I was reading in the Book of Mormon today when I noticed something different than I had previously understood. It was an epiphany really and opened my eyes to another great message available to all of us upon examination of its text.
The part that stood out to me was from the story of Helaman’s stripling warriors. We have all read those passages and are inspired by these young mens' courage, success, and commitment. But what I noticed today jumped out when I read an excerpt I had considered previously many times—certainly you have too—but today it meant something different to me. This insight can be found in the following verse:
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 anot one soul of them who did perish; yea, and neither was there one soul among them who had not received many wounds.
None of the 2000 stripling warriors had perished we all know that but it also explicitly mentions that there was not one among them that had not received many wounds. And there were two hundred of them that had fainted because of the loss of blood.
Then I realized this verse and story is analogous to our lives here on earth. We are struggling through a challenging battle against the adversary. There have been casualties among the brothers and sisters in our midst, but because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, none of our little band is lost.
Though wounded and seemingly fallen, each of these children of God is revived and administered to so the purpose of this great battle is not lost. Instead, the adversarial forces are leveled and the victory has already been secured.
We are in this war together. While men are free to choose the direction of their lives, none of us is alone. Our faithful brothers and sisters who are comrades in arms will not leave the wounded to be lost and forgotten. Together we lift and recover them, and they inspire and help us. All of us are broken and need succor from the Lord and His Atonement. And as we and our colleagues bear this message abroad and afar, we work together to bring in the wounded that we and they might be made better, stronger, and restored to health.
Whatever your wounds, the Savior has already fought and won the war to redeem you. The plan is a perfect solution to our shortcomings, failures, and weakness. Through Jesus Christ we are made successful, strong, and victorious. That is the plan.
And the outcome is sure if we are willing to allow the Savior to do what he does best, and that is to save us as families—lifting and building those that need strength—especially our brothers and sisters that don't have families here on earth.
We all have a thriving family in heaven. All of us.
