We Do Not Doubt Our Fathers Knew It

When Helaman asked the two thousand young men to march into a heated battle, their courage astounded him. “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). From their mothers, Helaman’s stripling warriors learned to trust that God would deliver them and to doubt not. But from their fathers, these young men learned not to fear death. If it was courageous for these young men to march into battle, armed and armored but untried and untested, how much more courageous was it for their fathers to lay themselves in front of their enemies unarmed and defenseless? Not only that, but they “would not flee from the sword, neither would they turn aside to the right hand or to the left, but that they would lie down and perish, and praised God even in the very act of perishing under the sword.” (Alma 24:23). Why would they praise God even as they were being slain? Were they masochistic? Suicidal? Insane? Or did they think more upon the liberty of their wives and their children than they did upon their own lives? These brave men who would not run from a fight and rejoiced even as they perished knew that their sacrifice would ensure the liberty and safety of their families. It is said that battle after battle, the Nephites marveled that not one of Helaman’s stripling warriors perished, when so many other good men had died. But it was not a mystery to the fathers who cheerfully laid in front of a sword, so that their sons would have the protection they needed to march into battle and yet survive. Every father who holds in reverence the honors and duties and privileges associated with fatherhood desires for their children a better life than they had. All such fathers would lay down their lives and rejoice and praise God in the very act of perishing if they knew that their sacrifice would ensure the protection and survival and liberty and salvation of their children. Not all fathers are expected to die in such dramatic fashion for the sake of their children, but every father worth the name sacrifices in thousands of little and big ways for the happiness of their children. Many of the two thousand stripling warriors lost their fathers much earlier than they would have liked, and definitely before they marched off into battle, but just as surely as they did not doubt that their mothers knew that God would deliver them, neither did they doubt that their fathers knew it. Their fathers saw that far off moment, even as they were being slain, when their sons would stand firm in defense of their liberty, and they would not falter nor perish. There is a great scene in the movie Man of Steel, when Clark Kent’s mother tells him that his father “Always believed you were meant for greater things, and that when the day came, your shoulders would be able to bear the wait.” “Yeah, I just wish he could have been here to see it finally happen.” “He saw it, Clark, believe me.” Our fathers see the best in us, and see visions of our triumphs even if for some of us they leave us before those great moments happen. I know that those brave men who chose preserving their families’ liberty and salvation over preserving their own lives saw the fruits of their sacrifice, and when those sons of Helaman stood firm and immovable on the field of battle, it was because they did not doubt that their fathers knew it. Whether we had the opportunity to be in person with and share our love with our fathers today or not, I do not doubt that for every single one of us, our fathers have seen and will be with us for every challenge that we overcome. I love and respect and honor my father and all fathers - those who are still with us in person and those who are still with us in spirit. Happy Father’s Day.