1 Nephi 17:21-16

Finding the ore, Nephi made a furnace to process the ore.  He made bellows and started the fire using two stones struck together.

From Nahom to Bountiful, they made few fires.  The lord made their “food become sweet, that ye cook it not” (1 Nephi 17:12).  Why didn’t they make fire in the wilderness?  “Whether it was to save fuel, along with the efforts that one expends to find fuel, or whether it was to avoid drawing attention to themselves that the Lord ‘suffered [not] that we should make much fire, as we journeyed in the wilderness,’ or both, is not clear from the account (1 Nephi 17:12). “[1]

Jeffrey Chadwick explains:

[C]ontrary to the common consensus that began with Hugh Nibley, I do not think that the party's spare use of fire was due to the danger of attracting desert marauders.²⁴  … What Nephi specifically wrote is that "the Lord had not hitherto suffered that we should make much fire, as we journeyed in the wilderness" (1 Nephi 17:12). While the term suffered could be understood as allowed or permitted, in the context of the passage it could also be understood as Nephi attributing to the Lord the fact that, for practical reasons, they had simply not made much fire on their journey.

There are three quite practical reasons why Lehi's group would not have made much fire. (1) The availability of firewood or other fuel was not consistent, and in some areas where few trees and shrubs grew, kindling would have been largely absent. (2) The party would often have traveled at night, particularly in the hot months, which means that their resting hours were during the daylight, when no fire would be needed for visibility. (3) They cooked very little of their food, animal meat or otherwise, which seems obvious from the Lord's promise: "I will make thy food become sweet, that ye cook it not" (1 Nephi 17:12). (Emphasis in original)[2]

The Lord informed them He would be their “light in the wilderness” (1 Nephi 17:13).  The importance of following the guidance of the Lord was emphasized by Alma₂ when preaching to the people of Zarahemla.

O ye workers of iniquity; ye that are puffed up in the vain things of the world, ye that have professed to have known the ways of righteousness nevertheless have gone astray, as sheep having no shepherd, notwithstanding a shepherd hath called after you and is still calling after you, but ye will not hearken unto his voice!

Behold, I say unto you, that the good shepherd doth call you; yea, and in his own name he doth call you, which is the name of Christ; and if ye will not hearken unto the voice of the good shepherd, to the name by which ye are called, behold, ye are not the sheep of the good shepherd.

Alma 5:37 - 38

In the Olive Leaf revelation, the Lord said, “Behold, that which you hear is as the voice of one crying in the wilderness—in the wilderness, because you cannot see him—my voice, because my voice is Spirit; my Spirit is truth; truth abideth and hath no end; and if it be in you it shall abound” (Section 88:66).

The Lord continued, if they keep His commandments, He would led them to the promised land “and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led” (1 Nephi 17:13).  This was similar to the Lord leading the Jews during the Exodus.  “And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:” (Exodus 13:21).

Nephi tells us he “did strive to keep the commandments of the Lord” (1 Nephi 17:15).  In his charge to Solomon before his death, David told him to “And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself” (1 Kings 2:3).  Following the Lord’s command, He encouraged his brethren to be faithful and diligent in following the commandments of the Lord.

Paul wrote to Titus, “These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority.  Let no man despise [GR disregard] thee” (Titus 2:15).  In Hebrews, we are told that we are to “exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:13).

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[1] A Case for Lehi's Bondage in Arabia, S. Kent Brown, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 30, 2013.

[2] An Archaeologist's View, Jeffrey R. Chadwick, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 30, 2013.

1 Nephi 17:5-10

Arabian Peninsula - EarthKAM photo requested by Adele C. Young Intermediate School, Brigham City, UT

Having travelled eastward across the Arabian Peninsula, they finally arrived at the Indian Ocean.  They called the land “Bountiful, because of its much fruit and also wild honey” (1 Nephi 17:5).  Robert Boylan describes a possible location for Bountiful.

[A]n eastward turn from the Nihm tribal area (a direction of travel matching what is described in 1 Nephi 17:1) leads one to the Arabian coast and the vicinity of Wadi Sayq, which some Latter-day Saint researchers see as a strong candidate for Nephi's Bountiful (1 Nephi 17:5). Wadi Sayq and other rare, fertile locales in the Dhofar region of Oman match Nephi's description of Bountiful rather well. [1]

As for the Indian Ocean, “And we beheld the sea, which we called Irreantum, which, being interpreted, is many waters” (1 Nephi 17:5).  Nephi, on occasion, gives us the meaning of the name given, as he does with Irreantum.  Yet, he does not give the meaning of Bountiful.  We only receive a brief description of the land Bountiful.  Stephen Ricks writes about Nephi’s practice.

