest they should overpower the army of Antipus. 47 Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them. 48 And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it.

Not only are the warriors my heroes for their faith and courage, but their mothers are my heroes. I love this story that shows the power and influence a good mother can have on her children, which in turn influences an entire nation.

Helaman and the Stripling Warriors turn around and go back, and it turns out to be the right decision. Antipus had indeed caught up to the Lamanites, and they have been fighting with all their might and strength, and are getting exhausted and starting to lose. Antipus and many of the leaders have been killed.

The Stripling Warriors jump into the battle with all their courage and strengt. They are so strong that the entire Lamanite army turns around from fighting Antipus’s army and focuses on the Stripling Warriors. This gives Antipus’s remaining men enough time to re-group and get back in the fight. And with the Lamanites surrounded by the Stripling Warriors on one side, and the Nephites on the other side, they soon surrender. The Nephites have just conquered the largest Lamanite army!

Are you ready for the best part? Not one of the Stripling Warriors was killed in battle. Loads of Lamanites and Nephites were killed, but not a single Stripling Warrior. The power of faith! I love this story.

Alma 57

The Nephites succeed in re-capturing two of their cities that had been taken over by the Lamanites. One of them, the city Cumeni, they capture by camping outside the city and preventing the Lamanites from receiving any supplies or provisions. They capture a large delivery of supplies (and take the delivery-army as prisoners), and eventually Cumeni surrenders because they can't survive any longer without outside food and supplies.

By now the Nephites have a lot of prisoners of war, and they are getting difficult to handle, so they send a troop to escort the prisoners to Zarahemla where it will be easier to guard them. But the next day the Lamanites attack the city Cumeni to try to win it back, and the delivery troop miraculously returns to help the Nephites fight (they find out later that the prisoners had revolted and many escaped, but it was good the troop had returned to help fight). The Stripling Warriors—who are now 2,060 strong—fight along with the Nephites in a fierce and bloody battle, and manage to beat off the attacking Lamanites and keep the city Cumeni. Miraculously, for the second time, none of the Stripling Warriors are killed, even though over 1,000 Nephites are killed and even more Lamanites.

These verses help me to understand why the Stripling Warriors had such power.

20 And as the remainder of our army were about to give way before the Lamanites, behold, those two thousand and sixty were firm and undaunted.
21 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…
26 And now, their preservation was astonishing to our whole army, yea, that they should be spared while there was a thousand of our brethren who were slain. 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—that there was a just God, and whosoever did not doubt, that they should be preserved by his marvelous power.
27 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.