John Bytheway - Righteous Warriors: Lessons from the War Chapters in the Book of Mormon

Jack Lee Bytheway, 19262004

To my dad,
a Righteous Warrior
who fought a good fight,
finished his course,
and kept the faith

Acknowledgments

I wish to thank Robert L. Millet, who encouraged me to turn these ideas into a book. Id also like to thank S. Michael Wilcox and M. Todd Murdock for their insights on the war chapters.

I am grateful to the staff at Deseret Book for their careful and professional work. I am particularly grateful to Michael Morris for his editing skills and helpful suggestions, Tom Hewitson for the beautiful cover design, and Susan Dayley for her comments and ideas.

I am most thankful for the constant support of my wife, Kimberly, who read the initial manuscript and offered valuable help and suggestions.

Introduction

Why are there so many wars in the Book of Mormon? Thats a good question, and there are several good answers. We know that the Book of Mormon was written for our time and that the ancient prophets saw what life would be like for us in the latter days. Lets think about that for a minuteif they saw our day, what did they see?

Centuries of Conflict

The Book of Mormon was unearthed and translated a few decades after the Revolutionary War and published eighteen years after the War of 1812 (when was that?). The Mormon Battalion went to assist the U.S. Army in the Mexican War in 1846. The Civil War (186165) followed fifteen years later, and the Spanish-American War (1898) came three decades after that. World War I (191418) was fought during my grandfathers time, and World War II (194145) and the Korean War (195053) occurred when my dad was young. The Vietnam War (196473) happened during my childhood, and we all remember the Persian Gulf War (1991). As I write this chapter at the end of 2003, fighting still rages in the aftermath of the War in Iraq. Thats pretty sobering, and those were only some of the wars in which the United States was involved. I didnt mention any of the hundreds of wars fought around the world in the past two hundred years.

So if the ancient prophets saw our day, what would we expect them to write about, peace? No. They saw our day and the wars of our day, so they wrote about war. What would really be strange is if we had a book written for our day with no wars in it. (Can you imagine a large part of the Book of Mormon called the peace chapters? Cant you just hear some people say, Hey, why is there so much peace in here?) If the Book of Mormon were warless, how could it help us in our day, which is characterized by war?

The General Idea

Perhaps another reason the Book of Mormon includes so many wars is that Mormon, the prophet who abridged it, was a military man himself. He included the things he knew about! He saw gospel principles in the things he experienced, and he shared them with us so that we could see them too. President Boyd K. Packer said Mormon was not able to resist putting in a generous amount of military science and tacticsfor he was a general. This unusual human insight is also a testimony! (Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1991], 276).

It Aint Over Til Its Over

The war chapters were preserved for us because the war that began in heaven, which was a spiritual struggle involving testimony and allegiance to the Fathers plan, is continuing here on earth and is far from over. Elder Russell M. Nelson taught:

We must realize that we are at war. The war began before the world was, and it will continue. The forces of the adversary are extant upon the earth. All of our virtuous motives, if transmitted only by inertia and timidity, are no match for the resolute wickedness of those who oppose us (The Power within Us [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1988], 99).

All of these reasons help us understand why the Book of Mormon discusses so many wars. I love the war chapters. I dont love war, but I love these chaptersand I know that Im not alone. Many of us love the war chapters because of their intriguing mixture of heroism, adventure, treachery, deception, faith, and devotion. Were fascinated by brilliant military tactics using prophetic reconnaissance and by deceptively simple stratagems, decoys, and snares. Were sobered when we see the effects of raw ambition and political upheaval on the children of Lehi. And were touched by the profound gratitude and deep sorrow among those who are spared in the aftermath.

Perhaps most important, we are reminded that the conflict that began in the premortal existence has simply switched locations. Perhaps we may benefit from the lessons learned long ago by the children of Lehi in their time of war.

In the war chapters were inspired by the examples of Captain Moroni, Helaman, Teancum, the stripling warriors, and otherstowering characters of unwavering commitment and resolute defenders of freedom and liberty. Were taught that their victories did not come because of superior armor, fortifications, or tactics but because of unshakable faith in Christ.

Not only do these chapters give us insights to prepare us for lifes never-ending spiritual battles, but they also warn us to beware of the stratagems of the adversary, whose ultimate goal is to bring us into bondage and destruction.

Youre Gonna Do What?

More than a few people were a bit surprised when I told them I was working on a book for teenagers about the war chapters in the Book of Mormon. Are you crazy? Are you loco loco? Are you teched in the head? Yeah, Im probably a little strange, but I like to react to those questions by sharing what Ive learned about LDS teenagers.

A few years ago I was working for the BYU summer camp called Especially for Youth. We decided we wanted to make the scriptures a more fundamental part of the program. In fact we decided we would make the scriptures the ticket the youth would need to be admitted to an EFY class. Those who didnt have their ticket couldnt come in. We worried that some might forget to bring their scriptures or say they were too heavy or too inconvenient to carry around campus all day. We even talked about having a box of scriptures at the door of each class for those who forgot to bring their own, but we changed our minds because we didnt want anyone to rely on our extra sets.

We were nervous when the summer sessions began, but we knew our ticket idea was the right thing to do. So we told the teenagers that they had to have their scriptures, and we waited to see what would happen. The rest is history. We were surprised, we were amazed, and we were impressed. They not only brought their scriptures, but they also opened them and marked them. They also followed along and asked questions. We were excited, and our EFY teachers were thrilled.