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

by John Bytheway

Why are there so many wars in the Book of Mormon? Could it be that a book written "for our day" would have to prepare us to survive in a time of "wars and rumors of war," a time when Satan is at war with everything that is good?

What we often call the war chapters in the Book of Mormon give us important insights into how to defeat Satan in our day. The pattern is clear: When the children of Lehi are successful, it s because they make covenants first and swords later. Here are great lessons for how to live well now and eternally!

John Bytheway is a favorite speaker and teacher. He hold a master s degree in Religious Education and has been a part-time instructor at BYU. He now works as
an executive at Deseret Book Company.

John is the author of many best-selling books and audio products, including the "What I Wish I d Known", "Honoring the Priesthood as a Deacon, a Teacher, and a Priest. He and his wife, Kimberly, have three children.

Genres: Nonfiction, Religion, Lds, Inspirational, Church, Lds Non Fiction, Mormonism

182 pages, Paperback

First published May 10, 2004

About the author

John Bytheway (born October 1962) is an American author and academic, who is well known as a comic motivational speaker for youth within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Born in Salt Lake City, Bytheway attended the University of Utah and Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah, receiving a Master's Degree in Religious Education. He also served as a missionary for the LDS Church in the Philippines.

Bytheway is a religious studies instructor at BYU, currently focusing on the Book of Mormon. He also serves on the Aaronic Priesthood/Young Women Writing Committee for the LDS Church. Bytheway and his wife Kimberly have six children.

Reviews

[Dlora · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second time I have read this book and it is still marvelous. I highly recommend it. John Bytheway has highlighted lessons from the war chapters in the Book of Mormon, Alma 43-62, delving for application to our personal warfare against Satan. I used to hate those war chapters but not anymore. Bytheway's book is not all metaphorical; he also draws a picture of what a Christian attitude toward war and conflict should be. His audience is teenagers so there are lots of fun jokes and stories, but the insights are deep and interesting. I like to read the book chapter by chapter as I read the corresponding chapters in the Book of Mormon. Super good book, easy and entertaining to read but very rewarding and thought-provoking.

[Estella · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book--don't miss it! I have, in the past, viewed John Bytheway as a youth speaker/author, and I now regret "pigeon-holing" him in that way. Although his writing style is certainly well-received by young people, "old people" like me can benefit from his amazing insights and modern-day applications.
I have read the Book of Mormon, and thus the war chapters, many times, but as I read this book I viewed them through new eyes. So many valuable lessons can be learned as we (to borrow a phrase from Nephi) "liken [these] scriptures unto us".

[Luann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first John Bytheway book, although I have listened to several of his audio presentations. At first I thought the light-hearted almost jokey tone would be too much for me. It comes across great in audio, but seems different when you're just reading the words. I wasn't too many pages into it, though, before I was completely drawn in by what he was teaching. I've never had a problem with the war chapters in the Book of Mormon, but I thought I might gain some helpful insights for my Sunday School lessons. He did a great job of finding spiritual correlations and teaching them in a way that is easy to read, understand, and remember. He also included some amazing quotes from General Authorities to go along with the points he made. I highly recommend this book for any student of the Book of Mormon. Whether you enjoy the war chapters or not, you will definitely learn from this book.

I don't want to sell or swap my copy, but I would be willing to loan it to anyone who wants to read it.

[Myranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Bytheway's style is engaging not only for youth but for *anyone*. He is fantastic at relating his audience and often you don't realize he is about to connect the funny story he's telling to a principle of the gospel - until it's in front of you. True "ah-ha!" moments abound.
I listened to his talk on this subject given at BYU Edu week a few times through, and now again on CD given at another venue. Fantastic every time, and gained new appreciation with every listen. I have it in book form now, and am anxious to see what more I learn.
Also anxious to read Isaiah for Airheads, as I thoroughly enjoyed his series of articles in Meridian Magazine, and have hope that further study with Bro Bytheway's help will finally make sense of 2nd Nephi;-)

