In the Strength of the Lord

In his account of obtaining the plates from Laban, Nephi gave this detail about how he was about to stop Zoram from fleeing: “And now I, Nephi, being a man large in stature, and also having received much strength of the Lord, therefore I did seize upon the servant of Laban, and held him, that he should not flee” (1 Nephi 4:31). Nephi recognized that his physical strength came from the Lord. This phrase, “the strength of the Lord”, would become after Nephi an emphasis by many other prophets in the Book of Mormon. Writing of King Benjamin, Mormon said this: “King Benjamin gathered together his armies, and he did stand against them; and he did fight with the strength of his own arm, with the sword of Laban. And in the strength of the Lord they did contend against their enemies, until they had slain many thousands of the Lamanites” (Words of Mormon 1:13-14). The Nephites at the time of King Benjamin were able to stand against the Lamanites because the Lord gave them strength. Similarly, Zeniff wrote about his people in their fight against the Lamanites: “Yea, in the strength of the Lord did we go forth to battle against the Lamanites; for I and my people did cry mightily to the Lord that he would deliver us out of the hands of our enemies, for we were awakened to a remembrance of the deliverance of our fathers…. And it came to pass that we did go up in the strength of the Lord to battle. Now, the Lamanites knew nothing concerning the Lord, nor the strength of the Lord, therefore they depended upon their own strength” (Mosiah 9:17, 10:10-11). Zeniff knew that they needed more than their own strength to go against the Lamanites who sought to destroy them—they needed the strength of the Lord which they obtained through their faith.

                Several other passages in the Book of Mormon similarly emphasize how the people were dependent upon the Lord for their strength. Lamoni declared beautifully to Ammon who had shown such marvelous strength as a missionary, “I know, in the strength of the Lord thou canst do all things” (Alma 20:4). Ammon similarly declared in his own words, “Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things” (Alma 26:12). In the subsequent war that took place between the Nephites and the Lamanites, the people of God also depended upon His strength. Moroni invited the faithful in these words, “Behold, whosoever will maintain this title upon the land, let them come forth in the strength of the Lord, and enter into a covenant that they will maintain their rights, and their religion, that the Lord God may bless them” (Alma 46:20). Helaman and his stripling warriors were one group in that conflict that indeed came forth in the strength of the Lord. He wrote to Moroni: “We did pour out our souls in prayer to God, that he would strengthen us and deliver us out of the hands of our enemies, yea, and also give us strength that we might retain our cities, and our lands, and our possessions, for the support of our people” (Alma 58:10). They received that strength from the Lord and were miraculously delivered on multiple occasions. When they were not righteous and they were on the brink of losing the war Moroni lamented, “If we had gone forth against them in the strength of the Lord, we should have dispersed our enemies, for it would have been done, according to the fulfilling of his word” (Alma 60:16). But Pahoran was inspired by his words and declared, “Gather together whatsoever force ye can upon your march hither, and we will go speedily against those dissenters, in the strength of our God according to the faith which is in us…. Yea, we will go forth against them in the strength of the Lord, and we will put an end to this great iniquity” (Alma 61:17-18). That is exactly what they did and they conquered their enemies through the strength of the Lord. In a later battle between the Nephites and the Gadianton robbers they again had to rely on God’s strength: “When the armies of Giddianhi did rush upon them they were prepared to meet them; yea, in the strength of the Lord they did receive them” (3 Nephi 4:10). They were miraculously preserved because the Lord gave them His strength.

                I love all these passages because they highlight our own dependence on the Lord. No matter what the foe that we face, whether physical or otherwise, we need the strength of the Lord to help us. And the Book of Mormon testifies over and over again that the Lord came to their aid when they humbly sought His help and like for the people of Zeniff, these stories should “awaken [us] to a remembrance of the deliverance of our fathers.” He will strengthen us in all our difficulties if we too will “cry mightily to the Lord” and go forth with faith in Him.