A good leader, especially a leader of young people, earns their trust and trusts them in return.
After Helaman pleaded with the people of Ammon not to break their oath of pacifism, 2,000 of their young sons who had not taken this oath volunteered to fight. They chose Helaman to be their leader. (See Alma 53:19, 22.)
At their first opportunity to fight, Helaman reviewed the risks and the dangers they faced and then asked, “What say ye, my sons, will ye go against them to battle?” (Alma 56:44). They responded, “Father, behold our God is with us, and he will not suffer that we should fall; then let us go forth.” Writing about this event later, Helaman explained, “I had ever called them my sons” (Alma 56:46).
Elder Michael T. Nelson observed, “Helaman loved these young men like sons and saw their potential. … He prioritized building strong relationships with them” (“In Support of the Rising Generation,” General Conference, April 2024). He quoted the following counsel to teachers from President Henry B. Eyring:
What will matter most is what they learn from us about who they really are and what they can really become. My guess is that they won’t learn it so much from lectures. They will get it from feelings of who you are, who you think they are, and what you think they might become.
“Teaching is a Moral Act,” Brigham Young University Conference, 27 August 1991
Today, I will strive love the people I serve the way Helaman loved his “sons.” I will remember that positive relationships can be the most powerful influence in their lives.