...and I will raise him up at the last day. -- Jn.6:40
(16:7) Nephi, his brothers, and Zoram (Laban's servant) all got
married to Ishmael's nameless daughters.
"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, took one of the daughters of Ishmael to wife; and also, my brethren took of the daughters
of Ishmael to wife; and also Zoram took the eldest daughter of Ishmael to wife."
It was a group wedding with Lehi serving as the Reverend Moon, saying stuff like, "Do you [Nephi, Laman, Lemuel, Sam, Zoram]
take what's her name here to be your lawfully wedded wife?"
(16:10-16)
(16:10) After getting that all taken care of, God showed Lehi something really interesting.
"And it came to pass that ... my father ... beheld ... 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."
A magic brass ball of curious workmanship that was designed and made by God himself! God's magic ball had two spindles on it,
one pointing the way to go and the other pointing in some other direction.
(16:11-13) So now that they had their magic ball, they packed up camp, gathered seeds of every kind,
crossed the River Laman, and took off in whatever direction God's brass ball pointed. After traveling for four days in a SSE direction,
they set up camp at a place they called Shazer. (Notice how Joseph Smith Nephi gives names to pretty much every place they
pass by, but didn't bother to tell us the name of his wife.)
"And it came to pass that we did ... take seed of every kind ... across the river Laman. And it came to pass that we traveled
for the space of four days, nearly a south-southeast direction, and we did pitch our tents again; and we did call the name of the place
Shazer."
(16:15-16) They followed God's magic ball around for "the space of many days" in "the more fertile
parts of the wilderness," killing stuff for food with their bows and arrows and slings.
"And it came to pass that we did travel for the space of many days, slaying food by the way, with our bows and our arrows and our
stones and our slings. And we did follow the directions of the ball, which led us in the more fertile parts of the wilderness."
(16:18)
And then it came to pass that Nephi broke his steel bow.
"And it came to pass that as I, Nephi, went forth to slay food, behold, I did break my bow, which was made of fine steel."
Of course steel didn't exist at the time, wouldn't work well for a bow anyway, and would be hard to break. But, oh well. This is the
Book of Mormon.
(16:19-39)
(16:19) Apparently none of the other bows worked either, because after Nephi broke his no one
else could kill a thing.
"And it came to pass that we did return without food to our families, and ... they did suffer much for the want of food."
(16:20) So everyone "began to murmur exceedingly." Heck even Nephi's dad, Lehi, "began to murmur
against the Lord."
"And it came to pass that Laman and Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael did begin to murmur exceedingly ... and also my father began
to murmur against the Lord his God; yea, and they were all exceedingly sorrowful, even that they did murmur against the Lord."
(16:23a) So Nephi made another bow and arrow out of wood and a straight stick.
"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did make out of wood a bow, and out of a straight stick, an arrow; wherefore, I did arm
myself with a bow and an arrow, with a sling and with stones."
(16:23b) But Nephi didn't know where to hunt with his new bow. So he asked his dad (when he had
stopped murmuring).
"And I said unto my father: Whither shall I go to obtain food?"
(16:25-26) Lehi inquired of the Lord (Hey God. Where should Nephi go to kill some animals?) Then
voice of the Lord came to Lehi telling him to look on the magic ball where he'd find a text message from God.
"And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came unto my father ... And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord said
unto him: Look upon the ball, and behold the things which are written."
(16:27) And it came to pass that when they saw the text message from God they did fear and
tremble exceedingly.
"And it came to pass that when my father beheld the things which were written upon the ball, he did fear and tremble exceedingly."
(16:28) Now the magic brass ball didn't work like a magic 8 ball. Magic 8 balls work all of the
time for everyone, whereas the brass ball only works if you believe it will work. And, of course, Nephi believed anything and everything,
the crazier the better.
"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the pointers which were in the ball, that they did work according to the faith and
diligence and heed which we did give unto them."
