Earthly Contrivances

Hugh Nibley also said, “The idea that divine power can be conveyed to men and used by them through the implementation of tangible earthly contrivances and that these become mere antique oddities once the power is shut off is surprisingly confirmed and illustrated by the Book of Mormon. Thus the Liahona and the Urim and Thummim were kept among the national treasures of the Nephites long after they had ceased their miraculous functions.

Before the finger of the Lord touched the sixteen stones of the brother of Jared, they were mere pieces of glass, and they probably became so after they had fulfilled their purpose. And the gold plates had no message to deliver until a special line of communication was opened by supernatural power.
In themselves these objects were nothing; they did not work by magic, a power that resided in the objects themselves so that a person has only to get hold of the magical staff, seal, ring, robe, book of Moses or Solomon or Peter in order to become master of the world. The aids and implements that God gives to men work on no magic or automatic or mechanical principle, but only “according to the faith and diligence and heed which we … give unto them” (1 Ne. 16:28) and cease to work because of wickedness (see 1 Ne. 18:12).

Some have thought it strange that God should use any earthly implements and agents at all, when he could do all things himself just as easily. But even the Moslems, who protest that Christianity places needless intermediaries, notably Jesus and the Holy Ghost, between God and man, declare in their creed that they believe “in God and his Angels and his Prophets and his Books.” Does God need all of these to do his work with men? However we may rationalize, the fact is that He does make use of them…

Editors Note: Early in my research of the Gold Plates, Sword of Laban, and Liahona, I was taught that the final battles were in Mexico and the Lord mysteriously moved those items to the hill Cumorah in upstate NY. Is this possible? I guess it is, however why would the Lord do something for man, that man could have done himself? Besides I now feel confidant that the final battles were in and around the Land of Cumorah in NY, and there was no need for the Lord to move the plates. Mormon abridged them in the New York area just as the final battles were there as well.

Nibley continues, “One thing that leads us to suspect that most of the great powerhouses whose traces still remain were never anything more than pompous imitations or replicas is their sheer magnificence. The archaeologist finds virtually nothing of the remains of the primitive Christian church until the fourth century, because the true church was not interested in buildings and deliberately avoided the acquisition of lands and edifices that might bind it and its interests to this world.

The Book of Mormon is a history of a related primitive church, and one may well ask what kind of remains the Nephites would leave us from their more virtuous days. A closer approximation to the Book of Mormon picture of Nephite culture is seen in the earth and palisade structures of the Hopewell and Adena culture areas than in the later stately piles of stone in Mesoamerica.” Ancient Temples: What Do They Signify? By Hugh Nibley September 1972

Tools God Utilizes

Elder Oaks said, “It should be recognized that such tools as the Urim and Thummim, the Liahona, seer stones, and other articles have been used appropriately in biblical, Book of Mormon, and modern times by those who have the gift and authority to obtain revelation from God in connection with their use. At the same time, scriptural accounts and personal experience show that unauthorized though perhaps well-meaning persons have made inappropriate use of tangible objects while seeking or claiming to receive spiritual guidance. Those who define folk magic to include any use of tangible objects to aid in obtaining spiritual guidance confound the real with the counterfeit. They mislead themselves and their readers.” Elder Dallin H. Oaks From a talk given at Brigham Young University, 6 August 1987.

Editors Note:
In my opinion some historians and others in the Church are mislead in regards to Joseph Smith using a seer stone inappropriately for translation of the Gold Plates. No where in the scriptures does it say that Joseph used a single seer stone in a hat for translation. Yet in many places in the scriptures it shares the proper tools which Joseph used to translate; that being the two stones in a silver bow and attached to a breastplate. See, JSH 1:35,52,62,75*; Mosiah 28:13, 20; Ether 3:22-23; 4:5; Alma 37:21, 24-25

See full article here: https://bookofmormonevidence.org/scripturaltranslation/

Look to the Lord! The Meaning of Liahona and the Doctrine of Christ in Alma 37-38 by Matthew L. Bowen

“As studious readers of the Book of Mormon will note, the expression Liahona is used just once in the text. Alma mentioned Liahona to his eldest son, Helaman, when he gave him charge of the Nephite sacred records that Alma and his ancestors had kept along with other sacred heirlooms, including the Liahona itself (see Alma 37:38).[1] Alma and Helaman’s ancestor Nephi, who records the finding of the Liahona and describes its features in greatest detail, never uses the identification Liahona in the writings on his small plates, unless allusively.[2]

Why does Alma invoke the expression Liahona for his son? One study proposes that Liahona means “the direction of [to] the Lord.”[3] I will supplement this suggestion with an additional Egyptian etymological explanation and offer evidence that the word Liahona is to be understood not simply as a question, “Whither to the Lord?” but rather (or also) as an imperative: “Look to the Lord!” or, literally, “To Yahweh look!” I will show how the framing and content of Alma 37:38–48 support this idea, and I will explicate evidence in the Book of Mormon that suggests Alma uses Liahona with the sense “look to the Lord” or “look to God.”

