The Strength of the Lord

Lately, I've been watching for definitions within the scriptures. I want to understand what the writers mean when they talk about different concepts, and I want a definition to come from the scriptures rather than the current popular understanding.

As I was reading the story written by Zeniff in Mosiah chapter 10, I was struck by the definition he gives of "the strength of the Lord." Zeniff, of course, doesn't say "this is the definition of 'the strength of the Lord.'" Instead, he states how the Lamanites were unfamiliar with the Lord or His strength, and proceeds to gives evidence which shows how the Lamanites were unfamiliar. Basically, Zeniff gives a definition through a counter example starting with verse 12. Here are his words, [adjusted] a little bit for clarity.

10 And it came to pass that we did go up to battle against the Lamanites; and I, [Zeniff], in my old age, did go up to battle against the Lamanites. And it came to pass that we did go up in the strength of the Lord to battle.

11 Now, the Lamanites knew nothing concerning the Lord, nor the strength of the Lord, therefore they depended upon their own strength. Yet they were a strong people, as to the strength of men.

12 They were a wild, and ferocious, and a blood-thirsty people, believing in the tradition of their fathers, which is this—Believing that they were driven out of the land of Jerusalem because of the iniquities of their fathers, and that they were wronged in the wilderness by their brethren, and they were also wronged while crossing the sea;

13 And again, that they were wronged while in the land of their first inheritance, after they had crossed the sea, and all this because [of] Nephi...

15 ...they were wroth with him when they had arrived in the promised land, because they said that he had taken the ruling of the people out of their hands; and they sought to kill him.

16 And again, they were wroth with him because he departed into the wilderness [...] and took the records which were engraven on the plates of brass, for they said that he robbed them.

17 And thus they have taught their children that they should hate [the Nephites], and that they should murder them, and that they should rob and plunder them, and do all they could to destroy them; therefore they have an eternal hatred towards the children of Nephi.

18 For this very cause has king Laman, by his cunning, and lying craftiness, and his fair promises, deceived me, that I have brought this my people up into this land, that [the Lamanites] may destroy [my people]; yea, and we have suffered these many years in the land.

19 And now I, Zeniff, after having told all these things unto my people concerning the Lamanites, I did stimulate them to go to battle with their might, putting their trust in the Lord; therefore, we did contend with them, face to face.

20 And it came to pass that we did drive them again out of our land; and we slew them with a great slaughter, even so many that we did not number them.

What I noticed in here is that the Lamanites believed that they were victims of the nefarious Nephites:

• Wronged by their fathers (Lehi and Ishmael) who made grossly unfair (iniquity) decisions which took them from Jerusalem (vs 12)
• Wronged in the wilderness (vs 12)
• Wronged on the sea (vs 12)
• Wronged because Nephi tried to usurp their leadership (vs 15)
• Wronged because Nephi ran away (vs 16)
• Wronged because Nephi stole the plates (vs 16)

And because the Lamanites viewed themselves as victims of the Nephites, they believed that it was okay to inflict the same wrongs to the Nephites (vs 17). So much so, that the Lamanites engaged in a long game to try and imprison and kill some of the Nephites (vs 18).

When we perceive a threat, we naturally want to defend ourselves from that threat. This defense results in our responding with a "fight, flight, freeze, or fawn" response. The threats can be to our physical safety or to our emotional (how we see ourselves) or spiritual (how the community sees us) safety. And when I say "how the community sees us" I actually mean "how I perceive that the community sees me" because I can never actually know how anyone other than me sees me. Even if someone tells me how they perceive me, it isn't how they see me: it's a reflection of how they see themself.

Anyway, the Lamanites engaged in a society-wide "victim/villain" story; they were the victim and the Nephites were the villain. Such stories--whether told by an entire story, a single household, or an individual--are hugely destructive. Victim/villain stories rob us of insight into the truth of the situation and prevent us from making the best choice in that moment. This is key knowledge I gained from the book Crucial Conversations with respect to mastering our victim/villain/helpless stories. Note that, in my opinion, "helpess" stories are just victim stories with "the universe, life, or God" as the villain.

