Helaman's Encouraging Epistle to Moroni
Book of Mormon Notes - Thursday, November 9, 2023, Alma 56
The next three chapters in the Book of Alma, chapters 56, 57, and 58, are drawn from Helaman’s epistle to Moroni. Since I am behind schedule to finish the Book of Mormon by Christmas this year, I would like to address these chapters together.
The details and the complexity of the military matters of the Nephites and their battles against the Lamanites are simply astounding when one considers how this record came to light. There is absolutely no way that a New York farm-boy in his early twenties could have concocted even one verse of any of these chapters. These chapters are too rich and too substantive to do any justice to them in one blog post, but I’ll just highlight some thoughts and impressions about things that stand out to me about Helaman’s epistle to Moroni.
Helaman loved Moroni. As I understand it, Helaman was leading the Nephites in the west while Moroni, along with Lehi, Teancum, and other brave men, were leading the Nephites in the East. Since Moroni was the chief of the chief captains of the Nephites, Helaman reported to him in military matters even though he was the prophet and the keeper of the sacred records and other sacred items.
Mormon includes large portions of Helaman’s original letter to Moroni, interjecting on occasion with his own abridgment and commentary. I wonder if Helaman’s letter was already engraved upon plates, in the record of Alma, or on the large plates more generally, or if it was written upon some other material and preserved until Mormon recorded it upon the plates. Whatever the case, Helaman’s epistle to Moroni was an important primary source document that Mormon recorded almost word for word.
Much of Helaman’s epistle to Moroni focuses on the miraculous and courageous deeds of the two-thousand sons of the Ammonites. Helaman notes that these Ammonite sons were direct descendants of Laman, the elder son of Lehi. This is significant for many reasons, not the least of which is that the prayers of previous Nephite prophets were being answered and prophesies fulfilled because of these Lamanites who were converted unto the Lord. Moroni was familiar with the story of their fathers and their conversion, but Helaman’s letter served to update Moroni upon the miracles that the Lord accomplished especially through these Ammonite warriors.
Moroni had appointed a courageous man named Antipus to lead the defensive war effort in the city of Judea. Antipus and his armies had suffered terrible losses, and thus they gladly and joyfully welcomed the addition of soldiers, from Helaman’s army and then more support from Zarahemla. The Lamanites had captured many cities in that region, which I believe was in the southwestern region of the Nephite territories, including the cities of Manti, Zeezrom, Cumeni, and Antiparah. It is interesting that Zeezrom had a city named after him, perhaps because he helped to found the city.
Antipus and his men had fought and labored much, and they were depressed in spirit until Helaman’s warriors strengthened them and caused the Lamanites to back down for a time. There was a kind of stale mate for a time, but when the Lamanites discovered that the Nephites were growing stronger, the Lamanites became uneasy and began to attack. Even though the biological fathers of the sons Helaman could not fight because of the oath that they had taken, they could and they did bring provisions for their sons.
Antipus was a wise and skillful military strategist like Moroni. Once again, the Nephites used a decoy strategy to lure away the most powerful army of the Lamanites who were stationed in the city of Antiparah. When the Lamanites saw Helaman and his small army marching forth with what they supposed were provisions, the Lamanites began to pursue them. The Lamanites from Antiparah pursued Helaman and his warriors for three days, while Antipus and his men pursued the Lamanites from the rear. These perilous circumstances called forth the greatest courage:
And now, whether they were overtaken by Antipus we knew not, but I said unto my men: Behold, we know not but they have halted for the purpose that we should come against them, that they might catch us in their snare;
Therefore what say ye, my sons, will ye go against them to battle?
And now I say unto you, my beloved brother Moroni, that never had I seen aso great bcourage, nay, not amongst all the Nephites.
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 anot 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.
Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the aliberty of their bfathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their cmothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.
