An intricate device made of fine brass which miraculously appears at your tent door might not seem like a small thing, particularly when it provides messages and guidance from God. However, after describing the functioning of the Liahona, Nephi concludes, “Thus we see that by small means, the Lord can bring about great things” (1 Nephi 16:29).
Perhaps he called it small because of its physical size. Although he doesn’t specify the measurements, it seems likely that a device he called a “ball” or a “compass” would fit in your hand. Or maybe he was referring to its limited use. This device didn’t help them with transportation, with provisions, or with shelter. All it did was to point the direction they should travel and occasionally provide written messages. The rest was up to them.
The prophet Alma later elaborated on this principle. Teaching his son Helaman about the Liahona, he observed:
Because those miracles were worked by small means…they were slothful, and forgot to exercise their faith and diligence and then those marvelous works ceased, and they did not progress in their journey.
Alma 37:41
Maybe because the Liahona was always there, they began to take it for granted. Even manna became tiresome to the Israelites as they received and consumed it day after day. (See Numbers 11:4-9.) In the moment, it might have seemed somewhat ordinary, but in retrospect, Nephi could see the final result of following this miraculous device.
One example of a small thing that can generate substantial results is our daily interactions with family members. Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf said:
Another strength you have, as a parent, is the opportunity for daily, ongoing influence. Peers, teachers, and media influencers come and go. But you can be the most constant, steady influence in your child’s life.
Your efforts may seem small compared to the loud voices your children hear in the world. At times it may feel that you’re not accomplishing much. But remember that “by small means the Lord can bring about great things.” One home evening, one gospel conversation, or one good example may not change your child’s life in a moment, any more than one drop of rain causes a plant immediately to grow. But the consistency of small and simple things, day after day, nourishes your children much better than an occasional flood.
“Jesus Christ Is the Strength of Parents,” General Conference, April 2023
Elder Uchtdorf also shared the following quotation from David O. McKay:
Let us not think that, because some [things] … seem small and trivial, [that] they are unimportant. Life, after all, is made up of little things. Our life, our being, physically, is made up of little heart beats. Let that little heart stop beating, and life in this world ceases. The great sun is a mighty force in the universe, but we receive the blessings of [its] rays because they come to us as little beams, which, taken in the aggregate, fill the whole world with sunlight. The dark night is made pleasant by the glimmer of what seem to be little stars; and so the true Christian life is made up of little Christ-like acts performed this hour, this minute—in the home.
Teachings of Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay [2003], 219, quoted in “Jesus Christ Is the Strength of Parents,” General Conference, April 2023, footnote 8
Today, I will remember that small, consistent actions can generate amazing outcomes. I will treasure interactions with family members and remember that their aggregate impact is likely much larger than I realize.
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