Alma 58

As I was reading about the war between the Nephites and Lamanites during the days of Moroni, Helaman and his valiant sons, I came upon this quote of the First Presidency -

“To our young men who go into service, no matter whom they serve or where, we say live clean, keep the commandments of the Lord, pray to Him constantly to preserve you in truth and righteousness, live as you pray, and then whatever betides you the Lord will be with you and nothing will happen to you that will not be to the honor and glory of God and to your salvation and exaltation. There will come into your hearts from the living of the pure life you pray for, a joy that will pass your powers of expression or understanding. The Lord will be always near you; He will comfort you; you will feel His presence in the hour of your greatest tribulation; He will guard and protect you to the full extent that accords with His all-wise purpose. Then, when the conflict is over and you return to your homes, having lived the righteous life, how great will be your happiness—whether you be of the victors or of the vanquished—that you have lived as the Lord commanded. You will return so disciplined in righteousness that thereafter all Satan’s wiles and stratagems will leave you untouched. Your faith and testimony will be strong beyond breaking. You will be looked up to and revered as having passed through the fiery furnace of trial and temptation and come forth unharmed. Your brethren will look to you for counsel, support, and guidance. You will be the anchors to which thereafter the youth of Zion will moor their faith in man”

As I read -

"...You will return so disciplined in righteousness that thereafter all Satan’s wiles and stratagems will leave you untouched. Your faith and testimony will be strong beyond breaking. You will be looked up to and revered as having passed through the fiery furnace of trial and temptation and come forth unharmed..."

My mind seemed to immediately turn to the generation of my father who fought in World War II. I know of many of his generation that developed some bad habits during that period that they were never able to overcome. It was their addictions to these bad habits that resulted in them never receiving the full blessings of the gospel. Yet there were others, like my father, that returned with faith and testimonies that were "beyond breaking". Much like -

"...as many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away." (Book of Mormon Alma 23:6)

As these thoughts seemed to race across my mind, I noticed from whom and when the quote was given -

(Heber J. Grant, J. Reuben Clark, Jr., David O. McKay, in Conference Report, Apr. 1942, p. 96).

I realized the magnitude of this prophetic warning.