Paul Hoskisson, in a brief article on the etymology of the name Irreantum, notes that the reason why 3 percent of the names given in the Book of Mormon are included with their meanings is that the Nephites, whose native spoken language was Hebrew and whose written language (or script) was Egyptian, would have been unable to understand the meaning of these words. "The only rational reason," observes Hoskisson, "for Nephi to include both the transliteration and translation is that he did not expect his audience to immediately grasp the meaning of Irreantum, because it was not a readily recognizable Nephite word."²⁴ [2]

The trip east had been hard.  Nephi tells us they “had suffered many afflictions and much difficult, yea, even so much that we cannot write them all” (1 Nephi 17:6).  Bountiful was a welcome relief from their suffering.

The family had settled in at Bountiful.  After many days, the Lord came to Nephi and told him to go to the mountain in the area.  Nephi obeyed the Lord’s command and went to the mountain.

Once on the mountain, he was commanded to build a ship.  The Lord would show him how to build the ship.  The purpose of the ship would be to take them “across these water” (1 Nephi 18:8).

Nephi responds by asking the Lord where he should go to find ore to make the tools he would need to construct the ship.  Here, Nephi gives us some information about his background.

Nephi appears to be familiar with metallurgy, as has been suggested, especially by John Tvedtnes.²⁰ When he is at Irreantum he is commanded by the Lord to "construct a ship, after the manner which I shall show thee" (1 Nephi 17:8). Nephi then proceeds to ask "Lord, whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten, that I may make tools" (1 Nephi 17:9). It has been noted that Nephi did not ask how to make tools, nor did the Lord say he would show Nephi how to make them. Nephi only asked to find the ore so he could make them. This would seem to indicate that Nephi already had the necessary knowledge to make tools. He evidently already knew how to make bellows out of hides without information from the Lord (1 Nephi 17:11).^[3] 

The Lord told Nephi where he should go to find the ore he would need to make the tools.

Hugh Nibley sums up the situation.

One significant aspect of the story of Lehi in the Desert must not be overlooked. It is wholly, from beginning to end, a history of the Old World. There is in it not so much as a hint of the "Noble Red Man." Nothing in it ever betrays the slightest suspicion that the drama is going to end in the New World. Lehi's people thought they had found their promised land in Bountiful by the sea and were horribly upset when Nephi, who himself had thought the project impossible (1 Nephi 17:8—9), undertook by special instruction to build a ship.^[4]

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[1] On Not Understanding the Book of Mormon, Robert Boylan, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 27, 2013.

[2] Lehi and Local Color, Stephen D. Ricks, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 27, 2013.

[3] The Rechabites: A Model Group in Lehi's World, John W. Welch, and Jeffrey P. Thompson, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 27, 2013.

[4] Lehi the Winner, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 27, 2013.

1 Nephi 17:1-4

Chapter 17

Nephi is commanded to build a ship—His brethren oppose him—He exhorts them by recounting the history of God's dealings with Israel—He is filled with the power of God—His brethren are forbidden to touch him, lest they whither as a dried reed. About 592–591 B.C.

After burying Ishmael, they continued their journey in the wilderness.  They traveled eastward.  They had “much affliction” and their wives gave birth to children.  During their travails, they may have turned to the words of David.

SAVE me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul.

I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.

Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.

Psalms 69:1 – 2, 14

Based on their movement eastward, we can speculate where they may have traveled, knowing what we know of this part of the world. 

In any consideration of where Bountiful might be, the pivotal scripture is Nephi's unambiguous statement that travel from Nahom to Bountiful was in a "nearly eastward" direction (1 Nephi 17:1) … It is clear from the text that the Lehites were doing anything but merely following a trading route complete with water holes on this last, most difficult, and dangerous stage of the entire journey.[1]

After burying Ishmael at Nahom they turned "nearly eastward" (1 Nephi 17:1) into the high desert, traveling through the harsh wilderness until they arrived at the coast at a fertile location they named Bountiful. Nibley and others note that this simple travel account fits well with what is now known of the ancient trade routes that carried frankincense from Oman and Yemen northward to the Mediterranean markets. These routes followed water holes through inland valleys that paralleled the east shore of the Red Sea.[2]

What may be significant is that Nephi noted the first births of children only as he finished his record of later events at Nahom, not before (see 1 Nephi 17:1). We naturally conclude that the women gave birth to their first children at Nahom and that the journey from the camp to Nahom took a year or less, the length of the new brides' pregnancies… Later Book of Mormon authors who had consulted the full set of records added important details, speaking of the family's suffering from both "famine" and "all manner of diseases" while crossing the desert (Mosiah 1:17; Alma 9:22).[3]

Though suffering great afflictions, Nephi tells us they received great blessings from the Lord.  They ate raw meat and their women “were strong, yea, even like unto the men” (1 Nephi 17:2).  (Grant Hardy wrote he would like to hear the women’s side of the story!) 