And they rehearsed unto me the words of their amothers, saying: We bdo not doubt our mothers knew it. (Alma 56:43-48)
This is a great tribute to the valiant sons of Helaman, but also a great tribute to their valiant and truly converted mothers. Up to this point in the “war chapters” in the record of Alma, Mormon has often emphasized the courage of Moroni and other mighty Nephite leaders, but there is clearly something very special about these Ammonite sons, something that Mormon wished for his latter-day audience to understand and to consider carefully. Helaman was clearly impressed by these young men, and he recognized that the Lord was answering the prayers of the Nephites through these courageous young men.
Why was the faith and the courage of these Ammonite warriors, these sons of Helaman, so strong? How had they developed, at such a young age, such confidence in God and in His promises? Helaman informs Moroni that these valiant sons attributed even their own faith and confidence to their mothers.
I’m sure that female students of the Book of Mormon could provide greater insights into the courage and the characters of these great women and mothers, but what I perceive in my study is that these formerly Lamanite women - I’m assuming that most of them were Lamanites who had been converted along with their husbands because of the preaching of Ammon and the sons of Mosiah - had successfully instilled such great faith in their sons because of their own deep conversion to the Lord. These formerly Lamanite women were not just casual or cultural members of the Church. Think of the courage and the faith of these women who gave their sons to strengthen the Nephite armies. These mothers trusted God so completely that they knew that God would deliver their sons. And these sons trusted God, and their mothers, so completely that their courage was contagious. Thus these mothers and their sons accomplished miracles on behalf of the Nephites.
After their miraculous battles and deliverance, Helaman recalled:
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. (Alma 57:21)
In this first miraculous battle, the great Antipus was slain, and his men began to waver in confusion because of the fall of their leaders. But Helaman and his sons descended upon the Lamanites with miraculous strength. Mormon briefly interjects his own abridgment and commentary in the middle of Helaman’s letter to inform us that Helaman and his sons turned the tide of the battle and secured the Nephite victory over these Lamanites. Helaman discovered that each one of his valiant sons was miraculously preserved by the power of God:
But behold, to my great joy, there had anot one soul of them fallen to the earth; yea, and they had fought as if with the bstrength of God; yea, never were men known to have fought with such miraculous strength; and with such mighty power did they fall upon the Lamanites, that they did frighten them; and for this cause did the Lamanites deliver themselves up as prisoners of war. (Alma 56:56)
Never were men known to have fought with such miraculous strength. Where did that strength come from? With such mighty power did they fall upon the Lamanites, that they did frighten them? What was the source of their mighty power?
Ponder this miracle. How was this miracle produced? I believe that this miracle was produced by the faith of these valiant sons, but also because of the faith and obedience of their parents. Because the people of Ammon remained true to their covenants, because they remained true to the oath that they had made never to shed blood again, the Lord blessed and protected both them and their sons. Not only this, but the Lord used these Ammonite warriors, these sons of Helaman, as instruments in His hands to deliver the Nephites from Lamanite oppression.
All of this reminds me of Elder Renlund’s recent talk in general conference on the topic of “Unwavering Commitment to Jesus Christ”:
People in other places and ages demonstrated their commitment to Jesus Christ in similar ways.5 The Book of Mormon people known as the Anti-Nephi-Lehies “laid down the weapons of their rebellion,” burying them “deep in the earth” as “a testimony to God … that they never would use [their] weapons again.”6 In doing so, they promised to follow God’s teachings and never go back on their commitment. This action was the beginning of being “converted unto the Lord” and never falling away.7
These Nephite victories over the Lamanites in these western territories, in spite of the loss of Antipus and his great soldiers, was only part of the great news that Moroni received from Helaman.
Helaman and the Nephite armies also recaptured the city of Antiparah and Cumeni. Like Moroni, Helaman courageously rejected the demands of Ammoron to deliver the Lamanite prisoners, and the Lamanites in Antiparah simply fled. Fortunately for Helaman and the Nephite armies, they still received support and provisions from Zarahemla at this time. They received 6,000 more men, and 60 more of the valiant sons of the Ammonites. At this point in the record the reader will be forgiven for believing that those 60 valiant Ammonite sons were at least as powerful as 6,000 regular Nephite soldiers.