The focus of Nephi and his successors on the doctrine of Christ in the same texts that mention the Liahona and discuss its importance further supports this thesis.[4] Kristian Heal has noted that the idea of “looking to live” connects the brazen serpent (see Numbers 21:8–9) and the Liahona.[5] Just as the idea of “looking to live” ties the brazen serpent to the doctrine of Christ (as in John 3:3–18 with Jesus’s explanation of the necessity of baptism, spiritual rebirth, and faith in Christ unto salvation), the term Liahona itself ties the compass/ball/director to the doctrine of Christ. Nephi and his successors understood looking to the Lord in terms of the first principle of the gospel, or first point of the doctrine of Christ, and living (eternal life) as its last. Thus, like the brazen serpent, the Liahona—the device and its name—could constitute a symbol of the whole doctrine of Christ: faith; repentance; baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; receiving (and retaining) the Holy Ghost; enduring to the end in faith, hope, and charity; and salvation in the kingdom of God, or eternal life. While etymological assessments of ancient names and expressions are always subject to reevaluation and sometimes amount to an adventure into the unknown, the proposed explanation “look to the Lord” (or “to the Lord, look!”) makes good sense in the context of what Nephi and Alma wrote…” https://rsc.byu.edu/give-ear-my-words/look-lord

Iroquoian Tradition

[Students of the Book of Mormon may see similarities in that Iroquoian tradition with the fact that principal prophet-kings and chief priesthood leaders were the keepers of sacred objects such as the Plates of Brass, the sword of Laban, and the Liahona.” (see Mosiah 1:16; Mosiah 28:30; Alma 37:1-4. Ed.] Taylor, Alan, 2006. The Divided Ground . . . p. 19.

Book of Mormon Onomasticon

“The fact that “compass” is the interpretation of LIAHONA might suggest that LIAHONA was not immediately recognizable to the native Lehite speaker. This may have been due to a shift in the language between LEHI I’s day and ALMA II’s mention of the word about 500 years later, or it may be that the word is not part of the base Lehite vocabulary, i.e., it may come from another language base, perhaps EGYPTIAN. I believe the latter to be more likely. I am unaware of any proposed EGYPTIAN etymologies.

Reynolds & Sjodahl (1:188) point out that this need not mean the mariner’s instrument known and used widely since the 12th c. AD, for the English word “compass” means “a circle or a globe in general, a round, a circuit,” which describes the shape of the LIAHONA, the “curious ball.” They derive the name from HEBREW l, “to,” + yah “Yahweh,” + ʾon, an EGYPTIAN city On (= Greek Heliopolis, “city of the sun”). From this they derive the meaning “to God is light” or “of God is light,” adding that the EGYPTIAN form of HEBREW ʾon is *annu** (R&S 1:229; Reynolds, Dictionary of the Book of Mormon, p. 303; Sjodahl, Authenticity of the Book of Mormon, p. 11; and reiterated in Ludlow, Companion to the Book of Mormon, p. 113; similar is). This etymological explanation is rather unlikely because ancient Near Eastern people did not mix languages, especially in the onomasticon.” LIAHONA – Book of Mormon Onomasticon

Alma 37:38-47

38 And now, my son, I have somewhat to say concerning the thing which our fathers call a ball, or director—or our fathers called it Liahona, which is, being interpreted, a compass; and the Lord prepared it.

39 And behold, there cannot any man work after the manner of so curious a workmanship. And behold, it was prepared to show unto our fathers the course which they should travel in the wilderness.

40 And it did work for them according to their faith in God; therefore, if they had faith to believe that God could cause that those spindles should point the way they should go, behold, it was done; therefore they had this miracle, and also many other miracles wrought by the power of God, day by day.

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.

43 And now, my son, I would that ye should understand that these things are not without a shadow; for as our fathers were slothful to give heed to this compass (now these things were temporal) they did not prosper; even so it is with things which are spiritual.

44 For behold, it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss, as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass, which would point unto them a straight course to the promised land.

45 And now I say, is there not a type in this thing? For just as surely as this director did bring our fathers, by following its course, to the promised land, shall the words of Christ, if we follow their course, carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise.