So the pointers pointed in just the right directions if you believed that they pointed in just the right directions. (That's the way
dousing works too.)
(16:29) But the coolest thing of all was the text messages. They "changed from time
to time" according to the faith of the person reading the message.
"And there was also written upon them a new writing, which was plain to be read ... and it was written and changed from time to
time, according to the faith and diligence which we gave unto it."
(16:30) The message on the brass ball told Nephi to go to the top of the mountain.
"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."
(16:31) So Nephi went to the mountain top to kill wild beasts.
"And it came to pass that I did slay wild beasts, insomuch that I did obtain food for our families."
(16:33) After eating the wild beasts, they traveled for the space of many days.
"And it came to pass that we did again take our journey ... and after we had
traveled for the space of many days we did pitch our tents again, that we might tarry for the space of a time."
(16:34-37) Then Ishmael dies, his daughters mourn exceedingly, and Nephi's brothers and
Ishmael's sons decide to kill Nephi and Lehi.
"And it came to pass that Ishmael died ... And it came to pass that the
daughters of Ishmael did mourn exceedingly ... And Laman said unto Lemuel and also unto the sons of Ishmael: Behold, let us slay
our father, and also our brother Nephi."
(16:39) But then the voice of God stopped by to talk for a while. He gave them some food so they
decided not to kill Nephi and Lehi.
"And it came to pass that ... the voice of the Lord came and did speak many words unto them, and ... the Lord did bless us again with food,
that we did not perish."
16:1 And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had made an end of speaking
to my brethren, behold they said unto me: Thou hast declared unto us hard things, more than
we are able to bear.
16:2And it came to pass that I said unto them that
I knew that I had spoken hard things against the wicked, according to the truth; and the
righteous have I justified, and testified that they should be lifted up at
the last day;
wherefore, the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very
center.
16:3 And now my brethren, if ye were righteous and were willing to hearken
to the truth, and give heed unto it, that ye might walk uprightly before God, then ye would
not murmur because of the truth, and say: Thou speakest hard things against us.
16:4And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did exhort
my brethren, with all diligence, to keep the commandments of the Lord.
16:5And it came to pass that they did humble
themselves before the Lord; insomuch that I had joy and great hopes of them, that they
would walk in the paths of righteousness.
16:6 Now, all these things were said and done as my father dwelt in a tent
in the valley which he called Lemuel.
16:7And it came to pass that I, Nephi, took one of
the daughters of Ishmael to wife; and also, my brethren took of the daughters of Ishmael
to wife; and also Zoram took the eldest daughter of Ishmael to wife.
16:8 And thus my father had fulfilled all the commandments of the Lord which
had been given unto him. And also, I, Nephi, had been blessed of the
Lord exceedingly.
16:9And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord
spake unto my father by night, and commanded him that on the morrow he should take his
journey into the wilderness.
16:10And 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.
16:11And it came to pass that we did gather together
whatsoever things we should carry into the wilderness, and all the remainder of our
provisions which the Lord had given unto us; and we did take seed of every kind that we
might carry into the wilderness.
16:12And it came to pass that we did take our tents
and depart into the wilderness, across the river Laman.
16:13And it came to pass that we traveled for the
space of four days, nearly a south-southeast direction, and we did pitch our tents again;
and we did call the name of the place Shazer.
16:14And it came to pass that we did take our bows
and our arrows, and go forth into the wilderness to slay food for our families; and after
we had slain food for our families we did return again to our families in the wilderness,
to the place of Shazer. And we did go forth again in the wilderness, following the same
direction, keeping in the most fertile parts of the wilderness, which were in the borders
near the Red Sea.
16:15And it came to pass that we did travel for the
space of many days, slaying food by the way, with our bows and our arrows and our stones
and our slings.
16:16 And we did follow the directions of the ball,
which led us in the more fertile parts of the wilderness.
16:17 And after we had traveled for the space of many days, we did pitch our
tents for the space of a time, that we might again rest ourselves and obtain food for our
families.
