"There was not one. . . who had not received many wounds"

In the Book of Mormon, we read accounts of ancient prophets and peoples. There are accounts of miracles and angels and mercy and love. According to the Introduction to the Book of Mormon, the "crowning event" of the Book of Mormon is when Christ visits the people in the Americas.

Sadly, hate and war also existed back then. The cool thing, though, is that even in the "war chapters" of the Book of Mormon, we can find tender mercies, faith-filled acts, and modern-day lessons.

I was reading about one such war in Alma 57. It took place around 63 B.C. In simple terms, the wicked people known as the Lamanites were fighting against the righteous people known as the Nephites. Because their fathers had made a covenant with God to never take up their weapons of war again, about two thousand young Nephite men fought for the liberty and safety of their people so that their fathers would not break their covenant.

One verse in particular caught my eye: 

25 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 not one soul of them who did perish; yea, and neither was there one soul among them who had not received many wounds.

It's amazing to me that during this battle, not a single righteous young soldier died. The young soldiers' fathers kept their promise to God, and their families were blessed for it. The young men were fighting for truth and righteousness, and God blessed them for their valiance by allowing their lives to be spared.

But what about the too often neglected part of that verse?

25 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 not one soul of them who did perish; yea, and neither was there one soul among them who had not received many wounds.

This is the part that really caught my eye while I was reading. Not one of the two thousand died, but not one came out unscathed. And by the sound of it ("fainted because of the loss of blood," "many wounds"), the injuries they obtained were more serious than just a scrape on the knee.

Why would Heavenly Father--a God I've always believed to be unchanging and just, but merciful and loving--allow these young men to suffer so much pain? If He had the power to spare their lives, surely He had the power to spare them from such intense injury, as well!

I came to this conclusion: we have been told things like "it's not always easy, but it's worth it" and "you can't know joy without sorrow." I believe that Heavenly Father allowed those young men to experience physical pain in order to teach them invaluable traits, like perseverance, patience, self-reliance, gratitude, and humility. And because they experienced such pain in their bodies, they were able to thenceforth appreciate health and wellness. Exquisite pain is necessary if we want to understand exquisite joy and health (see Alma 36:21).

I think it goes even farther than that, too. In verse 28, Helaman says they "had thus taken care of [their] wounded men" after the battle. Could it be that God allowed the young men to suffer for not only their own spiritual growth, but for the sake of their caretakers, as well? Those who cared for the wounded men were surely blessed for their selfless service.

Plus, they could see firsthand the spiritual growth of their injured loved ones. There's something about seeing the faith of others that affects an individual's own faith. I wasn't there to stitch their cuts or set their broken bones, but I can imagine the young Nephites praising God for sparing their lives. I suppose they would have told their families and caretakers about the grace of God. I think they would have acknowledged their fathers' wisdom in keeping their covenant not to go up to battle. And through all that, the caretakers would have felt the Spirit whisper peace and truth to their hearts.

I also wonder if a number of the warriors felt help from heaven while they were fighting for their righteous cause--literally felt heavenly messengers guide their feet or lift their arms when they were too weary to go on alone. I wouldn't be surprised if they did. After all, we know of many accounts from the pioneers of the nineteenth century who said they experienced the same kind of heavenly help. Can you imagine the tears of gratitude and amazement that come to those who hear of these stories? Surely the Nephites' loved ones would have cried the same tears if such miracles occurred.

So here's my application: we are always blessed for righteous decisions. Naturally, each decision we make must lead to action. Sometimes, those blessings for acting in righteousness might not be as obvious as our lives being spared when they could have been lost. Sometimes, they're not immediate or don't come in the way we expect or even want them to. And even while we are blessed for our righteous actions, we may be asked to endure additional hardship. We may be asked to apply more patience, more trust, more humility and gratitude.

It's not always easy. But it's worth it.

Image from lds.org