After recapturing Antiparah with little to no bloodshed, the Nephites focused their attention on recapturing the city of Cumeni. This time, the Nephites surrounded Cumeni and laid a successful siege against the city which finally compelled the Lamanites to surrender. But one of the greatest challenges for the Nephites was finding effective ways for securing, subduing, and maintaining their Lamanite prisoners.
The Nephites resolved to send these Lamanite prisoners to Zarahemla, but the Lamanites began to attack again, and Helaman and his armies needed all the help that they could get. Helaman’s “little band” of 2,060 Ammonite warriors “fought most desperately; yea, they were firm before the Lamanites, and did aadminister death unto all those who opposed them.” (Alma 57:19) Once again, they were the decisive factor in the Nephite victories:
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.
Yea, and they did aobey 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 bmothers had taught them. (Alma 57:20-21)
It sounds like Helaman was still in awe of these young men and their incredible power. Helaman praised them for being “firm and undaunted” in this contest with the Lamanites, but he knew that their special power came from their faith in God. As Helaman composed this epistle to his beloved brother Moroni, and as Mormon included this epistle in his abridgment of the large plates of Nephi and the record of Alma, we catch a glimpse into Helaman’s own thought process. Helaman witnessed how firm, undaunted, and faithful the Ammonite warriors were, and he remembered what they had told him about their mothers. We too ought to remember it, because Mormon included these passages for a purpose:
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.
And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it. (Alma 56:47-48)
Thus when Helaman remembered what these faithful bmothers had taught these valiant sons, he remembered that they had taught them that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them. What did these faithful mothers teach their valiant sons? What gift did they bestow upon their posterity? They taught them to believe in Christ. They bestowed upon their sons the gift of faith in Christ. They knew that their mothers knew. They believed that their mothers believed. In a certain sense, we might say that the Nephite victories in this quarter of the land were directly attributable to the conversion, courage, and faith of the Ammonite mothers.
Not all mothers who send their sons into battle are so fortunate. The Ammonite mothers had a special faith and covenant with the Lord that preserved their sons in battle, a special faith and covenant that reminds me of Lehi’s wife Sariah. Although Sariah was considerably worried and distraught for a time, she was blessed with a testimony that the Lord protected and delivered her sons:
And it came to pass that after we had come down into the wilderness unto our father, behold, he was filled with joy, and also my mother, Sariah, was exceedingly glad, for she truly had mourned because of us.
For she had supposed that we had perished in the wilderness; and she also had acomplained against my father, telling him that he was a bvisionary man; saying: Behold thou hast led us forth from the land of our inheritance, and my sons are no more, and we perish in the wilderness.
And after this manner of language had my mother complained against my father.
And it had come to pass that my father spake unto her, saying: I know that I am a avisionary man; for if I had not seen the things of God in a bvision I should not have known the goodness of God, but had tarried at Jerusalem, and had perished with my brethren.
But behold, I have aobtained a bland of promise, in the which things I do rejoice; yea, and I cknow that the Lord will deliver my sons out of the hands of Laban, and bring them down again unto us in the wilderness.
And after this manner of language did my father, Lehi, acomfort my mother, Sariah, concerning us, while we journeyed in the wilderness up to the land of Jerusalem, to obtain the record of the Jews.
And when we had returned to the tent of my father, behold their joy was full, and my mother was comforted.
And she spake, saying: Now I know of a surety that the Lord hath acommanded my husband to bflee into the wilderness; yea, and I also know of a surety that the Lord hath protected my sons, and delivered them out of the hands of Laban, and given them power whereby they could caccomplish the thing which the Lord hath commanded them. And after this manner of language did she speak.
