5 And we did come to the land which we called Bountiful,
because of its much fruit and also wild honey; and all these things were
prepared of the Lord that we might not perish. And we beheld the sea, which we
called Irreantum, which, being interpreted, is many waters.
6 And it came to pass that we did pitch our tents by the
seashore; and notwithstanding we had suffered many afflictions and much
difficulty, yea, even so much that we cannot write them all, we were
exceedingly rejoiced when we came to the seashore; and we called the place
Bountiful, because of its much fruit.
7 And it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had been in
the land of Bountiful for the space of many days, the voice of the Lord came
unto me, saying: Arise, and get thee into the mountain. And it came to pass
that I arose and went up into the mountain, and cried unto the Lord.
8 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me,
saying: Thou shalt construct a ship, after the manner which I shall show thee,
that I may carry thy people across these waters.
9 And I said: Lord, whither shall I go that I may find
ore to molten, that I may make tools to construct the ship after the manner
which thou hast shown unto me?
10 And it came to pass that the Lord told me whither I
should go to find ore, that I might make tools.
11 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did make a bellows
wherewith to blow the fire, of the skins of beasts; and after I had made a
bellows, that I might have wherewith to blow the fire, I did smite two stones
together that I might make fire.
12 For the Lord had not hitherto suffered that we should
make much fire, as we journeyed in the wilderness; for he said: I will make thy
food become sweet, that ye cook it not;
13 And I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I
will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my
commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be
led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are
led.
14 Yea, and the Lord said also that: After ye have
arrived in the promised land, ye shall know that I, the Lord, am God; and that
I, the Lord, did deliver you from destruction; yea, that I did bring you out of
the land of Jerusalem.
15 Wherefore, I, Nephi, did strive to keep the
commandments of the Lord, and I did exhort my brethren to faithfulness and
diligence.
16 And it came to pass that I did make tools of the ore
which I did molten out of the rock.
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.’”[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]
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). ”[5]
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 … 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).”[6]
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).
[3] The Rechabites: A Model Group in Lehi’s World,
John W. Welch, and Jeffrey P. Thompson, Provo, Utah: Maxwell
Institute.
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