1 Nephi 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.
2 And 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.
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.
4 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did exhort my brethren, with all
diligence, to keep the commandments of the Lord.
5 And 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.
6 Now, all these things were said and done as my father dwelt in a tent in the
valley which he called Lemuel.
7 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.
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.
9 And 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.
10 And 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.
11 And 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.
12 And it came to pass that we did take our tents and depart into the
wilderness, across the river Laman.
13 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.
14 And 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.
15 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.
16 And we did follow the directions of the ball, which led us in the more
fertile parts of the wilderness.
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.
18 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; 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.
19 And 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.
20 And 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.
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.
22 And 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.
23 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. $ And I said unto my father: Whither
shall I go to obtain food?
24 And 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.
25 And 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.
26 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.
27 And 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.
28 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.
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.
30 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.
31 And it came to pass that I did slay wild beasts, insomuch that I did obtain
food for our families.
32 And 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.
33 And 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.
34 And it came to pass that Ishmael died, and was buried in the place which
was called Nahom.
35 And 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.
36 And thus they did murmur against my father, and also against me; and
they were desirous to return again to Jerusalem.
37 And 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.
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.
39 And 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.