And it came to pass that they did rejoice exceedingly, and did offer asacrifice and burnt offerings unto the Lord; and they gave bthanks unto the God of Israel. (1 Nephi 5:1-9)
Imagine the rejoicing of the Ammonite mothers, and their husbands, when their valiant sons, with all of their battle scars, returned home. Helaman praised these valiant warriors again in his epistle to Moroni:
And now behold, it was these my sons, and those men who had been selected to convey the prisoners, to whom we owe this great victory; for it was they who did beat the Lamanites; therefore they were driven back to the city of Manti. (Alma 57:22)
Even though the Lord fulfilled his promise to protect and preserve the Ammonite warriors, he did not completely shield them from every experience or from harm. In fact, each of them was wounded:
And it came to pass that there were two hundred, out of my two thousand and sixty, who had fainted because of the loss of blood; nevertheless, according to the goodness of God, and to our great astonishment, and also the joy of our whole army, there was anot 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)
It is right to focus on the miracle and the goodness of God in preserving the lives of every one of the noble Ammonite warriors. Even Helaman and his men were astonished. It was a logistical impossibility that not a single Ammonite warrior had been killed. Nevertheless, it was true. But we might also consider why the Lord preserved the lives of the Ammonite warriors while still allowing each one of them to receive many wounds, and 200 of them to faint because of the loss of blood.
Helaman justly ascribes the preservation of his valiant sons to the miraculous bpower of God, and the exceeding cfaith of the Ammonite warriors. Contrary to popular contemporary praise for the supposed virtue of doubt, these Ammonite sons had been taught to believe that there was a just God, and not to doubt. The Ammonite warriors believed without doubting that there was a just God and that they would be preserved by his marvelous power. And thus it was. They were young. Their minds were bfirm. They put their trust in God continually.
What do you think that Mormon hoped for his latter-day audience to learn from the valiant Ammonite sons and their courageous mothers?
Helaman also introduces us to another valiant Nephite warrior named Gid. Gid had been commissioned to lead the Lamanite prisoners to Zarahemla, but he had returned to strengthen and defend the Nephites against the Lamanite attacks. In a terrible military blunder, the spies of the Nephites panicked when they discovered that the Lamanites had begun to attack them again, and their cries caused the Lamanite prisoners to take courage and to rebel against Gid and his men. Gid and his men slew many of the rebels, and the rest escaped. But this also allowed Gid and his men to come more quickly to the aid of Helaman and the rest of the Nephite armies.
Helaman quotes Gid directly in his epistle, and Gid glorifies God and acknowledges the hand of God in the Nephite victories and their deliverance from their enemies. Helaman rejoiced because of Gid’s words, and Moroni was also rejoicing as he read Helaman’s words.
But it remained for the Nephites to recapture the city of Manti, which Helaman, Gid, and another Nephite hero named Teomner accomplished by another brilliant strategy. Nevertheless, Helaman was troubled because the government in Zarahemla did not send more aid to his armies. In fact, Helaman and his men were grieved and filled with fear that the judgments of God should come upon their land, to their overthrow and utter destruction. They prayed fervently and specifically, and the Lord answered their prayers:
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 adeliverance in him. (Alma 58:11)
I love this verse.
The Lord not only visited the Nephites with assurances, spoke peace to their souls, granted them great faith, and caused that they should hope for their deliverance in Him. He also inspired Helaman, Gid, and Teomner with one of the most brilliant military strategies of the entire war, enabling them to recapture the city of Manti without the shedding of blood (see Alma 58:12-29).
Helaman’s faithful and positive report to Moroni was that they had recaptured all of the cities that had been captured by the Lamanites. In spite of their small numbers, the neglect of the government, and their many losses, Helaman praised God for the Nephite victories. Helaman did not know what was happening in Zarahemla, nor did he know how Moroni and his men fared in the battles in the east. Helaman suspected that there was a faction in the government, and his suspicions were soon confirmed to be correct.
Helaman closed his epistle to Moroni with more expressions of faith in God, more praise for his valiant Ammonite sons, and more love and prayers and blessings for his beloved brother Moroni. This was the kind of good news that Moroni needed and joyfully received.