A Round Ball the Liahona

Alan C. Miner

Hunter and Ferguson write that according to both the Popol Vuh [an ancient Guatemalan Indian history] and the Book of Mormon, the original ancestors had a sacred instrument. As indicted by the Popol Vuh, it was symbolic of the power of God which power was possessed by these early colonizers. . . . Concerning the deathbed statement of the original head of the colony, the Popol Vuh says: "Then Balam-Quitze left the symbol of his being: 'This is a remembrance which I leave for you. This shall be your power. I take my leave filled with sorrow,' he added." Then he left the symbol of his being, the Pizom-Gagal, as it was called. The Totonicapan [Guatemalan] account states that the Lord supplied the Giron-Gagal [director] and led the colony across the sea because they were "the sons of Abraham and of Jacob." [Milton R. Hunter and T. Stuart Ferguson, Ancient America and the Book of Mormon, pp. 66-72]

“Liahona”

Jeff Lindsay notes that the word "Liahona" (Alma 37:38) was used to describe the unusual spherical compass or director that was miraculously given to Lehi to guide him through the Arabian peninsula, apparently telling them not only which way to travel but when to travel or stop as well. Rabbi Yosef ben Yehuda, a non-LDS author of the former Jewishness of the Book of Mormon Website suggests that the word Liahona was probably coined by the Nephites but represents very good Hebrew (e-mail from Dec. 1997). Liahona (lamed-yud-hey-vav-nun-alef in Hebrew), is related to known Hebrew words, as Rabbi Yosef explains:

LIA (lamed-yud-hey), Strongs 3914: something round; a wreath

LAWAH (lamed-vav-hey), Strongs 3867: to bind around; to wreathe; to start or stop

LON (lamed-vav-nun), Strongs 3885, from LAWAH: to abide, to dwell, to remain or to continue.

[jefflindsay.com/BMEvidences.shtml]

Alma 37:38 A ball . . . our fathers called it Liahona ([Illustration]): (1) An extract from a Mexican codex in the Selden Collection depicts a bundle, wrapped and tied shut. However, to the right, the native historians have rendered a cut-away drawing, revealing the content of the package, which is none other than a ball, apparently depicted with a window or reflective surface. (2) The round object within the bundle also receives singular attention in the codex, as we find it illustrated apart from other items, as shown. [Ammon O'Brien, Seeing Beyond Today With Ancient America, p. 154]

He Gave Him Charge Concerning the Plates of Brass and Also the Plates of Nephi and Also the Sword of Laban and the Ball or Director

According to Gordon Thomasson, Mosiah2 received tangible symbols of his authority when he became king. This obvious, and yet neglected historical detail merits our attention, for it highlights Mosiah's authority and the complex pattern of Old World kingship, of which Mosiah2 was a part. Prior to assembling the people through the new King Mosiah's proclamation (Mosiah 2:1), Benjamin gave his son the Nephite national treasures, which are representative of those that a real king was required to possess anciently.

The first of these, the plates of brass, contained among other things . . . a genealogy of Lehi's forefathers back to Joseph (1 Nephi 5:14). These, coupled with the genealogy and records of the kings of the Nephites on the large plates (1 Nephi 6:1; 9:4), proved Mosiah's right to rule by the legitimacy of his descent. Other kings of antiquity required royal genealogists to concoct records to rationalize their claim to the right to rule (whatever their real ancestry). The countless forged genealogies produced by successive dynasties or royal houses to justify their usurpation of a throne prove nothing as much as the necessity for kings at least to claim royal descent.

The second treasure, the regal sword (in this case the sword of Laban), is often seen in royal and religious art as a symbol of power and rule. In pacific reigns it may be represented less often than a scepter or stylized arrow, but it is always in the background, at least implicitly, around the world.

The last of the treasures that Benjamin entrusted to Mosiah2, the Liahona, deserves special attention. Few details in the Book of Mormon have been ridiculed more than the Liahona, and yet few more accurately reflect what one might find in an authentic ancient record. By the time we find possible parallels to the Liahona in later European art, they are stylized almost beyond recognition, and their original use and the power which made them work is completely forgotten. Royal treasures like the Liahona were once well known, such as the one pictured in the Emperor Charles V's left hand (see illustration). It is an orbis terrarum, Reichsapfel, or orb. The earth or heavenly glove with a cross atop it is also common in the religious art of the period. This symbol of royalty is traceable at least to the time of the late Roman period and arguably to Babylonia as far back as 600 B.C. It is a symbol of earthly rule and heavenly power, and its use in royal and religious iconography is an implicit claim to worldly dominion, symbolizing its possessor's power over this earth. It represents an assertion of "holding the world in the palm of one's hand." [Gordon C. Thomasson, "Mosiah: The Complex Symbolism and Symbolic Complex of Kingship in the Book of Mormon," in Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, Spring 1993, F.A.R.M.S., pp. 26-29]