Nephi informs us “that the commandments of God must be fulfilled. And if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them” (1 Nephi 17:3).   Moreover, they sojourned for eight years in the wilderness.

In four verses, Nephi covers eight years of travel.  It’s strange that it took them eight years.  Most caravans only took a few months to travel the same distance.  What happened?

We read in Mosiah,

And moreover, [King Benjamin] also gave [Mosiah] charge concerning the records which were engraven on the plates of brass; and also the plates of Nephi; and also, the sword of Laban, and the ball or director, which led our fathers through the wilderness, which was prepared by the hand of the Lord that thereby they might be led, every one according to the heed and diligence which they gave unto him.

Therefore, as they were unfaithful they did not prosper nor progress in their journey, but were driven back, and incurred the displeasure of God upon them; and therefore they were smitten with famine and sore afflictions, to stir them up in remembrance of their duty.

Mosiah 1:16 - 17

S. Kent Brown writes about the possibility Lehi’s party was held in captivity for some time during this eight-year period.[4]

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[1] Discovering Lehi: New Evidence of Lehi and Nephi in Arabia, Warren P. Aston, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 25, 2013.

[2] Lehi's Arabian Journey Updated, Noel B. Reynolds, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 25, 2013.

[3] New Light from Arabia on Lehi's Trail, S. Kent Brown, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 25, 2013.

[4] See A Case for Lehi's Bondage in Arabia, S. Kent Brown, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 25, 2013.

1 Nephi 16:30-39

Using the Liahona, Nephi was directed to where he would find food.  Here we see an example of how the Liahona worked.  Directions were given to Nephi, in writing, on the Liahona.  This is how he was directed to find food.  He did not use it as we would use a compass to find directions.

Hugh Nibley describes hunting in the mountains of Arabia. 

Hunting in the mountains of Arabia to this day is carried out on foot and without hawks or dogs; in classical times the hunter in this area was equipped with a bow and a sling—exactly like Nephi. Nephi's discovery that the best hunting was only at "the top of the mountain" (1 Nephi 16:30) agrees with later experience, for the oryx is "a shy animal that travels far and fast over steppe and desert in search of food but retires ever to the almost inaccessible sand-mountains for safety." In western Arabia the mountains are not sand but rock, and Burckhardt reports that "in these mountains between Medina and the sea, all the way northward (this is bound to include Lehi's area), mountain goats are met, and the leopards are not uncommon." Julius Euting has left us vivid descriptions of the danger, excitement, and exhaustion that go with the hunting of the big game that abounds in these mountains, which are, by the way, very steep and rugged.[1]

Nephi was able to acquire ample food for Lehi’s party.  It goes without saying that they were a happy people.  They had been starving; now they had the food they needed.  In their rejoicing, they became humble and gave thanks to the Lord for providing them food.

Lehi would refer to this instance when speaking to his family shortly before his death.  “Rebel no more against your brother, whose views have been glorious, and who hath kept the commandments from the time that we left Jerusalem; and who hath been an instrument in the hands of God, in bringing us forth into the land of promise; for were it not for him, we must have perished with hunger in the wilderness; nevertheless, ye sought to take away his life; yea, and he hath suffered much sorrow because of you” (2 Nephi 1:24). 

 

Terrence Szink discusses the murmuring that had been going on before Nephi returned with food.

Both the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon mention that this murmuring about the lack of food was directed against the Lord himself rather than against his prophet-leaders. The similarity continues in that the problem of food was solved miraculously … [The group in the Book of Mormon] were instructed by the Lord to look at the Liahona, their miraculous "compass." When they looked, they saw written directions that led Nephi to a place where he was able to kill game. When the family saw that he had obtained food for them, "how great was their joy! And it came to pass that they did humble themselves before the Lord, and did give thanks unto him" (1 Nephi 16:32; see also verse 39).[2]

The journey continued, “traveling nearly the same course as in the beginning” (1 Nephi 16:33).  Using Nephi’s explanation of their travels, we can get an idea of where the travelled in the Saudi peninsula.  The descriptions are too long and detailed to discuss fully here.[3]  It was at this campsite, Ishmael died and was buried at Nahom [HEB probably "consolation," from verb naham, "be sorry, console oneself]. 

Critics of the Book of Mormon remind us constantly that there is no archeological evidence to support the Book of Mormon.  This forum is not the appropriate place to challenge this claim.  Even so, it would be appropriate to explain that archeological evidence has been found showing the location of Nahom.

