Find Rest To Their Souls

As Alma taught Helaman he instructed his son on what to teach to the people. Included in that counsel was this directive: “Teach them to never be weary of good works, but to be meek and lowly in heart; for such shall find rest to their souls” (Alma 37:34). Here we have from Alma a sort of formula for finding rest—we continue in doing good works and we become meek and lowly in heart. The first part of this instruction might seem like a bit of a contradiction: how can we find “rest” by continually doing good works? We understand this by realizing that the rest Alma was referring to was not physical rest but rather spiritual rest that bring peace of conscience and confidence in the Lord’s plan for us.

                I have to think that this counsel was particularly important for Helaman as he struggled in the war to stay alive with his stripling warriors. He certainly found little physical rest as they sought to hang on to their lands against an enormous army of Lamanites, but it seems to me that he did maintain rest in his soul despite the circumstances as he and his young sons continued to humbly do what the Lord required of them. The second part of Alma’s counsel was to be “meek and lowly in heart,” and we see that Helaman indeed was filled with humility as he worked through this difficult time. I think we see this in particular in his letter to Moroni when they were not receiving aid from the government. He wrote, “But behold, our armies are small to maintain so great a number of cities and so great possessions…. Now we do not know the cause that the government does not grant us more strength; neither do those men who came up unto us know why we have not received greater strength…. We know that they are more numerous than that which they have sent.” He was not receiving the help from the government that he knew could be sent as he was barely able to hang on to their possessions. But he showed truly that he was “meek and lowly in heart” as his father had counseled him. He wrote, “Behold, we do not know but what ye are unsuccessful, and ye have drawn away the forces into that quarter of the land; if so, we do not desire to murmur….. But, behold, it mattereth not—we trust God will deliver us, notwithstanding the weakness of our armies, yea, and deliver us out of the hands of our enemies” (Alma 57:32-37). Instead of murmuring, he put his trust in the Lord and remained meek. This surely allowed him to find rest in his soul even amidst the difficulties. He wrote to Moroni of their spiritual state at this time when they were “grieved and also filled with fear” saying, “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” (Alma 58:9,11). His continued efforts to do good works while remaining meek and lowly of heart prepared him to receive the assurances and peace of the Lord. He found rest in the Lord even at this most stressful time as he followed the counsel of his father.