46 O my son, do not let us be slothful because of the easiness of the way; for so was it with our fathers; for so was it prepared for them, that if they would look they might live; even so it is with us. The way is prepared, and if we will look we may live forever.

47 And now, my son, see that ye take care of these sacred things, yea, see that ye look to God and live. Go unto this people and declare the word, and be sober. My son, farewell.

Tohono O’odham Nation (Nickname Papagos)

Mission President Golden R. Buchanan

“The Hopis say that they came across the ocean. The Navajos believe they came up from the other side of the earth through a tube. The Papagos believe they were guided to this land by divine means.

Recently I was on the Papago Reservation. One of our new converts to the Church there told me this story:

“I had never joined any church because the ministers and the priests did not teach the Bible as I read it. I couldn’t read it and make it say the same things the other churches said it did. I speak the Papago language. I have lived among them all my life. I know their story and their traditions. And as I read the Book of Mormon that was placed in my hands by missionaries, I recognized the stories of the Papagos, and I knew the book was true. Your missionaries read the Bible the same way I did. These are the reasons I joined the Church. The Papagos believed they crossed the ocean and came to this land, that in the ships and on the trails they were guided by a ball. In this ball was a needle that pointed the direction they were to go. In the Papago language yet today, the name of this ball is ‘Liahona.’ LAMANITE TRADITION by Golden R. Buchanan PRESIDENT, SOUTHWEST INDIAN MISSION IMPROVEMENT ERA APRIL 1955 SPECIAL LAMANITE ISSUE

EARLY CHEROKEE HISTORY

“It is the belief of the Cherokee People that they came to the land of the New World from the direction of the East Ocean riding on a white cloud. There seems to be in the legend the existence of some type of round instrument which directed the voyage.

Although not totally clear, it seems that the instrument which di­rected the voyage was ball-shaped and contained another like it within itself. It contained a liquid, making the floating devices within to congregate at times to give direction to the eyes of the beholder.

(This description of the so-called “Liahona” is the first rendition I have come across outside of the Pueblo Indian legends. The Pueblo Indians of New Mexico relate a story of a man who is in search of his “other brothers” who originated from the same land he did, and came to this land after the great destruction. However, he is led to his brothers by the means of an awl which “pointed in the direction of whither he should go. The story says that he was able to communicate with the awl in all circumstances and receive both direction and instruction from the instrument, so that he was able to locate his brothers safely in the new land of promise. (Note given by Paul Enciso.)”

A SPECIAL REPORT on the RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE of the CHEROKEE INDIANS By: J. Murray Rawson. Murray Rawson, Former Florida Mission President and Special Indian Emissary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Following is a poorly recorded audio talk from Pres Rawson to BYU Missionaries in 1979 at the MTC in Provo, UT  https://archive.org/details/MurrayRawsonIndianTraditions

The Liahona and Aaron’s Rod?

Historian Don Bradley said, “…The pot of manna and Aaron’s rod from the Ark of the Covenant and the Liahona from the Nephite reliquary. Are these really parallel? They are indeed. In general terms they’re parallel as memorials of God’s mercy to the children of Israel in their Exodus and God’s mercy to Lehi’s family in their exodus. But the parallels get much more specific. The pot of manna memorialized God miraculously providing the Israelites with sustenance on their journey: Exodus 16:13-15: “In the morning the dew lay round about the host. And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing…. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna, for they wist not what it was.” Aaron’s rod had been an instrument for divining God’s will. To settle dispute over who had right to serve in the priestly role in the Tabernacle, each of the twelve tribes placed a rod before the Ark. Aaron’s rod then budded, demonstrating that it was his family that had been chosen for these duties.

What sacred object was associated with these functions in the exodus of Lehi’s family to their New World promised land? How did they divine God’s will, and receive sustenance from Him? It was the Liahona through which they learned God’s will and by which they were led to the provisions that sustained them on their journey. The giving of the Liahona, as described by Nephi, was surprisingly similar to the giving of the manna: “As my father arose in the morning, and went forth to the tent door, to his great astonishment he beheld upon the ground a round ball of curious workmanship” (1 Nephi 16:10). Regardless of whether, as it seems, the bestowal of the Liahona was intended to evoke that of the manna, the preservation of a pot of manna and the preservation of the Liahona memorialized the same divine blessings of sustenance upon Moses’ people and upon Lehi’s.” Piercing the Veil: Temple Worship in the Lost 116 Pages Don Bradley August 2012

Shining Stones

“In a side note, it is interesting to hear about additional miraculous help on ocean voyages. Lehi had the Liahona and the Brother of Jared had shining stones. What about shining stones on Noah’s Ark? Both the Liahona and shining stones are guidance from the Lord, just as Moses traveled by miraculous means with the children of Israel.