Excerpts of two articles are presented supporting Nahom.

Nephi's account specifies that Ishmael was buried in "the place which was called Nahom" (1 Nephi 16:34). Nephi's phrasing suggests that Lehi's group did not originate the name but learned it from local inhabitants. Modern Nehem includes an extensive traditional burial area with tombs dating as far back as neolithic times, long predating Lehi's day. The roots of the name itself in Hebrew refers to mourning, consoling, and complaining of hunger, thus fitting perfectly the events recorded by Nephi after the death of his father-in-law, Ishmael (see 1 Nephi 16:35–39).

The identification of the ancient name nhm with the modern place-name Nehem is supported by recent studies. S. Kent Brown has discussed three altar inscriptions on display at the Maʾrib Antiquities Museum in Sanaʿa, Yemen, containing nhm as a tribal name dating from the seventh to sixth centuries BC—roughly the time period when Lehi's family was traveling through the area.⁸ Nhm appears as a place-name and as a tribal name in southwestern Arabia in the pre-Islamic and early Islamic period in the Arab antiquarian al-Hamdānī's al-Iklīl  ⁹ and in his Ṣifat Jazīrat al-ʿArab.¹⁰ If, as Robert Wilson observes, there is minimal movement among the tribes over time,¹¹ the region now known as Nehem may well have had that or a similar name in antiquity.[4]

One result is that "the place which was called Nahom" (1 Nephi 16:34) has been more securely linked to southern Arabia since the discovery of limestone altars near Sanaʿa, Yemen. These altars carry inscriptions containing the Arabian name NHM, referring to the Nihm tribe.³ This discovery from the right time period (independently dated to the seventh and sixth centuries BC) and in the right location (south-southeast of Jerusalem; compare 1 Nephi 16:13) is impressive archaeological evidence in support of the historicity of the Book of Mormon.⁴  [5]

If you would like to do any further reading, click here for more articles discussing Nahom. 

Ishmael’s daughters mourned the loss of the father.  Their suffering during the journey added to their sorrow.  They began to murmur against Lehi and wanted to return to Jerusalem.  “Ishmael might then have been fifty-three or fifty-four when his family departed from the Jerusalem area … we cannot be sure of Ishmael's age at the time of his death in Nahom (1 Nephi 16:33-36), but it could have been some five years into the journey. If he died under sixty years of age, this would explain some of the anger of his daughters about what they considered his early demise caused by following Lehi's difficult wilderness agenda.”[6]

When things were hard, the Jews murmured against Moses and Aaron.

AND all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.

And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt!  or would God we had died in this wilderness!

And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey?  were it not better for us to return into Egypt?

And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.

Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.

Numbers 14:1 - 5

“The name of the area in Yemen now mapped as ‘Nehem’ is pronounced by local inhabitants Nä-hum, derived from the Arabic root nhm, whose basic meaning is ‘growl, groan, roar; suffer from hunger; complain.’ The same root is found in biblical Hebrew (see Isaiah 5:29-30; Hosea 2:23) and in ancient Egyptian (nhm, ‘thunder, shout; nhmhm, ‘roar, thunder’). Thus a ritual concomitant of mourning (groaning) is also associated with this root, as well as the sense of suffering from hunger, which is equally apt in the context of 1 Nephi 16:35, which reports much complaining, suffering, and hunger.”[7]

Laman, Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael joined in the murmuring.  They decided the time had come to kill Lehi and Nephi.  Nephi, they whined, had “taken it upon him to be our ruler and our teacher, who are his elder brethren” (1 Nephi 16:37).  Nephi had lied to them about seeing angels, but it was done through his cunning and guile, he had deceived them.  Their hearts were stirred to anger.

The Lord intervened.  He “did chasten them exceedingly” (1 Nephi 16:39).  Having heard the word of the Lord, they calmed down and repented.

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[1] Into the Desert, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 23, 2013.

[2] Nephi and the Exodus, Terrence L. Szink, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 23, 2013.

[3] For a more complete discussion, see Refining the Spotlight on Lehi and Sariah, S. Kent Brown, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 23, 2013.

[4] On Lehi's Trail: Nahom, Ishmael's Burial Place, Stephen D. Ricks, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 23, 2013.

[5] On Not Understanding the Book of Mormon, Robert Boylan, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 23, 2013.

[6] The Composition of Lehi's Family, John L. Sorenson, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 23, 2013.

[7] Lehi's Trail and Nahom Revisited, Warren P. Aston, and Michaela J. Aston, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 23, 2013.

1 Nephi 16:17-29

After being commanded by the Lord to depart from the valley of Lemuel, they traveled many days.  They stopped and pitched their tents for a while.  Hugh Nibley writes about traveling in the desert.

