Lehi had received a command to start on his journey on the morrow. Naturally, his great concern was how to find the road through the wilderness, and how to avoid encounters with enemies. Ezra, in leading a large company of his countrymen from Babylonia to Jerusalem, was confronted with a similar problem. He could have obtained an armed escort from the king, but because he had told the ruler that the Lord would protect them, he was, as he says, ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers, thereby proving that his faith in Jehovah had no practical value; he gathered his company, instead, at the river Ahavah, and for three days they fasted and prayed for guidance and protection. Then they set out on their perilous journey. "And the hand of our God," Ezra says, "was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way." (32)
As for Lehi, the problem of guidance and protection from robbers was solved in a most remarkable way. He was up early in the morning. As he stood by the opening of the tent, undoubtedly wondering what course to take, he perceived a ball on the ground. He picked the way "whither we should go." That solved the spindles, one of which pointed the way "whither we should go." That solved the problem. The spindle indicated the general direction, and also where to go to find food and safety from robber bands. See, Liahona, p. 229.