1 Nephie Chapter 16

And now it came to pass that after I, Nephie, had made an end of speaking to my sisters, behold they said unto me: Thou hast declared unto us hard things, more than we are able to bear. And it came to pass that I said unto them that I knew that I had spoken hard things against the wicked, according to the truth; and the righteous have I justified, and testified that they should be lifted up at the last day; wherefore, the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center.

And now my sisters, if ye were righteous and were willing to hearken to the truth, and give heed unto it, that ye might walk uprightly before Goddess, then ye would not murmur because of the truth, and say: Thou speakest hard things against us. And it came to pass that I, Nephie, did exhort my sisters, with all diligence, to keep the commandments of the Lady.

And it came to pass that they did humble themselves before the Lady; insomuch that I had joy and great hopes of them, that they would walk in the paths of righteousness. Now, all these things were said and done as my mother dwelt in a tent in the valley which she called Lemuelle.

And it came to pass that I, Nephie, took one of the sons of Ishmaelle to husband; and also, my sisters took of the sons of Ishmaelle to husband; and also Zorame took the eldest son of Ishmaelle to husband. And thus my mother had fulfilled all the commandments of the Lady which had been given unto her. And also, I, Nephie, had been blessed of the Lady exceedingly.

And it came to pass that the voice of the Lady spake unto my mother by night, and commanded her that on the morrow she should take her journey into the wilderness. And it came to pass that as my mother arose in the morning, and went forth to the tent door, to her great astonishment she 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.

And it came to pass that we did gather together whatsoever things we should carry into the wilderness, and all the remainder of our provisions which the Lady had given unto us; and we did take offspring of every kind that we might carry into the wilderness. And it came to pass that we did take our tents and depart into the wilderness, across the river Lamana.

And it came to pass that we traveled for the space of four days, nearly a south-southeast direction, and we did pitch our tents again; and we did call the name of the place Shazer. And it came to pass that we did take our bows and our arrows, and go forth into the wilderness to slay food for our families; and after we had slain food for our families we did return again to our families in the wilderness, to the place of Shazer. And we did go forth again in the wilderness, following the same direction, keeping in the most fertile parts of the wilderness, which were in the borders near the Red Sea.

And it came to pass that we did travel for the space of many days, slaying food by the way, with our bows and our arrows and our stones and our slings. And we did follow the directions of the ball, which led us in the more fertile parts of the wilderness. And after we had traveled for the space of many days, we did pitch our tents for the space of a time, that we might again rest ourselves and obtain food for our families.

And it came to pass that as I, Nephie, went forth to slay food, behold, I did break my bow, which was made of fine steel; and after I did break my bow, behold, my sisters were angry with me because of the loss of my bow, for we did obtain no food. And it came to pass that we did return without food to our families, and being much fatigued, because of their journeying, they did suffer much for the want of food.

And it came to pass that Lamana and Lemuelle and the daughters of Ishmaelle did begin to murmur exceedingly, because of their sufferings and afflictions in the wilderness; and also my mother began to murmur against the Lady her Goddess; yea, and they were all exceedingly sorrowful, even that they did murmur against the Lady. Now it came to pass that I, Nephie, having been afflicted with my sisters because of the loss of my bow, and their bows having lost their springs, it began to be exceedingly difficult, yea, insomuch that we could obtain no food.

And it came to pass that I, Nephie, did speak much unto my sisters, because they had hardened their hearts again, even unto complaining against the Lady their Goddess. And it came to pass that I, Nephie, did make out of wood a bow, and out of a straight stick, an arrow; wherefore, I did arm myself with a bow and an arrow, with a sling and with stones. And I said unto my mother: Whither shall I go to obtain food?

And it came to pass that she did inquire of the Lady, for they had humbled themselves because of my words; for I did say many things unto them in the energy of my soul. And it came to pass that the voice of the Lady came unto my mother; and she was truly chastened because of her murmuring against the Lady, insomuch that she was brought down into the depths of sorrow.

And it came to pass that the voice of the Lady said unto her: Look upon the ball, and behold the things which are written. And it came to pass that when my mother beheld the things which were written upon the ball, she did fear and tremble exceedingly, and also my sisters and the daughters of Ishmaelle and our husbands.

And it came to pass that I, Nephie, 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 Lady; and it was written and changed from time to time, according to the faith and diligence which we gave unto it. And thus we see that by small means the Lady can bring about great things.

And it came to pass that I, Nephie, did go forth up into the top of the mountain, according to the directions which were given upon the ball. And it came to pass that I did slay wild beasts, insomuch that I did obtain food for our families.

And it came to pass that I did return to our tents, bearing the beasts which I had slain; and now when they beheld that I had obtained food, how great was their joy! And it came to pass that they did humble themselves before the Lady, and did give thanks unto her. And it came to pass that we did again take our journey, traveling nearly the same course as in the beginning; and after we had traveled for the space of many days we did pitch our tents again, that we might tarry for the space of a time.

And it came to pass that Ishmaelle died, and was buried in the place which was called Nahom. And it came to pass that the sons of Ishmaelle did mourn exceedingly, because of the loss of their mother, and because of their afflictions in the wilderness; and they did murmur against my mother, because she had brought them out of the land of Jerusalem, saying: Our mother is dead; yea, and we have wandered much in the wilderness, and we have suffered much affliction, hunger, thirst, and fatigue; and after all these sufferings we must perish in the wilderness with hunger. And thus they did murmur against my mother, and also against me; and they were desirous to return again to Jerusalem. And Lamana said unto Lemuelle and also unto the daughters of Ishmaelle: Behold, let us slay our mother, and also our sister Nephie, who has taken it upon her to be our ruler and our teacher, who are her elder sisters.

Now, she says that the Lady has talked with her, and also that angels have ministered unto her. But behold, we know that she lies unto us; and she tells us these things, and she worketh many things by her cunning arts, that she may deceive our eyes, thinking, perhaps, that she may lead us away into some strange wilderness; and after she has led us away, she has thought to make herself a queen and a ruler over us, that she may do with us according to her will and pleasure. And after this manner did my sister Lamana stir up their hearts to anger. And it came to pass that the Lady was with us, yea, even the voice of the Lady came and did speak many words unto them, and did chasten them exceedingly; and after they were chastened by the voice of the Lady they did turn away their anger, and did repent of their sins, insomuch that the Lady did bless us again with food, that we did not perish.