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. First, it is always fun to see how someone else looks at and interprets a verse of scripture. Second, it was a focuesd approach on specific chapters of the Book of Mormon. I have always believed that the Book of Mormon was preserved for our times and these specific chapters at the end of the Book of Alma are intend for us. John Bytheway (author) has an engaging way of presenting the material, in particular the way he calls out certain points as "Major lesson" or "mini lesson" also provided a new way of looking at the truth and how to apply it our lives. Read it.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is good. It sheds light on the war chapters of the book of mormon and more importantly the lessons that lie behind them. This book takes you through a spiritual journey and brings you tons of insights. Because of this though I do think it can be kind of tiresome and you should probably only read three or four chapters of it a day if you want to understand it all. (It's heavy reading)

[Katieb (MundieMoms) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book! It's one that makes you really think about what you're reading. I loved it! I also love reading John Bytheway's books too. I loved reading about the lessons, stories and history behind the war stories in the Book of Mormon. It really is for our day in time. This really helped strengthen my testimony and understanding of the BofM.

[Verona · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love John Bytheway's writing, lectures, sense of humor, dedication to the gospel, clear explanations, attention to detail, everything about his honest approach to life and his desire to help all the rest of us in our path back to our Heavenly Father. This book opened up ideas to me that I would never have thought of on my own. I appreciate his study and sharing his understanding with us.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE THIS BOOK. It truly opened up the "war chapters" of Book of Mormon to me in a very interesting way. It made me excited to read my scriptures because I couldn't wait to see what new insights I would gain.

[Michelle S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this book would probably interest people of the LDS faith more than others, the religous and moral undertones reach across different church affiliations and bring a message of hope and courage

[Crystal]

I listened to this tape last week and it was so cool because I was actually in the book of Alma at the time which has always been hard for me to get through but I really fell in love with it after hearing John Bytheway talk about it.

[Opal T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most awesome book ever! Loved it, read it several times.

[Steven Hummer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very well done talk he is a great story teller.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually listened to this as a talk, but this is seriously a good talk/book! Holy cow! Everybody should listen to/read it!

[Marci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent book by John Bytheway.

[MaKayle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. It's a great book to read along with the war chapters of the Book of Mormon. It provides a lot of great insight into why those chapters are included.

[Rachael Hodson (still skiing) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Need a good book to help your kids or yourself understand the War Chapters in Alma? Anita Wells encouraged us to read this in her class and it is fantastic. The CD is just as good.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great insight. I listened to this one on CD... entertaining and informative.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I could give this 6 stars. I learned so much in this book. I will never look at the war chapters in the Book of Mormon again.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finding this book was a bit of a tender mercy for me. I had just been reading the books in the Book of Mormon in which the plates are getting passed along from writer to writer. They each make the point that this set of plates includes all of the spiritual happenings, the teachings and revelations of their people, and that other historical information is being kept on a separate set of plates. This got me wondering about why some things, especially the detailed accounts of war, are included in the plates for which we have the translation - The Book of Mormon. this same week, I was browsing for another book to download from the library and happened across this one.

I know that this author tailors his messages to seminary and institute students - youth. So, yes, some of the writing is a bit...youthful. But that, to me, did not detract from the meat of the text. I learned so much, and ended the book energized to put the spiritual lessons from the war chapters into practice. This is a book I would love to pass along to my teenage boys, although I will probably have better luck distilling the information in a series of FHE lessons. Now that I have read it once, I plan to go back through the selections I highlighted and make some notations in my scriptures so I don't forget.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

I forgot that I read this! I only have one thing marked that I loved from this book. That doesn't mean it wasn't chuck full of great stuff, but this is something that I really wanted to remember.

RIGHTEOUS WARRIORS is all about lessons from the war chapters of the Book of Mormon, which are many, but sometimes it's difficult to see the lessons. There are things we see in the war chapters that hint of actions that are good to do and those that hint of things that are bad to do. One of the bad things we find in these chapters is to NOT LEAVE YOUR STRONG HOLD.

The Lamanites left their strong hold because they thought they could take the small army that they saw. Which is like saying for us, "THAT'S JUST A SMALL TEMPTATION! I CAN HANDLE THAT AND I'LL BE RIGHT BACK! I CAN LEAVE MY PLACE OF SAFETY, JUST FOR A MINUTE AND I'LL BE RIGHT BACK AND THEN THEY FIND OUT THAT THEY AREN'T RIGHT BACK.

