Liahona (Book of Mormon)

According to the "Book of Mormon" and other Latter Day Saint movement sources, the "Liahona" was a brass ball that operated as a type of compass with two spindles. One of the spindles was said to point the direction Lehi and his party should travel after their exile from Jerusalem. The "Book of Mormon" states that the Liahona also contained periodic written instructions from God. According to some sources, the Liahona was among the "Book of Mormon" artifacts Smith said were found with the golden plates. [Harvtxt|Lapham|1870|pp=306, 308; Harvtxt|Salisbury|1895|p=13.]

In Book of Mormon

In the "Book of Mormon", the Liahona was found one morning at the tent door of Lehi. It is described as a round brass ball of “curious workmanship” with “two spindles,” one of which indicated the direction that his party should travel (sourcetext|source=Book of Mormon|book=1 Nephi|chapter=16|verse=10). It is sometimes referred to in the text as a compass. On occasion there was also writing on the ball that displayed additional instructions from God (sourcetext|source=Book of Mormon|book=1 Nephi|chapter=16|verse=26|range=-29). Using the Liahona, Lehi and his party were directed through the wilderness and across the ocean to the Americas. The Liahona worked “according to the faith and diligence” (sourcetext|source=Book of Mormon|book=1 Nephi|chapter=16|verse=28) with which they heeded its direction, and ceased functioning at times when the members of the party demonstrated a loss of faith in God's commandments, notably when Nephi's brothers rebelled against Lehi during their ocean crossing (sourcetext|source=Book of Mormon|book=1 Nephi|chapter=18|verse=12).

The only place in The Book of Mormon where the word Liahona is used is in the Book of Alma when Alma, speaking to his son Helaman, explains "our fathers called it Liahona, which is, being interpreted, a compass" (sourcetext|source=Book of Mormon|book=Alma|chapter=37|verse=38). Alma tells his son that “it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ ... to eternal bliss, as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass ... to the promised land“ (sourcetext|source=Book of Mormon|book=Alma|chapter=37|verse=44).

Meaning of the word “Liahona”

According to the "Book of Mormon", the word "Liahona" means "a compass" (sourcetext|source=Book of Mormon|book=Alma|chapter=37|verse=38). Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh Nibley also provided two additional possibilities for the meaning based on perceived Hebrew roots:

“Many people have dealt with the word Liahona. We had a teacher from Hebrew University here for a few years…. His name was Shunary. He never joined the Church, but the first thing that fascinated him was this name Liahona. He traced it back to the queen bee, the leader of bees swarming in the desert. When bees swarm, that's Liahona. I took it from a different one. Yah is, of course, God Jehovah. Liyah means the possessive, "To God is the guidance," hona (Liyahhona). That's just a guess; don't put it down. But it's a pretty good guess anyway" [Nibley, Hugh. Teachings of the Book of Mormon, Semester 1, p.216. Covenant Communications (2004). ISBN 978-1591565710] .

Notes

References

*Citation
last=Lapham
first= [La] Fayette
title=Interview with the Father of Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet, Forty years Ago. His Account of the Finding of the Sacred Plates
journal=Historical Magazine [second series]
volume=7
year=1870
pages=305-309
url= http://en.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=Historical_Magazine_%28second_series%29/Volume_7/May_1870/Interview_with_the_Father_of_Joseph_Smith&oldid=314358 .
*Citation
last=Salisbury
first=Katharine Smith
year=1895
contribution=An Angel Told Him
date=April 10 1895
editor-last=Walker
editor-first=Kyle R.
title=Katharine Smith Salisbury's Recollections of Joseph's Meetings with Moroni
journal=BYU Studies
volume=41
issue=3
publication-date=2002
pages=4–17
url=https://byustudies.byu.edu/shop/PDFSRC/41.3Walker.pdf .