12 And it came to pass that after they had bound me insomuch that I could not move, the compass, which had been prepared of the Lord, did cease to work.
This verse serves as a graphic illustration of the fact that
we are judged according to our works. In most cases that judgment comes at the
final judgment, but on a day-to-day basis we have indications of how we are
doing. The Liahona represents revelation or inspiration from the Holy Ghost
(see 1 Nephi 16:28 comment), and as such it only worked when the company was
faithful and diligent and heeded its warnings and directions. So it was a
foregone conclusion it would stop working when Laman and Lemuel’s group tied up
the prophet. I think the timing of the Liahona quitting is important in light
of my comments to verse 11.
It is important to realize that judgments come in response to
our actions, not our temptations. Don’t you think that if
Laman had gotten really mad at Nephi, and he was tempted to abuse him (as he
actually did), but instead of tying Nephi up he just murmured and eventually
came around, that the Liahona would have kept working? Significantly, Nephi
says the compass stopped working after
they bound him. We cannot be held accountable for our temptations, just how we
respond to them. Otherwise Christ himself would have been guilty when Satan
came tempting him after He had finished His 40-day fast. The sin is not in the
temptation, but in the giving in and acting on that temptation. This is why
works are so important. Everyone gets tempted to do wrong things, but if we
don’t act on that temptation, it not only doesn’t count against us, but it
actually goes to our credit. The reason King Benjamin says that if we don’t
watch our thoughts and words in addition to our deeds is that thoughts and
words lead to deeds (see Mosiah
4:30). Alma taught his son Corianton that we are judged according to our
desires. Why? Because our desires lead to our actions, so we literally become
our own judges, because we have agency to choose what we do (see Alma 41:3–8). So if Laman’s group only had more
self-discipline, this whole episode could have been avoided.
- 1 Nephi 16:28
- Alma 37:38 (38–47)
