1 Nephi 18:12

We come back into the story of our family crossing the ocean to the Americas. Nephi's brothers and the sons of Ishmael do not like being told what to do. Especially because their behavior was wicked and they are in a state of aversion to truth and correction. In verse 12, they tie Nephi up. Nephi makes two good connections here in the second part of the verse. He says that the Liahona which had been prepared by the Lord ceased to work. He is showing us that when they were not righteous, they did not have direction from the Lord with the compass. And since Nephi says that it was prepared by the Lord, then when it ceased to work, it was a manifestation that the Lord did not approve of their actions. Laman and Lemuel have seen the power of God already manifest in their lives. They have seen the commandments of God fulfilled, e.g. getting the brass plates, angels, Laban delivered to their hands, getting Ishmael and his family to come with them, wives to marry, being shocked by Nephi using the power of God, and the list goes on. They should know by now that when the Liahona ceases to work, then the power can be manifest. Why would they tempt Him again?

Last night in family scripture study, we read more about the Liahona when Alma passed it down to his son Helaman, a tradition that has happened from generation to generation since Nephi, about 520 years later. In Alma 37:38, Alma begins his connection from Lehi's family following the Liahona to get to the promised land to us following Christ to get to heaven. His comment in verses 41-42 is the connection to what just happened on the boat that I wanted to mention:

"41 Nevertheless, because those miracles were worked by small means it did show unto them marvelous works. They were slothful, and forgot to exercise their faith and diligence and then those marvelous works ceased, and they did not progress in their journey;

"42 Therefore, they tarried in the wilderness, or did not travel a direct course, and were afflicted with hunger and thirst, because of their transgressions."

From these verses, it seems that there were some times that the Liahona did not work for them during their travels in the wilderness. This connects to the boat situation, because I believe that this is the first time that Nephi mentions the Liahona ceasing to work for them because of their wickedness, even though in the beginning when they found it he said that the spindles worked according to their faith and diligence. I find that it is interesting that Mormon, the abridger of Nephi's recordings on the small plates or possibly Nephi himself, only shared the account of the broken bow as one of the trials in the wilderness. It is likely then, that the other trials and activities did not have much importance for our day. They could have, but I find it interesting that this is what we have. Let us study them and draw conclusions for our lives with the aid of the Spirit.