2000 Child Warriors

Alma 56–58

Alma 56:45 And now I say unto you, my beloved brother Moroni, that never had I seen so great courage, nay, not amongst all the Nephites.

This is a story about the children of the people with the long name. Do you remember how they buried their weapons and their pride in a hole? And they promised God that they would never dig up their weapons or their pride again. Well, that promise quickly became very hard to keep because when they went to live with the Nephites, they were chased by a Lamanite army. And the Nephites had to protect the people with the long name. They had to take their own swords and give up their own lives simply because the Anti-Nephi-Lehies had made a promise and didn’t want to break it.

And that was hard enough the first time. But the wars between the Lamanites and the Nephites continued on and on and on. Amalickiah was just one leader among many leaders, and when he died, his brother Ammoron took over so the war wouldn’t stop. And the war went on and on and on for far too long. And it was harder and harder for the Anti-Nephi-Lehies to keep their promise. Because they had to rely on the Nephites to fight and die and fight and die again.

But just because the Anti-Nephi-Lehies couldn’t fight, that didn’t mean they were useless in a war. When you think of war, you might think it’s all about fighting. But that is only part of war. It is also about how and where you fight. It’s about getting food and having water and toilet paper and toothbrushes and tents and pots and places to sleep. And so the Anti-Nephi-Lehies carried soap and food and letters and blankets to the Nephite army wherever they went so that they would be strong and fed and well rested. And the Anti-Nephi-Lehies did this for thirteen years. They supplied more than all the other Nephite cities because the Anti-Nephi-Lehies wanted to do their part.

But after thirteen years, and the war was still going, it did not seem like enough anymore. While they were carrying backpacks of supplies, other Nephites were carrying swords onto battlefields. The Anti-Nephi-Lehies were getting sore and tired, but the Nehpites were getting killed. The Anti-Nephi-Lehies wanted to do something more. And so they called a meeting.

They invited the prophet, Helaman. And they said “Helaman, we made a promise to God that we would never fight again. But that was a long time ago. And carrying backpacks with supplies makes us feel silly and useless and cowardly. We want to fight like everyone else. Surely our promise to God could not be more important than another person’s life. Helaman, please talk with God. Tell him that we are sorry, but we must help win this war and end the fighting. Nothing could be more important.”

But Helaman did not agree. He said, “A promise to God is a precious thing. And so are supplies and suppliers. Trust God, keep your promise, carry supplies, and you will help us win this war.”

And so the Anti-Nephi-Lehies were very sad because they had almost broken their promise, and sad because they couldn’t. The meeting was over and Helaman had turned to go, but then a young boy stood up and began to talk. “Thirteen years ago,” he said, “I was just a baby. I did not own a sword. I did not bury a weapon. I did not promise God anything, because I was still learning the alphabet. But now I am nearly grown, and I can fight in my father’s place.”

And another boy stood. And another. And another. And another. And then there were two thousand standing. And they said, “We will go.”

And Helaman turned back and looked out, and his heart sank. They were just boys. They were too young to be married, too young to own a house, too young to fight a war. But the army needed soldiers. So Helaman bowed his head and said, “Yes. You can fight in your father’s place. But only if I can be your captain.” Then he looked at the mothers of the boys. They were smiling with pride, but they were also crying. Helaman looked into their tearful eyes and said, “I will bring them back alive.”

And Helaman tried to keep his word by teaching the boys how to fight. And he grew to love them like a father. And he dreaded danger and war and death, like a father. But when they were ready, he marched them to the battlefront, like a captain. And they arrived not a moment too soon. Because the Nephites were losing the war. They had lost city after city after city. And Helaman and his boys began a long and dangerous task of winning back the cities.

To take back the first city, Helaman devised a strategy. Helaman and his child army would march out of their city and march right past the city with the Lamanite army. And the Lamanites would see that the child army was small, and weak, and easy to defeat, so they would leave their city and try to chase the child-army down. But this is what Helaman was hoping would happen. Because when the Lamanite army was out of the city walls, they were vulnerable. And Helaman planned for another army of trained adult fighters to come from behind and defeat the Lamanite army.

It was a dangerous plan. So many things could go wrong. There was no guarantee that the Lamanite army would come out. And if Helaman’s child army wasn’t fast enough, they could be captured or killed. But something had to be done.

Helman could not keep his child army safe inside the city walls forever. They had to fight. And if they fought, they might die. And if the children died, Helaman would have to tell their mothers.

The night before the risky battle, the boys received supplies. And who do you think carried the supplies? The fathers. Their fathers. They came with meat and bread and water and bandaids and candies in their pockets. And in the morning, they watched as their boys sorted into lines and marched out of the gates into the battlefield.

At first, it seemed like Helaman’s plan was working. The Lamanite army came out and started chasing the boy soldiers. But then things started to fall apart. Because Helaman’s child army ran as fast as they could, and because the Lamanite army ran as fast as they could, the adult Nephite army had to run even faster because they did not want the children to die. And it went on like this for two days. So by the time the trained adult Nephite army caught up with the Lamanites, they were worn out. And when they fought, it was with half their strength, and half their breath, but all their souls. And many of them died to save the children. And perhaps all of them would have died, if the children had followed the plan and kept running.

But on the morning of the third day, the boys woke up and looked around, and they could not see anyone chasing them anymore. No Lamanites. No big strong adult Nephite army. They were all alone. So Helaman looked at his little army of little people. And he hung his head again because they trusted him like a father, and because he was going to ask them to do something very hard.

“My boys,” he said, “I do not know what has happened to our adult army. But I do know that if we do not go back to find them, we may not see them again. You are so little. And this is a big and scary thing I am asking. I wish in my bones that I did not have to ask it. But my boys, will you turn back with me and rescue your rescuers?”

And the boys looked at Helaman and at each other. And a child in the front raised his hand.

“Captain Helaman, sir,” the boy said. “Our fathers made a promise to God. And God made a promise to our mothers. And our mothers put that promise in our hearts. And this is the promise: God will be with us in the world and in this war. And one way or another, he will deliver us. And because of him, we do not need to fear death. We may be little, but we are also strong. We are afraid, but we are also brave. So let’s turn back, and save our friends.” And who knows, perhaps that boy was Abish’s boy. And he was standing tall and brave like his mother.

And all the other children stomped their feet and raised their swords and shouted “HUZZAH!” And they picked up their things and they ran quick as they could back the way they had come — headfirst into danger. And sure enough, the big, trained adult army was losing to the Lamanites. And the boy army ran and fought to save the men. And even though they were just children, they prevailed.

After the battle, Helaman ran through the battlefield carrying bandages and slings and water. And as he ran he was counting. He wanted to know how many of his children warriors had died in the battle. And all of the boys that he saw were injured. And all of the boys that he saw were hurt. And all of the boys that he saw were still, somehow, miraculously alive.

And Helaman fell on his knees and gathered the boys to him like a father. He held them tight and cried and prayed and cried again. Just like their fathers held them when they brought more supplies. Like God held them when they returned to rescue their rescuers. Like God holds you when you are little, and strong, and scared, and brave, and always.

Joshua is an award-winning writer and director. His recent book, Ali the Iraqi, was published by BCC press. Sarah is a literature and theology doctoral student studying the Book of Job in the twentieth century.

Artwork by Maddie Baker.