16:18And it came to pass that as I, Nephi, went
forth to slay food, behold, I did break my bow, which was made of fine
steel; and after I
did break my bow, behold, my brethren were angry with me because of the loss of my bow, for
we did obtain no food.
16:19And it came to pass that we did return without
food to our families, and being much fatigued, because of their journeying, they did suffer
much for the want of food.
16:20And it came to pass that Laman and Lemuel and
the sons of Ishmael did begin to murmur exceedingly, because of their
sufferings and afflictions in the wilderness; and also my father began to murmur against
the Lord his God; yea, and they were all exceedingly sorrowful, even
that they did murmur against the Lord.
16:21 Now it came to pass that I, Nephi, having been
afflicted with my brethren because of the loss of my bow, and their bows having lost their
springs, it began to be exceedingly difficult, yea, insomuch that
we could obtain no food.
16:22And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did speak
much unto my brethren, because they had hardened their hearts again, even unto complaining
against the Lord their God.
16:23And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did make out
of wood a bow, and out of a straight stick, an arrow; wherefore, I did arm myself with a
bow and an arrow, with a sling and with stones. And I said unto my father: Whither shall
I go to obtain food?
16:24And it came to pass that he did inquire of the
Lord, for they had humbled themselves because of my words; for I did say many things unto
them in the energy of my soul.
16:25And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord
came unto my father; and he was truly chastened because of his murmuring against the Lord,
insomuch that he was brought down into the depths of sorrow.
16:26And it came to pass
that the voice of the Lord said unto him: Look upon the ball, and behold
the things which are written.
16:27And it came to pass that when
my father 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.
16:28And it came to pass that I, Nephi,
beheld the pointers which were in the ball, that they did work according to the faith and
diligence and heed which we did give unto them.
16:29And 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.
16:30And 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.
16:31And it came to pass that I did slay wild
beasts, insomuch that I did obtain food for our families.
16:32And it came to pass that I did return to our
tents, bearing the beasts which I had slain; and now when they beheld that I had obtained
food, how great was their joy! And it came to pass that they did
humble themselves before the Lord, and did give thanks unto him.
16:33And it came to pass that we did again take our
journey, traveling nearly the same course as in the beginning; and after we had traveled
for the space of many days we did pitch our tents again, that we might tarry for the space
of a time.
16:34And it came to pass that Ishmael died, and was
buried in the place which was called Nahom.
16:35And it came to pass that the daughters of
Ishmael did mourn exceedingly, because of the loss of their father,
and because of their afflictions in the wilderness; and they did murmur against my father,
because he had brought them out of the land of Jerusalem, saying: Our father is dead; yea,
and we have wandered much in the wilderness, and we have suffered much affliction, hunger,
thirst, and fatigue; and after all these sufferings we must perish in the wilderness with
hunger.
16:36 And thus they did murmur against my father, and also against me; and
they were desirous to return again to Jerusalem.
16:37And Laman said unto Lemuel and also unto the sons of Ishmael: Behold,
let us slay our father, and also our brother Nephi, who has taken it upon him to be our
ruler and our teacher, who are his elder brethren.
16:38 Now, he says that the Lord has talked with him, and also that angels
have ministered unto him. But behold, we know that he lies unto us; and he tells us these
things, and he worketh many things by his cunning arts, that he may deceive our eyes,
thinking, perhaps, that he may lead us away into some strange wilderness; and after he
has led us away, he has thought to make himself a king and a ruler over us, that he may
do with us according to his will and pleasure. And after this manner did my brother Laman
stir up their hearts to anger.
16:39And it came to pass that the Lord was with us,
yea, even the voice of the Lord came and did speak many words unto them, and did chasten
them exceedingly; and after they were chastened by the voice of the Lord they did turn away
their anger, and did repent of their sins, insomuch that the Lord did bless us again with
food, that we did not perish.
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