During Mother's Day, everyone talks about the 2,000 strippling warriors and their amazing mothers. (Guilty as charged. Check out that post here.) But what about their fathers? We put so much emphasis on the faith of their mothers that sometimes I think we forget about the profound influence that their fathers must have had in their lives.
We know that when the sons of Mosiah left to preach the gospel to the lamanites that they were "a wild and a hardened and a ferocious people; a people who delighted in murdering the nephites." (Alma 17:14) But after being taught the gospel, "as many of the lamanites as believed in [the sons of Mosiah's] preaching, and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away. For they did become a righteous people; they did lay down the weapons of their rebellion, that they did not fight against God anymore, neither against any of their brethren." (Alma 23:6-7) They even refused to be called lamanites anymore, taking upon themselves the name of Anti-Nephi-Lehies, and "there was not one soul among all the people who had been converted unto the Lord that would take up arms against their brethren. Nay, they would not even make preparations for war." (Alma 24:6) What a mighty change of heart! These men went from being a bloodthirsty, ferocious people to being an honest, industrial, god-fearing people. We later learn that not only did they refuse to fight, but they "took their swords, and all the weapons which were used for the shedding of man's blood, and they did bury them up deep in the earth. And this they did, it being in their view a testimony to God, and also to men, that they never would use weapons again for the shedding of man's blood; and this they did, vouching and covenanting with God, that rather than shed the blood of their brethren they would give up their own lives; and rather than take away from a brother they would give unto him; and rather than spend their days in idleness they would labor abundantly with their hands." (Alma 24:17-18)
What an amazing example these fathers set for their families! But several years later, the lamanites attack and Captain Moroni comes asking for people to fight in defense of their God, their religion, their freedom, their peace, their wives, and their children. The Nephites knew about the covenant that the Anti-Nephi-Lehies had made with God and promised to protect them. But when the Anti-Nephi-Lehies "saw the danger, and the many afflictions and tribulations which the Nephites bore for them, they were moved with compassion and were desirous to take up arms in the defense of their country. But behold, as they were about to take their weapons of war, they were overpowered by the persuasions of Helaman and his brethren, for they were about to break the oath which they had made. And Helaman feared lest by so doing that they should lose their souls; therefore all those who had entered into this covenant were compelled to behold their brethren wade through their afflictions, in their dangerous circumstances at this time." (Alma 53:13-15)
We know that "by divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families." (The Family: A Proclamation To The World) How hard it must have been for these men to not only watch their brethren struggle in their behalf and not be able to do anything about it, but to know that they could not uphold their responsibility to protect their families. However, these men had set an amazing example for their sons. These sons "had not entered into a covenant that they would not take their weapons of war to defend themselves against their enemies; therefore they did assemble themselves together at this time, as many as were able to take up arms, and they called themselves Nephites. And they entered into a covenant to fight for the liberty of the Nephites, yea, to protect the land unto the laying down of their lives; yea, even they covenanted that they never would give up their liberty, but they would fight in all cases to protect the Nephites and themselves from bondage." (Alma 53:16-17) These fathers had shown their sons that their covenants with God were sacred and extremely important to them, therefore enabling them to make their own covenant with God. I bet that if we were to talk to one of these strippling warriors that they would tell us about their fathers just as much as they would their mothers. They would tell us that because of the example set for them by their fathers, they knew what their duty was and they knew that if they kept their covenants with God, that they would be protected.
What an amazing roll fathers have in our lives! I am so grateful for my dad who has always set an example of righteousness for me and my family. I've watched him move around to different jobs, working hours or projects that he didn't enjoy in order to provide for our family. I've watched him go through different medical challenges, always facing them with bravery and faith. I've watched him serve in different callings in the church, always striving to magnify his calling and give his very best. I've watched him study his scriptures diligently. I've heard him bear testimony to my family, and then live that testimony to it's fullest. He's set an example not only for the kind of person that I want to be, but has set a high standard for the kind of person that I want to marry. I'm so grateful for a mother and a father who are like the parents of the strippling warriors, who have raised three children and set an example for us of what we need to do.
My dad is selfless. My dad is courageous. My dad is honest. My dad is dependable.
My dad is one of my best friends. My dad is my hero.
Happy Father's Day
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