[James Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can lessons be learned in war? If not, we are in trouble. John Bytheway finds the pearls of wisdom in the battles. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and may refer to it if I ever have to teach Sunday School again. If you ever wondered why Mormon included chapters about war in the BOM, then thi is your book.

I use ratings to decide which books I am going to buy, and I recently decided I am partially responsible for inflating the ratings on books. Either they were 5 star or 1 star. I decided to use the star rating more objectively as follows:

★★★★★ Great book! Can’t wait to read it again (and I will).
★★★★☆ Good book. I am glad I read this.
★★★☆☆ OK book. Nothing special but not bad.
★★☆☆☆ Not good. Why did I waste my time?
★☆☆☆☆ Lousy. I didn’t finish.

[Lisa Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of mine and my kids' favorite John Bytheway talks/books, Righteous Warriors does a study on all the amazing gospel truths we can learn from the "war chapters" in the Book of Mormon. Highlighting the amazing men with strong testimonies of Christ in that section of the book (such as Captain Moroni, Teancum, Lehi, Helaman, Nephihah), he not only shows the lessons that are their to be found, but why it was important for this part of the book to be included.

**I have listened to this talk multiple times, but most recently it was on a trip with my whole family, where my eight year old son heard it and fell in love with it as well.

[Winslow Morrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

Sometimes I like to think that I live in an unparalleled time. Wickedness seems to appear in every facet of my life. In all of this confusion that I face, I often turn to reading the Book of Mormon. I awe in amazement when I learn about the depth of the Book of Mormon. It was truly meant for our day. It is amazing to me that God can place the exact thing that I needed to hear in a simple verse. I love reading about secrets that others have learned by reading the Book of Mormon. This book opened my eyes to the marvelous power of the war chapters. Take a look.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful study companion to the war chapters of the Book of Mormon. I have loved all the books/talks by Bytheway.

My husband and I read this together as we studied the chapters. The content is written with a fun and light voice, but with a reminder of the important messages that it contains. Bytheway has a great ability to reach readers young and old and share insights that I was glad to learn.

Everyone should take the time to read this on their own or with their families.

[James Biser · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent discussion of several chapters in the Book of Mormon that introduce some of the greatest heroes who have ever lived. Bytheway mentions two men named Moroni (the Captain and the son of Mormon), and several leaders of both the Nephites and the Lamanites. He explains how their faithful preparation and perseverance saves lives. He then goes on to describe what faith and the lack of fear mean to people alive today. He even quotes wise men who are leaders today.

[Leslie Gasser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness, you will never view the war chapters in the Book of Mormon the same again! So many insights into spiritual preparedness that we can use today in our trials not just in war but in our personal battles. He draws an amazing parallel between the stratgems of war and that of the adversary in trying to lead us away. I really loved reading the book along with my study of the Book of Mormon.

[Gayle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a perfect companion as I studied Alma chapters 43-62. John Bytheway brings all the wars and battles to life, and gives insights with modern-day applications for us. As this author stated, “Not only do these chapters give us insights to prepare for life’s never-ending spiritual battles, they also want us to beware of the stratagems of the adversary...” I really like Bytheway’s teaching style and his enthusiasm. I recommend this book for everyone!

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a good book! It’s written for teens so it’s quick-paced, interesting, and even has a few funny lines. Most importantly, it was still incredibly thoughtful and I learned many new lessons from the chapters of the Book of Mormon that he covers. I read this book from the online library, but halfway through stopped and ordered my own copy so that I can have my 13-year-old read it, and my other children, too, as they get older.

[Sandra Strange · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aimed at youth members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, this book examines the middle chapters of the Book of Mormon that deal with savage war between Lamanites and Nephites and with bitter Nephite civil war that accompanied it. Bytheway examines each chapter, bringing in church authority quotations as he analyzes the action and doctrines and points out and explains the moral and religious lessons pointed at the modern reader in these scriptures.