How Sons of Helaman groups work
(An excerpt from Chapter 8 of Like Dragons Did They Fight by Maurice Harker, CMHC. Free ebook available.)
There is great power in fighting against the enemy in teams – not unlike a military troop. I will describe how the team/group process works in Sons of Helaman.
You will be empowered to win your battles faster if you understand the process. You are welcome to do your best to implement this process on your own, but in the end, Satan will always try “there is something uniquely wrong with you” until you meet and associate with other warriors. He will also maximize the shame feeling unnecessarily. If you feel any ongoing shame or desire to hide, then Satan still has something to mess you up with.
Training Sessions
Training sessions work best when there are more than three and fewer than twelve participants. The team meets once a week for just less than two hours. If participation in the group exceeds ten members, an additional group will be started once four or five more individuals show interest.
Each team is intended to be on–going. When one member graduates, a new member can take his place. This allows for participation from individuals at every level of progress.
More advanced young men can mentor the beginners. Beginners eventually become leaders.
When a new team member comes to his first meeting, everyone introduces himself using only first names (for confidentiality reasons) and sharing something interesting about himself.
Each warrior is expected to record days of success and days that contained lost battles with different markings on a calendar. This has proven to be a very relevant part of their training. This calendar is used to track points and progress.
Training Process
The Team Leader begins the discussion by asking each member of the group to respond to the questions from the Captain’s Log (discussed in the book). Each warrior answers question #1 before moving on to question #2.
The leader is expected to follow inspiration during the process. The Team Leader interjects and educates along the way as needed. The questions should be asked in order. They have been carefully created over many years of research and experience.
During this time the Team Leader and the lead warrior work hard together to keep the room spiritually strong and warrior intense. Extra time is given to individual young men as needed. It is often the case that all can learn from the needs of the individual.
In the last half hour, emphasis will be given to a discussion on patterns of lost battles (question #5). Individuals who have not figured out how to defeat the enemy in a specific attack will discuss the patterns used against them. Ideas will be exchanged, looking for ways to win in the future.
In the final ten minutes, the young men will participate in the Brotherhood Ritual. This includes standing in a circle and each young man proceeds from brother to brother in the circle shaking his hand, looking him in the eyes and repeating:
I promise that I will be of service to you,
and I will allow you to be of service to me,
until both you and I successfully defeat
this demon that assails us.
The receiving brother responds with, “Thank you.”
The young men take this commitment to each other very seriously.
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