His eyes kind of glazed over so I knew that he was only being polite as I spoke of some personal values, I hoped he would adopt. The values were scripture based so I knew they were true. I had explored alternatives, discussed with those of opposite opinions and carefully chosen these values so I knew they were logical and reasonable even though they required personal commitment. I had lived them, so I knew that they worked. But I knew that they weren’t shared by everyone. I knew close loving relationships were key to sharing important values so I had paid a personal price to be one-on-one with those I hoped would adopt them. I knew that these values would solve both long-term and short-term difficulties, so I was anxious to be effective in communicating them. But the polite nod, with an occasional uh, huh and the glazed eyes let me know that I was missing something.
As time passed and the avoidable difficulties began to manifest, my desire to be helpful heightened exponentially. But loving relations was all that I could do without blocking all communication. Some even expressed boundaries so that I was forbidden to broach any unrequested advice.
Then I read that “values are caught, not taught.” That rang true to me so, I wondered, how do I throw the value ball so it can be caught? That led me to search how God has thrown the ball so I could catch the values I so cherished. I knew that I wasn’t the first to wonder about Father’s or Christ’s teaching methodology. I had been teaching and reading about teaching, and listening to experts about teaching for years, so I had some ideas even as the question came into my mind. So why was I struggling with teaching those I cared about and were closest to? Was it because I wanted to diagnose and prescribe, like I had with my patients? Was it because they felt I was trying to control them or limit their desire to choose their own path? A doctor is sought and paid for and still has patients who won’t follow prescribed solutions so why was I so frustrated in “sharing” values…or was I trying to prescribe values without being hired to do so? OK, but that is hard on a grandpa, or a dad, let alone a bishop or class president, etc. The more one loves….
As I questioned and explored, I noticed how Christ used parables and stories and then left listeners to come to Him for understanding. If they didn’t come, He didn’t offer more, He just loved, healed, and waited. Then one day while reading the war chapter stories in the Book of Alma, I wondered what would happen if I expanded the story. Could I gain a deeper insight or have values more deeply planted in my heart if I tried to fictionally fill in the blanks in the story being told. What human emotions, what logic paths, what responses to consequences would reveal themselves? I have always loved the story of the stripling warriors and wondered about many details: how old were “striplings?” How did they become a volunteer army? How did they learn to fight at such young ages? How did they learn exact obedience? How did they gain such faith from their mothers and why not their fathers? And on and on…so I decided to use this story expansion as a study tool.
While writing about the age of striplings, I explored the Biblical use of the word and found two references. As I read the story context of each reference, I found a common pattern. Then, when I searched the Hebrew origins of the word used, I found that it fit the pattern of the stories. Suddenly, my feelings towards youth expanded beyond the love I already had from teaching them for 35 years. No wonder a modern prophet has called them to be part of a mighty modern youth battalion! If they only knew!!!
As I wrote about the day that the youth volunteered, I was set to tears. I was living and feeling the very emotions that I would have felt had I been there and listened and watched them rise with a quiet but overwhelming thunderous affirmation as the prophet Helaman watched in grateful amazement. A few days later as I was researching general authority quotes concerning the striplings, I read:
“The scriptural account doesn’t tell us who first pointed out that their sons had not made the same covenant their parents had made. I like to think that it was one of the young men who suggested the possibility that he and his peers be allowed to “take up arms, and [call] themselves Nephites.” President M. Russell Ballard, Conference October 2002, The Greatest Generation of Missionaries.
I was stunned, I had just tearfully experienced that very moment and the planning leading up to it as a fruit of expanding the scriptural story. I know that my expanded story was fictional but to me it was a spiritual experience resulting from deeper prayerful pondering. The process was more sacred to me than the product of my imaginings.
Now, I wondered, what if I were to take this expanded story, this historical fiction and publish it for my grandchildren?? Would they read it?? A friend discovered my efforts and procured copies for her grandchildren finding the story so compelling and the examples of the striplings so applicable. As we were talking about her experience reading what had become a book, she tried to guess the ending, “This is about the origins of Samuel the Lamanite, isn’t it?” I hadn’t even considered that nor compared timelines to see how that would have fit. I felt almost compelled to go back to this expanded pondering and see what resulted. Thus, was born what is now available on Amazon as, “Stripling, The 2,000, 2nd Edition.” Click on the link or picture to go to Amazon.