Lehi's party is described as moving through the desert for a few days (three or four, one would estimate) and then camping "for the space of a time" (1 Nephi 16:17). This is exactly the way the Arabs move. Caravan speeds run between two and one-quarter and three and nine-tenths miles an hour, thirty miles being, according to Cheesman, "a good average" for the day, and sixty miles being the absolute maximum. "The usual estimate for a good day's march is reckoned by Arab writers at between twenty-eight and thirty miles: in special or favoured circumstances it might be near forty." On the other hand, a day's slow journey for an "ass-nomad," moving much slower than camel-riders, is twenty miles.[1]

Nephi left to find food for the party.  Unfortunately, Nephi broke his bow and was not able to obtain food.  His brethren were angry with Nephi over the loss of his bow.

Nephi tells us his was a steel bow.  What does this mean?  John Tvedtnes and Matthew Roper respond to a critic of the Book of Mormon and explain the steel bow.

The English word steel … did not originally denote carburized iron as it does today. It originally denoted anything hard, and we still use the verbal form "to steel" in the sense of "to harden." Webster's 1828 dictionary, which reflects usage in Joseph Smith's day, defines steel not only as iron mixed with carbon but notes that its derivation is "probably from setting, fixing, hardness." One of the four meanings of the noun is "extreme hardness; as heads or hearts of steel," while it is used figuratively of "weapons; particularly, offensive weapons, swords, spears and the like." One of the meanings of the verbal form is "to make hard or extremely hard." So just like the "bow of steel" in the KJV (2 Samuel 22:35; Job 20:24; Psalm 18:34), Nephi's bow may have consisted of a copper alloy like bronze. However, it is likely that the metal was only one component of the bow. Roland de Vaux argued that the "bronze bow" in the biblical passages "refers to the metal covering of certain bows," sometimes used to reinforce composite bows.[2]

Laman and Lemuel, along with the sons of Ishmael, led the complaining.  Surprisingly, even Lehi murmured against the Lord. 

The other bows had lost their spring.  “Now Saxton Pope in his classical work called Hunting with the Bow and Arrow says the average bow is worth a hundred thousand shots. After that it loses it spring and you can't use it anymore. Lehi [Nephi], who seemed to be a very capable fellow, must have been using his bow for years. It says that their bows had lost their springs, and that would happen.”[3]  They could not acquire food.  Nephi spoke to his brethren as they had hardened their hearts and complained about God. 

Nephi took things into his own hands.  He made a bow out of wood and an arrow.  Nephi, the obedient son, went to his father and asked him where he should go to find food.  Even though Lehi had complained, Nephi still recognized him as the head of the family. 

Lehi humbled himself and inquired of the Lord.  The voice of the Lord came to Lehi.  He was chastened by the Lord because of his complaining.   

After having been chastened by the Lord, Lehi as commanded to look upon the Liahona to see the words that are written.  When Lehi “beheld the things which were written upon the ball, he did fear and tremble exceedingly, and also my brethren and the sons of Ishmael and our wives” (1 Nephi 16:29). 

Nephi learned the pointers worked based on their faith.  Richard Rust explains:

Considered from this perspective, the Book of Mormon is a Liahona. It provides heaven-sent direction "according to the faith and diligence and heed" given to it (1 Nephi 16:28). Apparently some in Lehi's party accepted the ball too casually and overlooked it because of its simplicity. For the Liahona to work properly, Alma taught, it was necessary to take it seriously and diligently observe it with faith (Alma 37). So too with the Book of Mormon. And in its literary dimension as well, the Book of Mormon is like a Liahona … The Book of Mormon, too, gains effectiveness and memorability by presenting doctrines and covenants through figurative language, narratives, typology, and the like.[4]

We frequently think of the Liahona as a “compass,” guiding Lehi’s party on their journey.  But, I believe the most important role the Liahona played was as a “message board” used by the Lord to communicate with his people.  Everything else was secondary.  Nephi wrote, “there was also written upon them a new writing, which was plain to be read, which did give us understanding concerning the ways of the Lord; and it was written and changed from time to time, according to the faith and diligence which we gave unto it” (1 Nephi 16:29). 

Nephi gives us a profound and powerful truth about how the Lord works.  “And thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things” (1 Nephi 16:29).

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[1] Into the Desert, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 20, 2013.

[2] One Small Step, John A. Tvedtnes, and Matthew Roper, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 20, 2013.

[3] Lecture 14: 1 Nephi 15-16, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 20, 2013.

[4] "At the Judgment-Seat of Christ" - Larger Perspectives, Richard Dilworth Rust, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 20, 2013.

