21 And it came to pass after they had loosed me, behold, I took the compass, and it did work whither I desired it. And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord; and after I had prayed the winds did cease, and the storm did cease, and there was a great calm.
Nephi saves the day again. It’s too bad this faithless
element of his family could not appreciate what they had in Nephi. Time and
again his faith is what saves the family from disaster. Once again he is set
free; once again he has the wisdom to take the best course of action. Nephi
takes the compass, and it works again. Apparently everyone in the company needs
to at least cooperate for the compass to work, even if their hearts are not
totally committed to the Lord. Is this further evidence that we are judged on
our actions? I say this because Nephi was not the only person of faith on that
boat. Lehi could have made the compass work. Remember how Nephi had his father
consult the Liahona when he needed to find food after making a new bow? The
prophet’s mantle seems to have fallen completely to Nephi now. He was the one
who could get the compass to work again. It was his prayer that calmed the
storm. And yet even he could not do it as long as his brethren kept him tied
up. Only after he was loosed did his prayers become effective in calming the
storm. Good will conquer evil, at least in the long run, but this incident
makes me wonder what would have happened if Laman were so far gone that he
never untied Nephi. Would the Lord have actually let them perish in the storm?
Probably if it came to that He would have taken Laman out. After all, “it is
better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish
in unbelief” (1 Nephi 4:13). Laman is probably lucky he changed his mind about
keeping Nephi tied up.