“Shining stones are not unique to the book of Ether. One reference to a shining stone in Noah’s ark appears in the Jerusalem Talmud, stating that a stone in the ark shone brighter in the night than in the day so that Noah could distinguish the times of day (Pesachim I, 1; discussed in CWHN 6:337-38, 349). Shining stones were also said to be present in the Syrian temple of the goddess Aphek (see CWHN 5:373) and are mentioned several times in the pseudepigraphic Pseudo-Philo (e.g., 25:12).” Encyclopedia on Mormonism Author: Tanner, Morgan W.

ABSTRACT

But the Liahona was more than just a simple compass in function, for it additionally requirThe Liahona was given by the Lord as a communications device for Lehi to determine the appropriate direction of travel. This device contained two pointers, only one of which was necessary to provide directional information. ed faith for correct operation. Since a single pointer always “points” in some direction, the additional pointer was necessary to indicate whether or not the first pointer could be relied upon. This proposed purpose for the second pointer conforms to a well-established engineering principle used in modern fault-tolerant computer systems called “voting,” in which two identical process states are compared and declared correct if they are the same, and incorrect if they are different. Hence the second pointer, when coincident with the first, would indicate proper operation, and when orthogonal, would indicate non operation.

Question: Was the Liahona simply a magnetic compass that was out of place in 600 B.C.?

To use the word compass as a name for a round or curved object is well attested in both the King James Version of the Bible and the Oxford English Dictionary

It is claimed that the description of the Liahona as a “compass” is anachronistic because the magnetic compass was not known in 600 B.C. One critical website notes that “the COMPASS which DIRECTED one’s course wasn’t invented yet for many centuries.”

To use the word compass as a name for a round or curved object is well attested in both the King James Version of the Bible and the Oxford English Dictionary. The Book of Mormon refers to the Liahona as “a compass” not because it anachronistically pointed the way to travel, but because it was a perfectly round object.

1 Nephi 16:10, 30

10 And it came to pass that as my father arose in the morning, and went forth to the tent door, to his great astonishment he beheld upon the ground a round 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.

30 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did go forth up into the top of the mountain, according to the directions which were given upon the ball.

This object did give directions, however this object was referred as “a compass” because it was a perfectly round object.

The purpose of the two spindles is not explained, however, one assumes that one of them provided directional information

The fact that the Liahona is referred to as a “compass” and that it contained spindles leads one to assume that it was used like a modern compass. However, there is no indication that either of the spindles pointed to magnetic north. If one of the spindles was used to provide directional information, the inference is that it simply pointed the direction that they were to go, which would not be magnetic north.

The Book of Mormon does specifically indicate, however, that the Liahona was used to direct the travels of Lehi’s party based upon writing that appeared upon the object

As Nephi put it, the “directions which were given upon the ball”:

29 And 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. And thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things.

30 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did go forth up into the top of the mountain, according to the directions which were given upon the ball. 1 Nephi 16:29-30 (emphasis added)” Robert L. Bunker, Observational Systems Division, JPL   The Design of the Liahona and the Purpose of the Second Spindle

Alma 37:38–47. The Liahona

Over the years several General Authorities have described different means in which the Lord continues to guide us in our journey of life, like a Liahona.

Elder W. Rolfe Kerr of the Seventy compared the words of Christ to the Liahona: “So we see, brethren and sisters, that the words of Christ can be a personal Liahona for each of us, showing us the way. Let us not be slothful because of the easiness of the way. Let us in faith take the words of Christ into our minds and into our hearts as they are recorded in sacred scripture and as they are uttered by living prophets, seers, and revelators. Let us with faith and diligence feast upon the words of Christ, for the words of Christ will be our spiritual Liahona telling us all things what we should do” (in Conference Report, Apr. 2004, 38; or Ensign, May 2004, 37).

President Thomas S. Monson compared the Liahona to an individual’s patriarchal blessing: “The same Lord who provided a Liahona for Lehi provides for you and for me today a rare and valuable gift to give direction to our lives. … The gift to which I refer is known as a patriarchal blessing” (Live the Good Life [1988], 36).

President Spencer W. Kimball compared the Liahona to the light of Christ, or our conscience:

“Wouldn’t you like to have that kind of a ball … ?

“… The Lord gave to … every person, a conscience which tells him everytime he starts to go on the wrong path. …

“… Every child is given it” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1976, 117; or Ensign, Nov. 1976, 79).