1 Nephi 16:1-16

Chapter 16

The wicked take the truth to be hard—Lehi's sons marry the daughters of Ishmael—The Liahona guides their course in the wilderness—Messages from the Lord are written on the Liahona from time to time—Ishmael dies; his family murmur because of afflictions. About 600–592 B.C.

After Nephi had finished teaching his brethren, they complained that what he had taught were “hard things, more than we are able to bear” (1 Nephi 16:1).  Nephi replied, yes, I know what I said were hard things addressed to the wicked.  The wicked often respond in anger.  After Stephen had preached to the high priests, we read that, “When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth” (Acts 7:54).  Nephi would later write that his writings “speaketh harshly against sin, according to the plainness of the truth; wherefore, no man will be angry at the words which I have written save he shall be of the spirit of the devil” (2 Nephi 33:5).

Nephi then gives us an important truth, “the guilty taketh the truth to be hard” (1 Nephi 16:2). 

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

John 3:19 - 21

The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.

John 7:7

Nephi exhorted is brethren to walk uprightly before the Lord, stop whining about everything, and keep the Lord’s commandments.  They began to humble themselves before the Lord.

Life went on in the valley of Lemuel.  The next set of events was the marriage of the daughters of Ishmael to the sons of Lehi and to Zoram.  “And thus my father had fulfilled all the commandments of the Lord which had been given unto him.  And also, I, Nephi, had been blessed of the Lord exceedingly” (1 Nephi 16:8). 

One night, the voice of the Lord commanded Lehi to continue their journey the next day.  That morning, as Lehi found a ball in his doorway.  Nephi described it as “ball of curious workmanship; and it was of fine brass.  And within the ball were two spindles; and the one pointed the way whither we should go into the wilderness” (1 Nephi 16:10).^[1]

The family gathered things together along with a variety of seeds and began their journey again in the wilderness.

They traveled for four days in a south-southeastern direction.  They found a place where they could pitch their tenets.  They called this place Shazer [HEB twisting, intertwining].

They went into the wilderness with their bows and arrows to get food for their families.  They were successful and continued their journey in the same south-southeast direction, keeping in the most fertile parts of the wilderness.  Hugh Nibley explains, “A strong point for the Book of Mormon is the claim that Lehi's people survived only by ‘keeping in the more fertile parts of the wilderness’ (1 Nephi 16:14), since that is actually the custom followed in those regions, though the fact has only been known to westerners for a short time. Nephi gives us a correct picture of hunting practices both as to weapons and methods used. Even the roughest aspects of desert life at its worst are faithfully and correctly depicted.”[2]

After spending a short time in Shazer, they continued their journey for many days.  As they traveled, they followed the directions of the ball.  This led them to the more fertile parts of the wilderness.  Hugh Nibley explains how this fits in with what is now known about this part of the world.

Intrepid explorers of our own day have learned the secret, however, and Lehi knew of it too. Like a sudden flash of illumination comes the statement that Lehi by divine instruction "led us in the more fertile parts of the wilderness" (1 Nephi 16:16). Woolley and Lawrence describe such "more fertile parts" as "stretching over the flat floor of the plain in long lines like hedges." They are the depressions of dried-up watercourses, sometimes hundreds of miles long. They furnish, according to Bertram Thomas, "the arteries of life in the steppe, the path of Badawin movement, the habitat of animals, by reason of the vegetation—scant though it is—which flourishes in their beds alone." In Arabia it is this practice of following "the more fertile parts of the wilderness" (1 Nephi 16:16) that alone makes it possible for both men and animals to survive. Cheesman designates as "touring" the practice followed by men and beasts of moving from place to place in the desert as spots of fertility shift with the seasons.[3]

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[1] Nephi never gives the ball a name (though he later refers to it as a compass).  The only reference to it, by name, was by Alma₂ when he gave it Helaman₂.  Here he tells him that it was called “Liahona, which is, being interpreted, a compass” (Alma 37:38).

[2] Man Versus Nature, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 18, 2013.

[3] Into the Desert, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 18, 2013.

1 Nephi 15:16-35

Nephi continues his explanation about the olive tree and their descendants.  He tells them they will be numbered[1] among the house of Israel.  They will be grated into the natural olive tree.  “Nephi [explains] the olive tree for his brethren, saying that the covenant people will receive strength and nourishment from the true vine when they are grafted into the true olive tree (1 Nephi 15:16). The reference to the true vine suggests a passage from John: ‘I [Christ] am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing’ (John 15:5). “[2] (Emphasis in original)

This will not occur, Nephi explains, until they are scattered by the gentiles.  When Lehi spoke, he spoke of both his seed and the house of Israel.  All covenants will be fulfilled in the last days.  The covenant referred to is the Lord’s covenant with Abraham.

