Taught by Their Mothers

TAUGHT BY THEIR MOTHERS

When Helaman, the Nephite captain, tested the faith of his two thousand Lamanite stripling warriors—his “sons,” as he affectionately called them—he was astonished to find their courage so strong, their trust in God so implicit. He inquired of them the reason, no doubt, and in telling Moroni, his brother-in-arms of the incident, he said:

“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.”

What faith in, what devotion to motherhood! When the battle came, their courage held; in the heat of conflict they stood the test and came off victorious. The teachings of their mothers were vindicated; and not one of the two thousand warriors was slain.

Are the teachings of the mothers of this day and age as loyally upheld, as fully believed, as faithfully observed, as were those of the Lamanite mothers of old? Is there any body of young people in the world which compares favourably with those warriors?— who have in their lives the strengthening courage their mothers have taught them? Yes. There is such a body in Zion—a latter-day army of stripling warriors who are upholding the standards of their mothers.

Each year approximately two thousand five hundred missionaries—male and female—go forth in the world to battle. They carry for a standard the Gospel of Jesus Christ; their cry is truth and religious freedom; they fear not death, but trust in God to deliver them. In their hearts is the conviction, the testimony that Christ lives, planted there by their mothers in Zion; and thus prepared, they go forth to battle, to conquer evil in the world.

The people with whom these missionaries come in contact, are often astonished by the zeal they display, by the devotion they manifest to the principles for which they stand. Their lives are tempered and their arms strengthened by the message they bear; and each strikes a blow for truth. There is no doubt; the example of the mothers in Israel shines clear and true; to each humble servant of God comes the knowledge that the Lord will deliver those who walk uprightly before Him.

In the mission field the conflict wages. Persecution comes from without; temptation assails from within. Suddenly the servants of the Lord find themselves in the vortex of strife; conditions are not what they expected. They must truly trust in God, believe and uphold their religion, live it from day to day, or fall and sink beneath the onslaught of evil.

When these tests come, they stand. True, many feel the steel of the enemy; many are wounded in pride and stripped of prejudice. But they rise again and fight. The banner of truth and liberty goes on; and spiritual death retires from the field. The teachings of the mothers are vindicated ; the faith of the missionaries is strengthened and their trust is deepened to an absolute knowledge of the truth.

Hail, mothers of modern Israel! You have set the example as did the converted Lamanite mothers of old! All strength to yon! May the blessings of the Lord crown your lives in rich abundance; and may your teachings sink deep into our hearts and lives!

Then may we, your sons and daughters, ever stand firm in the cause of truth and right. May the mothers of the coming generation uphold the standards of virtue and purity you have taught; may they have power in faith to fill the places you leave, just as sincerely, just as devotedly, with that same implicit trust in the goodness of God that you have manifested in your daily lives. May the youth everywhere look to the mothers of Zion for righteous teaching; and may they not be disappointed, but receive it, and go forth believing in God and with a divine testimony of truth in their hearts!

Weston N. Nordgren