I Do Put My Trust in Him

Alma taught his son Helaman, “And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and therefore, I beseech of thee that thou wilt hear my words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day” (Alma 36:3). Later in his life Helaman became a leader in the Nephite army and led the 2000 stripling warriors into battle. In his letter to Captain Moroni in Alma 56-58, one of the themes that we see is indeed trust in God and how He supported the Nephites in their struggles against the Lamanites. Helaman’s experiences in the war surely were a powerful testimony to him that what his father had taught him was true: when we trust in God He will support us.

               We see the blessings of trusting in God particularly in the story of the young Ammonites. When faced with the dangerous prospect of going into battle, they said to Helaman, “Father, behold our God is with us, and he will not suffer that we should fall; then let us go forth.” They had complete trust in their Father in Heaven and “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.” Because of their complete trust in God, “they fought as if with the strength of God” and miraculously “there had not one soul of them fallen to the earth” (Alma 56:46-47, 56). That was their first recorded battle, and in the second the experience was similar. They showed their trust in God as they followed their leader the prophet Helaman: “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.” Again after this intense battle Helaman recorded, “According to the goodness of God, and to our great astonishment, and also the joy of our whole army, there was not one soul of them who did perish…. 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.” Helaman summarized this incredible result this way: “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 57:21, 25-27). They continued to fight under Helaman and towards the end of his letter to Moroni, Helaman said this: “And those sons of the people of Ammon, of whom I have so highly spoken, are with me in the city of Manti; and the Lord has supported them, yea, and kept them from falling by the sword, insomuch that even one soul has not been slain. But behold, they have received many wounds; nevertheless they stand fast in that liberty wherewith God has made them free; and they are strict to remember the Lord their God from day to day” (Alma 58:39-40). The stripling warriors trusted completely in God, and as Alma had promised Helaman, the Lord did support them in all their trials and troubles and afflictions.

               In this letter to Moroni, other details further show how Helaman and the Nephites fighting with him put their trust in God and were strengthened. He recounted how the Lamanites did not come upon them when they were not prepared and commented: “And thus were we favored of the Lord; for had they come upon us in this our weakness they might have perhaps destroyed our little army; but thus were we preserved” (Alma 56:19). When Gid, the Nephite leader in charge of the Lamanite prisoners, was able to rush back to the defense of his struggling brethren with his group of soldiers, the Nephites were again miraculously preserved. He commented in faith, “And behold, we are again delivered out of the hands of our enemies. And blessed is the name of our God; for behold, it is he that has delivered us; yea, that has done this great thing for us” (Alma 57:35). They had put their trust in Him and He preserved them again. They continued to struggle, though, and Helaman wrote of the seemingly insurmountable challenges that they faced: “Therefore we did pour out our souls in prayer to God, that he would strengthen us and deliver us out of the hands of our enemies, yea, and also give us strength that we might retain our cities, and our lands, and our possessions, for the support of our people.” As his father had taught him, he put his trust in the Lord and they were blessed: “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.” They were able to miraculously take the city of Manti, and Helaman summarized, “But behold, we trust in our God who has given us victory over those lands, insomuch that we have obtained those cities and those lands, which were our own.” They were perplexed by the lack of aid they received from the government, but Helaman kept his faith in God: “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 58:10-11, 37). Helaman repeatedly testified of the need to put our trust in the Lord, and his example is a powerful one to us today. The words of his father were true for Alma and Helaman and they can be our words too when we trust in God to face our figurative enemies: “And I have been supported under trials and troubles of every kind, yea, and in all manner of afflictions; yea, God has delivered me from prison, and from bonds, and from death; yea, and I do put my trust in him, and he will still deliver me” (Alma 36:27).