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.
Obedience to the Lord’s commandments may seem difficult at
times, but it really is not too much for the Lord to ask of us. And when we are
faithfully diligent in keeping the commandments, in heeding revelation we may
receive, the Lord can accomplish great things. These great things that the Lord
can bring about could be rightfully called miracles. They are brought about by our faith and diligence, which is a
small thing by comparison. King Benjamin seems to imply this by his choice of
words in Mosiah 2: 22, where he is talking about blessings from the Lord. He
mentions or lists what the Lord is willing to do for us, and says, “all that he
requires of you is to keep his commandments.” That’s it. Such a small thing.
Keeping his commandments requires faith. Even if we do the right thing, if it’s
for the wrong reason, it’s not considered obedience to a commandment. This is
what Mormon teaches in Moroni 7: 6–10. If we offer a gift, or pray unto God,
“except [we] shall do it with real intent…it is not counted unto [us] for
righteousness.” Laman and Lemuel are great examples of this. They did the right
things, came with Lehi, went back for the plates, helped build the boat, etc.,
but they did it all for the wrong reason. They weren’t obeying the Lord so much
as they were obeying their father, or saving their skins. I don’t think their
good works were counted as righteousness. Later on, in Moroni 7: 37, Mormon
makes it very clear that miracles are only possible through faith. Faith, as
James says, is best demonstrated by works, or obedience, heed, and diligence to
the word of God (see James 2: 14–26). During the Savior’s ministry on earth,
there was a time he went to his own country, and even He was restricted; even
He “did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13: 58).
On the other hand, there is the example of Naaman in 2 Kings
chapter 5. The Lord cured his leprosy because he washed in the river Jordan as
directed by Elisha, the prophet. Such a small thing, washing in a river, which,
as he pointed out to his servant, was something he could have done in any river
(vs. 12). The servant, however, convinced Naaman to “experiment on [Elisha’s]
words, and exercise a particle of faith,” which, when he completed the “small
means” of Elisha’s instructions, great things were brought about; the instant
cure of leprosy (see Alma 32:27 for the quote).
Lehi and his family enjoyed the miracle of revelation, very
plain revelation, which is a great thing, through the small means of their
faith and diligence. What a blessing to that family. We definitely get the
better end of that deal in my opinion.
It occurs to me that this Liahona is symbolic of our
relationship with various forms of instruction from God. There are two
spindles, “one pointed the way whither [they] should go into the wilderness”
(vs. 10). Presumably the other spindle pointed north, like a regular compass.
If that’s the case, then the comparison could be made to the north-pointing
spindle representing the scriptures. They are standard. They give God’s will in
ways that could be applied to various circumstances through our own
understanding. The spindle that pointed the way they should go could represent
more current revelation, such as would come from a living prophet. In other
words, you always know where north is (what the Lord’s standards are), now here
is more specific instruction. In this case, go that direction. Then the writing
on the Liahona might represent a very personal, very direct way of receiving
personal revelation. An example of this might be when Nephi obtained the brass
plates. The standard default position is that killing a defenseless person is
murder, and against God’s commandments (the north-pointing spindle). Nephi is
told to kill Laban so he can obtain the plates in disguise (the spindle
pointing to where he should go in this specific case). Nephi didn’t want to do
it, so he questioned the commandment given him by the Spirit. So He was given
direct, detailed reasons by the Spirit for completing the commandment (the
writing on the ball) (1 Nephi 4: 7–18). Maybe another, more modern example of
this could be the Lord’s teaching that “whosoever looketh on a woman to lust
after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matthew 5: 28). This is
the north-pointing spindle. Modern prophets tell us that viewing pornography
would be like lusting after a woman and committing adultery in our hearts (the
spindle pointing the way to go). Then we are prompted to avoid or leave a
specific web site because of its pornographic content (the writing on the
ball). So it gets more specific and personal at each level.
- 2 Kings 5:13
- Job 32:8
- James 3:4
- Mosiah 2:22
- Alma 37:6 (6–8, 41)
- Moroni 7:37
- D&C 64:33
