My Liahona

Long before the establishment of Amazon, a family camped near the Red Sea received a remarkable delivery. As Lehi stepped out of his tent door in the morning, “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” (1 Nephi 16:10).

Nephi later called this device a “compass,” and it sounds like its primary purpose was to help them navigate, but it had an additional feature which seems even more miraculous:

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.

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.

1 Nephi 16:28-29

Notice that these pointers didn’t work automatically. They were sensitive to three aspects of the family’s behavior:

• Faith – Did they trust it?
• Diligence – Were they doing their duty, and did they intend to follow the instructions it gave?
• Heed – Were they paying attention to it?

Alma later explained to his son Helaman that this device was known as the Liahona, and he reaffirmed that it only worked “according to their faith in God; therefore, if they had faith to believe that God could cause that those spindles should point the way they should go, behold, it was done” (Alma 37:38-40).

Alma saw this device as a symbol of the spiritual direction we can all receive: “Just as surely as this director did bring our fathers, by following its course, to the promised land, shall the words of Christ, if we follow their course, carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise” (Alma 37:45).

My experience with the Holy Ghost parallels Nephi’s description of the Liahona:

• Most of the time, the guidance I receive from the Spirit is more like a pointer than like a specific message. I experience it as either a good or bad feeling about a course of action, encouraging me either to move forward or to change direction.
• Less frequently, and usually during prayer, I experience inspiration in the form of specific thoughts, usually in the form of a short phrase or sentence.
• Both forms of guidance are extremely sensitive to my “faith and diligence and heed.” If I have distanced myself from God, either through wrong choices or through neglect, I find it harder to recognize messages from Him. But when I make the effort to draw close to Him again, I recognize His guidance more easily.

Today, I will strive to recognize and follow the guidance of the Holy Ghost. I will recognize that, just as the Liahona led Lehi’s family to their promised land, the Holy Ghost can help me navigate through the challenges in my life and chart a course that will lead me back to the presence of God.