1 Nephi 16:17-29

After being commanded by the Lord to depart from the valley of Lemuel, they travelled 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.

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

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

[4] “At the Judgment-Seat of Christ” - Larger Perspectives, Richard Dilworth Rust, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute.