Remember the Lord from Day to Day

One of the great miracles in the Book of Mormon is the preservation of the lives of the stripling warriors who fought at a really young age to preserve the lives of their fathers and mothers.  They were in numerous battles, and many were injured, and yet none of the over 2000 young men died.  Helaman gave us I believe one of the keys to how they lived their lives that I believe was a big part of this miracle.  In addition to the fact that they were strictly obedient—"they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness”—they were also faithful in doing something else: “They are strict to remember the Lord their God from day to day” (Alma 57:21, 58:40).  They were strict at remembering the Lord, and indication that they were not just faithful in actions but they were faithful and true in their thoughts as they turned those constantly to the Lord.  They showed this in the battle field, for even as they were faced with the enormous challenge of going against the Lamanite army after having running away from them for days, their first words to Helaman when he asked if they would go to battle were these: “Father, behold our God is with us, and he will not suffer that we should fall; then let us go forth.”  Their first thought was to the Lord, and they remembered to think on Him even in the most stressful moments, having been “taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them” (Alma 56:46-47).  They remembered the Lord from day to day, and He remembered them in all their difficulties.

               I believe that this kind of remembering the Lord is a key for us as we work to overcome our own challenges.  Surely we need to be obedient and seek to keep the commandments of the Lord just as these young warriors did, but perhaps even more important is a mental devotion to the Lord, remembering Him.  The first great commandment is this: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Matt. 22:37).  While clearly this implies action and obedience, the emphasis of “heart” and “soul” and “mind” is not on physical works but a mental and emotional devotion to the Lord.  I believe that we see this same emphasis in our Sacrament prayers.  In the prayer on the bread remembering is emphasized twice: we “eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son” and we are willing to “always remember him.”  This is in addition to taking His name upon us and keeping the commandments.  The prayer on the water again remembering is mentioned twice:  we drink “in remembrance of the blood of thy Son” and we also witness that we “do always remember Him.”  This prayer has no mention of commandments or actions—it is about a mental devotion and remembering of the great atoning sacrifice of the Savior.  That is perhaps the most important part of our receiving the promised blessing of having His Spirit to be with us.  The stripling warriors were strict in their remembering the Lord their God—they were faithful to Him in spirit and in deed—and that’s what brought them such great protection in their battles.