Elder David A. Bednar compared the Liahona to the gift of the Holy Ghost:

“As we each press forward along the pathway of life, we receive direction from the Holy Ghost just as Lehi was directed through the Liahona. …

“The Holy Ghost operates in our lives precisely as the Liahona did for Lehi and his family, according to our faith and diligence and heed. …

“And the Holy Ghost provides for us today the means whereby we can receive, ‘by small and simple things’ (Alma 37:6), increased understanding about the ways of the Lord. …

“The Spirit of the Lord can be our guide and will bless us with direction, instruction, and spiritual protection during our mortal journey” (in Conference Report, Apr. 2006, 31; or Ensign, May 2006, 30–31).

Codex Vindobonensis

This 13th century frontispiece from the Codex Vindobonensis 2554 shows God as creator using a compass—so named not because it is used for navigation, but because it is used to draw arcs and circles.

Alma2 explained why the director the Lord gave to Lehi was called the Liahona

…I have somewhat to say concerning the thing which our fathers call a ball, or director — or our fathers called it Liahona, which is, being interpreted, a compass; and the Lord prepared it (Alma 37:38).[2]

Believing it was called a compass because it pointed the direction for Lehi to travel is a natural interpretation by the modern reader

As a verb, the word “compass” occurs frequently in the King James Version of the Bible and it generally suggests the idea of surrounding or encircling something. Note the following usages:

Also he made a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and five cubits the height thereof; and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about. 2 Chronicles 4:2

They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name of the Lord I will destroy them. Psalms 118:11

And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. Joshua 6:3

From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about. Psalms 17:9

In a few cases (e.g. Exodus 27:5; Proverbs 8:27; Isaiah 44:13) it is used as a noun, and suggests something which encircles another thing.

A third common situation in the KJV is the use of the phrase “to fetch a compass” (e.g., Numbers 34:5; Joshua 15:3; Acts 28:13), which if not recognized as a verbal phrase could be wrongly seen as presenting “compass” as a noun.

In every case, it is clear that, at least in Jacobean England, the word was regularly treated as meaning either a round object, or something which moved in a curved fashion. The Book of Mormon text uses a form of Jacobean English–and does not contain expressions that were introduced after 1700. This has implications for how we read the text. The critic treats something important as insignificant.

Further evidence of the archaic meaning of the word comes from a study of the rather lengthy listing for the word in the Oxford English Dictionary. It includes definition 5.b.:

“Anything circular in shape, e.g. the globe, the horizon; also, a circlet or ring.”

the clock can also be referred to as a compass, yet it points at the time.

If critics insist on reading this as a “mariner’s compass,” even this may not be as anachronistic as they have assumed.

Naturally-occurring magnetic ore was being mined by the 7th century B.C., and its magnetic properties were first discussed by the early philosopher Thales of Miletos around 600 B.C.

Non-LDS astronomer John Carlson reported finding a Olmec hematite artifact in Mesoamerica, which was radio-dated to 1600 to 1000 B.C. If Carlson is right, this usage “predates the Chinese discovery of the geomagnetic lodestone compass by more than a millennium.” Other researchers have suggested the metal is simply part of an ornament, though Mesoamericanist Michael Coe has suggested the use of such ores as floating compasses. Such examples demonstrate how a single find can radically alter what archaeology tells us is “impossible” with regard to the Book of Mormon text.

As Robert F. Smith observed: It is worth noting that the function of magnetic hematite was well understood in both the Old and New Worlds before Lehi left Jerusalem. Magnetite, or lodestone, is, of course, naturally magnetic iron (Fe3O4), and the word magnetite comes from the name of a place in which it was mined in Asia Minor by at least the seventh century B.C., namely Magnesia.[a] Parenthetically, Professor Michael Coe of Yale University, a top authority on ancient Mesoamerica, has suggested that the Olmecs of Veracruz, Mexico, were using magnetite compasses already in the second millennium B.C. This is based on Coe’s discovery during excavations at San Lorenzo-Tenochtitlán of a magnetite “pointer” which appeared to have been “machined,” and which Coe placed on a cork mat in a bowl of water in a successful test of its function as a true floater-compass.[b] The Olmecs (Jaredites?) of San Lorenzo and their relatives in the Oaxaca Valley were utilizing natural iron ore outcroppings by the Early Formative period (c. 1475-1125 B.C.), and at the end of the San Lorenzo phase and in the Nacaste phase (c. 1200-840 B.C.). Mirrors and other items were also fashioned from this native magnetite (and ilmenite).” The Design of the Liahona and the Purpose of the Second Spindle Robert L. Bunker