In March 2003, Richard O. Hatch, an attorney and colonel in the U.S. Army, was preparing his unit camped on the Kuwaiti border for war in Iraq.

"I felt impressed to gather all the soldiers and officers in my charge and talk to them about what they were about to undertake, since most of them were serving their initial Army tours and had never experienced combat," he recalled.

On March 18, 2003, the group gathered in a large mess tent. "I had been praying for days asking the Lord to guide me as to what I should say to the 75 young soldiers and officers for whom I was responsible. As the appointed day and hour came, I still didn't have an answer. Not until the 20-minute Humvee ride across the open desert from my camp to the camp where we were meeting did I get an answer. But then it came to me, as clearly as if my remarks were being dictated: 'Helaman's Stripling Warriors.'"

He initially resisted the prompting, not wanting to "push my religious convictions on my subordinates."

Ultimately, however, he told the familiar Book of Mormon story, highlighting three things. First, was that Helaman's warriors had a conviction in the justness of their cause. Second, they were confident in their abilities as a result of their upbringing and training. And third, they obeyed all commands with exactness.

"As I concluded my remarks, I felt prompted to promise these young soldiers that if they obeyed every command with exactness, we, like the stripling warriors, may suffer wounds, but would all return home alive."

It was three days later when the promise was tested. Their camp was attacked, and all of the soldiers who followed Hatch's guidance survived.

The experience of Hatch, a former bishop, is just one of many currently being documented by professors at BYU as part of the Saints at War project.

See the rest of the story at LDSChurchNews.com.


This story is provided by the LDS Church News, an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is produced weekly by the Deseret News.