Mosiah 1:16 He gave him charge concerning the . . . plates of brass; and also the plates of Nephi, and also the sword of Laban, and the ball or director ([Illustration]): Engraving of Charles V, by Pieter Balten, 1580. It is clear by comparing numerous portraits of this and other rulers that what is important is not the exact likeness of the ruler, but rather that the symbols of royalty, the sword and orb, be present so that there is no question as to the status of the person portrayed. Iconographic legibility was far more of a concern than photographic realism. [Gordon C. Thomasson, "Mosiah: The Complex Symbolism and Symbolic Complex of Kingship in the Book of Mormon," in Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, Spring 1993, F.A.R.M.S., p. 27]

“Liahona”

According to Hunter and Ferguson (Ancient America and the Book of Mormon, pp. 70-71) the Nephite name for the divine instrument, Liahona, may possibly be a composite of the two Hebrew words which describe the functioning of the instrument, "Lahab-hennah." These words mean "point" and "whither."

According to Reynolds and Sjodahl, the term Liahona is Hebrew with an Egyptian ending. It is the name which Lehi gave to the ball or director he found outside his tent. L is a Hebrew preposition meaning "to." Iah is a Hebrew abbreviated form of "Jehovah," common in Hebrew names. On is the Hebrew name of the Egyptian "City of the Sun." . . . L-iah-on means, therefore, literally, "To God is Light"' or, "of God is Light." That is to say, God gives light, as does the Sun. The final a reminds us that the Egyptian form of the Hebrew name On is Annu and that seems to be the form Lehi used. [Reynolds and Sjodahl, Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. IV, pp. 178-179]

Whatever the derivation of the name, this "round ball of curious workmanship" had "two spindles and the one pointed the way whither we should go into the wilderness." Although the key to having it work was faith, it was called a "compass" in five different places in the Book of Mormon. Considering the direction that Nephi gave ("south-southeast"-1 Nephi 16:13), one could ask if the use of magnetic fields was part of the way this ball worked. With sea travel as an option, with the "trail" some forty-eight miles at its widest point, with Nephi in search of game, with major forks in the road, and with water wells sometimes sixty-six miles apart, whatever the mechanism, this "round ball" was a valuable travel aid. This ball is referred to as a "director" in Alma 37:38, wherein it is said that "our fathers called it Liahona, which is, being interpreted, a compass."

According to Robert L. Bunker, the Liahona was given by the Lord as a communications device for Lehi to determine the appropriate direction of travel. This device in 1 Nephi contained two pointers, only one of which was necessary to provide directional information. But the Liahona was more than just a simple compass in function, for it additionally required faith for correct operation. Since a single pointer always "points" in some direction, the additional pointer was necessary to indicate whether or not the first pointer could be relied upon. This proposed purpose for the second pointer conforms to a well-established engineering principle used in modern fault-tolerant computer systems called voting, in which two identical process states are compared and declared correct if they are the same, and incorrect if they are different. Hence the second pointer, when coincident with the first, would indicate proper operation, and when orthogonal, would indicate nonoperation. [Robert L. Bunker, "The Design of the Liahona and the Purpose of the Second Spindle," in Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, Fall 1994, F.A.R.M.S., p. 1]

1 Nephi 16:10 A round ball of curious workmanship ([Illustration]): Liahona depiction with crossed pointers indicating "not in service." [Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, Fall 1994, p. 1]

1 Nephi 16:10 He [Lehi] beheld upon the ground a round ball of curious workmanship ([Illustration]): The Liahona. [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Gospel Art, #302]

1 Nephi 16:10 He beheld upon the ground a round ball of curious workmanship ([Illustration]): Lehi and the Liahona. Artist: Ronald Bergen. Painted for the Second International Art Competition, this painting by Ronald Bergen of Tempe, Arizona, illustrates Lehi's finding the Liahona. [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The Ensign, August 1994, inside back cover]

1 Nephi 16:10 He [Lehi] beheld . . . a round ball of curious workmanship ([Illustration]): Lehi. Artist: Stuart Heimdal. [Paul R. Cheesman, Great Leaders of the Book of Mormon, p. 13]

Step by Step Through the Book of Mormon: A Cultural Commentary

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