Chapter 57
Helaman recounts the
taking of Antiparah and the surrender and later the defense of Cumeni—His
Ammonite striplings fight valiantly and all are wounded, but none are slain—Gid
reports the slaying and the escape of the Lamanite prisoners. About 63 B.C.
Helaman continues his report on his army.
Having suffered a defeat at the hands of Helaman’s warriors,
Ammoron sent Helaman an epistle offering to surrender the city of Antiparah for
the prisoners he held. He responded he was sure his army could take Antiparah
by force. He would only agree to exchange Lamanite prisoners for Nephite
prisoners. Ammoron refused. Helaman began to prepare to take Antiparah.
While Helaman prepared, the people of Antiparah left the
city and Helaman was able to take the city.
Provisions were provided for his army at the beginning of
the year. Apparently, more of the sons of the Ammonites had reached the age
where they could fight, so sixty more joined Helaman’s warriors. This
strengthened his army.
Helaman decided to take the city of Cumeni. They surrounded
the city and camped there. They were prepared to fight at night, should the
Lamanites attempt to attack at night. The Lamanites attempted to attack at
night many times, but were unsuccessful in their attacks.
Provisions finally arrived for the Lamanites. Helaman had
his army take their provisions. He sent the provisions along with prisoners to
Judea. After a few days, the Lamanites realized their provisions would never
arrive because of the Nephite army. They Lamanites surrendered the city of
Cumeni to Helaman.
Now Helaman faced a new problem. He had taken so many
prisoners, he needed to use all his forces to guard the prisoners. Groups of
prisoners would attack their guards with stones, clubs, or whatever they could
find. Over two thousand prisoners eventually died in their attacks on their
guards.
Something had to be done with the prisoners. Their
provisions were to the point they were barely sufficient for Helaman’s army. It
was determined to send the prisoners to the land of Zarahemla. Guards were
assigned to move the prisoners.
The guards returned the next morning. When they returned,
the Lamanites had attacked Helaman’s army. The arrival of the guards, along
with more men and provisions, happened at an opportune moment. The Lamanites
were about to overpower Helaman and his warriors.
The warriors fought bravely. With the additional support,
they were able to defeat the Lamanites. They fought with such courage because
of what their mothers had taught them. “If I were to ask you who it was that
taught these great young warriors, all of you would know the answer—their
mothers. My first invitation to you is to find out what their mothers taught
them.”[1]
After the Lamanites fled, Helaman ordered the wounded be
taken from among the dead. When the wounded were found, two hundred has been
seriously wounded. He was astonished to learn not one of his warriors had been
killed. It turned out all of his warriors suffered many wounds.
May I speak to the parents of the
Church and their sons for a moment. One of the powerful stories in the Book of
Mormon teaches us of the influence that parents can have in the lives of their
young sons. This is the account of 2,060 young men who volunteered to defend
the liberty of their country. They were led into battle by Helaman, yet “there
was not one soul of them who did perish; yea, and neither was there one soul
among them who had not received many wounds” (Alma 57:25). Why? Because “they
did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness.” Then
Helaman explains the reason behind this great miracle: “I did remember the
words which they said unto me that their mothers had taught them” (Alma 57:21).
What did their mothers teach them? “That there was a just God, and whosoever
did not doubt, that they should be preserved by his marvelous power” (Alma
57:26).[2]
What made this even more miraculous was that over one
thousand Nephite soldiers had died in the conflict. Helaman tells us, through
the faith of his warriors on what they had been taught, they were preserved by
the power of God. “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” (Alma 57:27).
One of the most effective ways we
can influence our sons and daughters is to counsel with them in private
interviews. By listening closely, we can discover the desires of their hearts,
help them set righteous goals, and also share with them the spiritual
impressions that we have received about them. Counseling requires courage.
Try to imagine what the rising
generation could become if these five righteous patterns were practiced
consistently in every home. Our young people could be like Helaman’s army:
invincible (see Alma 57:25--26).[3]
The wounded had been cared for and the death of both sides
had been buried. Helaman asked Gid what had happened to the prisoners who had
bene going to Zarahemla.
Gid told him they were on their way to the land of
Zarahemla, but the met spies who had been watching the Lamanite camp.
Gid was told the Lamanites were marching towards the city of
Cumeni. The army was strong enough to defeat the Nephite army. The prisoners,
hearing this, rebelled against their guards.
As the Lamanite prisoners rebelled, they attacked their guards.
The guards defended themselves with appropriate force. Many prisoners died. The
rest were able to escape.
Gid was not able to overtake the fleeing prisoners, so they sped
towards Cumeni to support Helaman’s army. With the addition of Gid’s soldiers,
they were able to defeat the Lamanite army and hold Cumeni.
Closing this post, I would like to share an experience an
LDS commander had during the Korean War.
This is a modern day example of faith and war. Elder Dallin Oaks shared
this story.
In the early months of the Korean
War, a Richfield Utah National Guard field artillery battery was called into
active service. This battery, commanded by Captain Ray Cox, consisted of about
40 Mormon men. After additional training and reinforcement by reservists from
elsewhere, they were sent to Korea, where they experienced some of the fiercest
combat of that war. In one battle they had to repel a direct assault by
hundreds of enemy infantry, the kind of attack that overran and destroyed other
field artillery batteries.
What does this have to do with
overcoming the desire for sleep? During one critical night, when enemy infantry
had poured through the front lines and into the rear areas occupied by the
artillery, the captain had the field telephone lines wired into his tent and
ordered his numerous perimeter guards to phone him personally each hour on the
hour all night long. This kept the guards awake, but it also meant that Captain
Cox had scores of interruptions to his sleep. “How could you do that?” I asked
him. His answer shows the power of an overriding desire.
“I knew that if we ever got home, I
would be meeting the parents of those boys on the streets in our small town,
and I didn’t want to face any of them if their son didn’t make it home because
of anything I failed to do as his commander.”
What an example of the power of an
overriding desire on priorities and on actions! What a powerful example for all
of us who are responsible for the welfare of others—parents, Church leaders,
and teachers!
As a conclusion to that
illustration, early in the morning following his nearly sleepless night,
Captain Cox led his men in a counterattack on the enemy infantry. They took
over 800 prisoners and suffered only two wounded. Cox was decorated for
bravery, and his battery received a Presidential Unit Citation for its
extraordinary heroism. And, like Helaman’s stripling warriors (see Alma 57:25–26),
they all made it home.[4]
[1] Remember
the Teachings of Your Father, Elder H. Bryan Richards, October 2004 General
Conference.
[2] “As
for Me and My House, We Will Serve the Lord,” Elder H. Bryan Richards,
October 1998 General Conference.
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