NOW the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Genesis 12:1 - 3

In the last days, the Jews will be restored and gathered as a people.  He reviewed Isaiah’s prophesies and teachings concerning the Jews.  He exhorted his brethren to listen and follow the word of the Lord, keeping His commandments in all things.

Nephi continued until his brethren “were pacified and did humble themselves before the Lord” (1 Nephi 15:20).

His brethren next questioned Nephi about the meaning of Lehi’s dream of the tree of life.

Verse(s) (1 Nephi 15)	Lehi’s Vision	Nephi’s Interpretation
21-22	The tree	Tree of Life
23-24	Iron rod	Word of God*
26-27	River of water	Filthiness; represents the gulf that separates the wicked from the Tree of Life; representation of hell and justice of God**

*Nephi continues, explaining that those who “hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction” (1 Nephi 15:24).

 **The filthiness of the water was not mentioned in Lehi’s vision.  Nephi explains, “his mind swallowed up in other things that he beheld not the filthiness of the water” (1 Nephi 15:27).  The justice of God separates the wicked from the righteous. 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

After explaining the meaning of the river and that it represented “that awful hell … which was prepared for the wicked” (1 Nephi 15:29), his brethren asked if this meant the “the torment of the body in the days of probation, or doth it mean the final state of the soul after the death of the temporal body” (1 Nephi 15:31).

It represent both temporal and spiritual.  If one dies in wickedness, that person will be cast off “as to the things which are spiritual, which are pertaining to righteousness” (1 Nephi 15:33).  They will be judged by their works.  “[I]f if they be filthy it must needs be that they cannot dwell in the kingdom of God; if so, the kingdom of God must be filthy also. But behold, I say unto you, the kingdom of God is not filthy, and there cannot any unclean thing enter into the kingdom of God; wherefore there must needs be a place of filthiness prepared for that which is filthy” (1 Nephi 15:33-34).

This, Nephi explains, is the awful hell, which he has identified.  They will dwell with the devil because of the justice of God.  “[T]he wicked are rejected from the righteous, and also from that tree of life, whose fruit is most precious and most desirable above all other fruits; yea, and it is the greatest of all the gifts of God. And thus I spake unto my brethren” (1 Nephi 15:36).

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[1] Verse 16 reads, “they shall be remembered again among the house of Israel.”  There is evidence that “remembered” was “numbered” in the original text.  See Insights Available as We Approach the Original Text, Kerry Muhlestein, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 16, 2013.

[2] Jacob's Allegory: The Mystery of Christ, M. Catherine Thomas, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 16, 2013.

1 Nephi 15:1-15

Chapter 15

Lehi's seed are to receive the gospel from the Gentiles in the latter days—The gathering of Israel is likened unto an olive tree whose natural branches shall be grafted in again—Nephi interprets the vision of the tree of life and speaks of the justice of God in dividing the wicked from the righteous. About 600–592 B.C.

The vision ended and Nephi returned to Lehi’s tent.  When he arrived, his brethren were arguing with each other about Lehi’s words.[1] 

Lehi’s words were hard to understand unless you asked the Lord what they meant.  Paul wrote:

But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth [GR explores, investigates] all things, yea, the deep things of God.

For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?  even so the things of God knoweth no man, but [JST 1 Cor. 2:11 ... except he has] the Spirit of God.

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

1 Corinthians 2:10 - 12

The problem was that his brethren had hardened their hearts and would not ask the Lord.  This saddened Nephi, considering what he had seen about the future of his people.  He had seen the destruction of his people.  Now he has to face his bickering brothers.

He went to them and asked what the problem was.  They were arguing over Lehi’s words.  They could not understand what he taught.  Nephi responded, “Have ye inquired of the Lord?” (1 Nephi 15:8).  They had not “for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us” (1 Nephi 15:9) ["because we are not prophets," in other words[2]].

Why, Nephi asks, won’t you keep the Lord’s commandments?  Why will you perish rather than turn to the Lord?  The Lord promised that, if you ask in faith, keeping His commandments, you will receive an answer.  James would later write:

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth [GR reproaches, censures] not; and it shall be given him.

But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering [GR doubting, hesitating].  For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

James 1:5 - 6

Nephi explains to them about the olive tree.^[3]  The house of Israel, Nephi explains, is the olive tree.  They are now broken off from the olive tree, a branch of the house of Israel. 

