1 Nephi 16:29

In verse 28, we find that Nephi was looking at the pointers in the ball, which worked according to their faith and diligence. One way that they did this is found in verse 29. It says that writing appeared there and was changed from time to time according to their faith and diligence. So, in this verse, Nephi shares with us that there was a new writing appeared there. It was plain to their understanding and instructed them in the ways of the Lord. He states that by this small means, the Lord did bring about great things.

When Nephi said this, he knew exactly what great things he had seen. In order to see ourselves, perhaps we need to take a step back from the story. Remember that Nephi is writing all these events about 30 years after they happened (see 1 Nephi 19). An idea that occurred to me was that it was the Liahona that had enabled them to make key decisions that affected their journey in such a way that it was successful. Imagine going through the desert around to the edge of Saudi Arabia, then across the Pacific Ocean to the Americas with a group that wanted to kill you and your father nearly all the time. It would have to take a miracle to pull it off. One of the great things that came about as a result was the building up of two great nations. They populated a portion of the Americas, had the gospel, and provided a place for hundreds of thousands of Heavenly Father's spirits to have a mortal existence. This is a great thing.