Lehi Commanded to Embark upon the Ship--Food Prepared for the
Voyage--Jacob and Joseph--Did the Ship have Sails?--Voyages and Ships
of Egyptians--Dancing and Rudeness of Laman and Others at Sea--Nephi
Remonstrates--Is Treated Harshly and Bound Hand and Foot by his
Brothers--Lehi and Sariah very Sick--Four Days of Terrible
Tempest--Compass Would not Work--Driven Back Before the Wind--Terror
of Laman and Lemuel--Nephi's Patience and Self-Control--The Lord Shows
Forth His Power--Nephi Released--The Ship Steered in Right Course--His
Prayer Answered and Tempest Quelled--Reach the Promised Land.
Now that the vessel was finished, the voice of the Lord came unto Lehi
that they were to embark upon the ship. It was still through him that
the word came for a movement of this character. They had prepared
fruits and meats and honey in great quantities, and "provisions
according to that which the Lord had commanded them;" these with all
their "loading" and their seeds and everything they had brought with
them, they carried on board their vessel, and embarked themselves,
"everyone according to his age." At this point we find mentioned for
the first time, the names of two sons of Lehi, who were born in the
wilderness--Jacob and Joseph. These boys grew up to be faithful and
renowned men of God, and were a great help to their brother Nephi,
after they reached the promised land.
After they put forth to sea they were driven by the wind towards the
promised land. We are not informed as to whether they used sails or
other means to propel their vessel; but as they were "driven before
the wind" it is most likely they had sails. They steered their ship by
the direction of the compass which the Lord had prepared for them. [A]
[Footnote A: In this connection it may be of interest to know
something of the progress which had been made in the art of navigation
at the time Lehi and his company made this wonderful voyage by
direction of the Lord. The earliest record of the practice of this art
after the construction of the ark by Noah--excepting the account we
have in the Book of Mormon of the voyage of Jared and his brother and
their colony--is that of the Egyptians, who at a very remote period
are said to have established commercial relations with India. This
traffic was carried on between the Arabian Gulf and the western coast
of India, across the Indian Ocean. It may be that Lehi himself might
have been familiar with a famous expedition by sea which was fitted
out by Necho II. king of Egypt; for as near as we can ascertain this
was done in his day. This Necho was the king of Egypt against whom
Josiah, king of Judah, fought when he received his death wound (_II.
Chron. xxxv. 22_). He fitted out a fleet in the Red Sea, and having
engaged some expert Phoenician pilots and sailors, he sent them on a
voyage of discovery along the coast of Africa. They were ordered to
start from the Arabian Gulf, and come round through the Pillars of
Hercules (now the straits of Gibraltar) into the Mediterranean, and so
return to Egypt. This voyage was a very daring one for those days.
Through it the peninsular form of Africa was ascertained, and the Cape
of Good Hope was doubled about twenty-one centuries before it was seen
by Diaz [B] or doubled by Vasco de Gama. The vessels of the Egyptians
were frequently of large dimensions, and were generally propelled by
oars, though they understood to a certain extent the use of sails. We
read of one vessel in later times carrying as many as 400 sailors,
4,000 rowers, and nearly 3,000 soldiers.
There can be no doubt but that the ship upon which Lehi and his
company embarked was in every respect superior for the purpose for
which it was designed to any vessel known among men at that time. The
Lord had directed its construction. He knew what was needed--the
capacity required, the strain to which it would be subjected from the
winds and the waves, and the length of time it would be upon the ocean
in making the voyage--and it must have been admirably adapted to meet
all these wants.]
[Footnote B: Bartholomew Diaz discovered it in 1487, in the reign of
John II., king of Portugal, but did not land. He named it Capo
Tormento, from the storms he experienced there; but the king
afterwards changed its name to Cape of Good Hope; and Emanuel, his
successor, sent Vasco da Gama, in 1497, with orders to double it and
proceed to India.--_The Ancient Egyptians_ (_Wilkinson_) _1, 2_, _pp.
109, 110_.]
Upon one occasion, after they had been out to sea some time, Laman and
Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael and their wives began to dance, to sing
and to indulge in very rude language and conduct. They made themselves
so merry and behaved so improperly, forgetting by what power they had
been brought where they were, that Nephi became alarmed, for fear the
Lord would be angry with them and smite them because of their
wickedness, and they should go to the bottom of the sea. He spoke to
them, therefore, with that soberness and gravity which the sense of
peril inspired. But, as usual with them, his words made them angry.
They declared that their younger brother should not be a ruler over
them. Laman and Lemuel were not content with speaking harshly, they
went so far as to handle him roughly and to bind him hand and foot
with cords, which were lashed so tightly as to give him pain and to
cause his wrists and ankles to be very sore and swollen. They kept him
in this condition for four days. It was in vain that his father and
mother, his wife and children, and others plead for him. They could
not move them to release him. Indeed they threatened every one with
vengeance who spoke to them in his favor. This conduct nearly brought
Lehi and Sariah down to the gates of death. They became so sick that
they were confined to their beds, and were almost ready to be
consigned to a watery grave. Yet even this grief and sickness of
theirs had no effect upon these cruel and pitiless men. Their hearts
were steeled against the voices of love and affection; they were
insensible to every humane emotion and every human appeal. Nothing but
the power of God could reach them, and they were soon made to feel
that. After they had bound Nephi, the compass ceased to work, and they
did not know in what direction they should steer the ship. A storm
arose, and it continued to rage with such violence that they were
driven back, apparently at the mercy of the waves and in great danger
of being engulfed by them. This terrible tempest frightened Laman and
Lemuel exceedingly. They were afraid they and all on board would be
drowned; but they were resolved not to loose Nephi, even when
entreated to do so by their parents and others. But by the fourth day
the tempest had become so frightfully fierce, that even Laman and
Lemuel were terror-stricken and softened, and they repented and
released Nephi. They had to be threatened with destruction and brought
face to face with death before they would yield. During all this time,
suffering from pain and in a condition so wretched, Nephi did not lose
his patience and self-control. Great as were his afflictions he did
not murmur against the Lord; but he looked unto Him and praised Him
all the day long. He was in circumstances that many men would think
dreadful and even unbearable; their faith would be greatly tried
thereby, and perhaps would fail. Our own Church history furnishes a
case of this kind. Sidney Rigdon, once a prominent man in the Church,
the first counselor of the Prophet Joseph, was taken by the mob in
Missouri at the same time that the Prophet and others were, and was
put in prison by them. His afflictions he felt so severely that he
murmured about them, and said:
"I never will follow Brother Joseph's revelations any more, contrary
to my own convenience. The sufferings of Jesus Christ were a fool to
mine."
This doubtless was one cause of his subsequent apostasy; for he lost
the spirit and never afterwards manifested the faith and power which
he had formerly possessed.
The Lord could have manifested His power in behalf of Nephi so as to
have prevented his brothers from binding him as they did. But it did
not suit His purposes to do so. There are many things which the Lord
suffers for the purpose of testing individuals or the people, and also
that He may show forth His power and to fulfill His word which He has
spoken concerning the wicked. The cruel conduct of Laman and Lemuel
towards Nephi exhibited the wickedness of their hearts and brought
them under condemnation before the Lord, and at the same time showed
up in strong colors his faith and patience and the greatness of his
soul. After Nephi had been released he took the compass and it worked
as he desired it should, and he was able to steer the ship in the
direction of the promised land. He prayed unto the Lord and the
violence of the tempest was quelled, and the elements became serene
and calm. Sailing for some time after this occurrence they reached the
promised land.