He clarifies that Lehi’s vision deals with “the grafting in of the natural braches through the fullness of the Gentiles” (1 Nephi 15:13) in future days, when our people will dwindle in unbelief, after Christ’s mortal ministry,

After Christ’s ministry, the day will come when our descendants will know of their relationship to the house of Israel.  “And then shall the remnant of our seed know concerning us, how that we came out from Jerusalem, and that they are descendants of the Jews. And the gospel of Jesus Christ shall be declared among them; wherefore, they shall be restored unto the knowledge of their fathers, and also to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, which was had among their fathers” (2 Nephi 30:4 - 5). 

They will learn “that they are the covenant people of the Lord” (1 Nephi 15:14).  They will also learn they are the covenant people of the Lord and they will learn about their ancestors.  Jacob would later teach, “this commandment they observe to keep; wherefore, because of this observance, in keeping this commandment, the Lord God will not destroy them, but will be merciful unto them; and one day they shall become a blessed people” (Jacob 3:6).

Most importantly, “they shall come to the knowledge of their Redeemer and the very points of his doctrine, that they may know how to come unto him and be saved” (1 Nephi 15:14).  “According to these prophetic words, the descendants of Lehi will lose their awareness of the covenant; nevertheless, at a future date they will learn of it, embrace it, and gather to the Lord so that he can protect and save them.”[4]

Noel Reynolds adds:

While explaining the great vision that he and his father Lehi had experienced during their first camp in the wilderness, Nephi prophesied to his brothers that the time would arrive when their own descendants would come again "to the knowledge of their Redeemer and the very points of his doctrine, that they may know how to come unto him and be saved" (1 Nephi 15:14).[5]

“And then at that day will the1y not rejoice and give praise unto their everlasting God, their rock and their salvation?  Yea, at that day, will they not receive the strength and nourishment from the true vine?  Yea, will they not come unto the true fold of God?” (1 Nephi 15:15).

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[1] Nephi does not identify who these brethren are.  Was it just Laman and Lemuel?  Was Sam involved?  What about the sons of Ishmael?  We don’t know.

[2] The Book of Mormon and Dialogic Revelation, Terryl L. Givens, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 13, 2013.

[3] For a more complete discussion about Nephi’s words, see Nephite Uses and Interpretations of Zenos
Noel B. Reynolds, the section headed Nephi.

[4] Treaties and Covenants: Ancient Near Eastern Legal Terminology in the Book of Mormon, Stephen D. Ricks, and RoseAnn Benson, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 13, 2013.

[5] The True Points of My Doctrine, Noel B. Reynolds, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 13, 2013.

1 Nephi 14:26-30

Having seen the revelation that would be written by Christ’s apostle, Nephi was shown others who had written records.  They will be sealed to ensure their purity and will be released in the Lord’s own due time. 

The Lord told Daniel, “And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end” (Daniel 12:9).  After seeing his vision, the Lord commanded the brother of Jared:

And it came to pass that the Lord said unto the brother of Jared: Behold, thou shalt not suffer these things which ye have seen and heard to go forth unto the world, until the time cometh that I shall glorify my name in the flesh; wherefore, ye shall treasure up the things which ye have seen and heard, and show it to no man.

And behold, when ye shall come unto me, ye shall write them and shall seal them up, that no one can interpret them; for ye shall write them in a language that they cannot be read.

And behold, these two stones will I give unto thee, and ye shall seal them up also with the things which ye shall write.

For behold, the language which ye shall write I have confounded; wherefore I will cause in my own due time that these stones shall magnify to the eyes of men these things which ye shall write.

And when the Lord had said these words, he showed unto the brother of Jared all the inhabitants of the earth which had been, and also all that would be; and he withheld them not from his sight, even unto the ends of the earth.

For he had said unto him in times before, that if he would believe in him that he could show unto him all things—it should be shown unto him; therefore the Lord could not withhold anything from him, for he knew that the Lord could show him all things.

And the Lord said unto him: Write these things and seal them up; and I will show them in mine own due time unto the children of men.

Ether 3:21 - 27

The Lord will preserve His important works from those who will take away from their purity.  Hugh Nibley explains, “[T]he safest way to preserve a book from destruction, and the only way to protect it from the inevitable corruption of contents that comes with copying and handling, is simply to bury it.”[1] (Emphasis in original)

Nephi gives us the name of the apostle who will write the things he saw in his vision.  The apostle of the Lamb is John.  Nephi then was forbidden to write anything further than what he has written.  “[T]he things which I have written sufficeth me; and I have written but a small part of the things which I saw” (1 Nephi 14:28).

Nephi ends his account by bearing record the he saw things Lehi saw “and the angel of the Lord did make them know unto me” (1 Nephi 14:29).  He closes his account by testifying “the things which I have written are true” (1 Nephi 14:30).

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[1] A Strange Thing in the Land: The Return of the Book of Enoch—Part 1, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 11, 2013.