So, if the opposite of "the strength of the Lord" is "victim/villain" stories, would "the strength of the Lord" be a hero story? No: because a hero story still needs a villain otherwise there would be no need for a hero.

This means that "the strength of the Lord" is actually abandoning a "victim/villain" story altogether.

Zeniff could see that his people could be victimized by the Lamanites, but instead he spent his time helping his people see how the Lamanites were telling themselves "victim/villain" stories (verse 19) and then encouraging them to go to battle to defend their physical safety, but without telling their own "victim/villain" stories. Therefore, they fought the Lamanites "face to face," (verse 19) meaning by seeing the Lamanites directly instead of as an abstract "enemy."

Why is it called "the strength of the Lord?"

I've pondered over this question for some time and I think I have an answer. I believe that "the Lord" is both an entity spoken of in the scriptures and an aspect of our own minds. "The Lord" instructs us to treat others as mattering just as much as ourselves and guides us to how we can do that.

The scriptures have codified instructions from the entity "the Lord," but we also receive instructions from "the Lord" in our minds in the very moment we face another human being. If we honor the direction we receive from "the Lord," then we will not treat another person as a villain because doing so would put the other person below us. Similarly, we will not treat ourselves as a victim because that would put us below someone else, whether someone else is another person, God, life, or the universe.

So, "the strength of the Lord" would be the inner strength and fortitude we feel when we truly do not see ourselves or another person within a victim/villain story. Although the Lamanites were physically stronger (verse 11) because the Nephites operated from within "the strength of the Lord," the Nephites prevailed.

Just because a smaller army defeats a larger army does not mean that the smaller army has "the strength of the Lord." You can see this in Mormon 2:25-26.

You can also see more consequences spelled out in Mormon 5: 16-18 where it states:

16 For behold, the Spirit of the Lord hath already ceased to strive with their fathers; and they are without Christ and God in the world; and they are driven about as chaff before the wind.

17 They were once a delightsome people, and they had Christ for their shepherd; yea, they were led even by God the Father.

18 But now, behold, they are led about by Satan, even as chaff is driven before the wind, or as a vessel is tossed about upon the waves, without sail or anchor, or without anything wherewith to steer her; and even as she is, so are they.

Another term for "Satan" is "the Accuser." When we engage in accusing others of causing our problems, we are, in effect, being led by Satan. When we believe we are the victim of someone else, we need evidence to support that belief. We will grab onto any excuse to explain our victimhood. If that evidence is destroyed or taken away we will look for another excuse for our victimhood. This process of constantly looking for excuses drives us around "as chaff before the wind."

Whereas the real problem is believing that we are the victim. Dropping that victim story is necessary to honor "the Lord" and to then stand in "the strength of the Lord." When telling ourselves a victim story we do not want to drop the victim belief because in the victim mindset the only path out is to be the hero. This is why it can be so paralyzing once we are in the victim mindset and it can be so difficult to step out of that mindset; In the victim mindset we must be the hero whereas the only true path out abandons both the victim mindset and the need to be a hero.

How do we recognize when we are telling ourselves victim/villain stories? I would say that any negative emotion is evidence of a victim/villain story. We do not need to know what the story is which we are telling ourselves. Knowing the story doesn't help us step out of the story; it just keeps us focused on the story. We just need to recognize that it is a victim/villain story and then ask ourselves questions which do not assume a villain and dismiss any answers our mind presents which assume there is a villain. One such question, which I learned from Crucial Conversations, is "why would a reasonable and rational person do this?"

God has given us "the Lord" to guide us when we are interacting with another person. "The Lord" points us toward treating others not as villains but as fellow people. When we honor that direction, we operate from a place of stability called "the strength of the Lord" which will help us navigate difficult situations including wars. We need to recognize when we are telling victim/villain stories and then get back to clarity on the situation, otherwise we will jump around from excuse to excuse and never get to the stability and clarity we need for making good, long-term decisions.