First Nephi 16 All

The Book of Mormon > First Nephi > Chapter 16

Questions

Verse 1

• Nephi’s brothers tell him that the things he has said are too hard to bear. What have they heard that has caused that response?

Verse 2

• In this verse, Nephi explains why they find the truth to be hard. Which meaning of “hard” is relevant, “difficult to understand” or “difficult to bear"? What does the fact that the wicked are cut to their center by the truth tell us about wickedness and truth?

Verse 3

• What is the difference between hearkening to the truth and giving heed unto it?

Verse 4

• Does the word "diligence" modify Nephi's manner of exhortation or the level of obedience to the commandments he expected of his brethren?

Verse 5

• Did Nephi never become cynical about the sincerity of his brothers' many changes of heart?

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The Book of Mormon > First Nephi > Chapter 16

Questions

Verse 6

• Why doesn't Nephi say this was a place "we called Lemuel"?

Verse 7

• Why weren't these women "given in marriage" (4 Ne 1:11)?

Verse 8

• Is Nephi saying that Lehi had reached a stopping point, that there were no more commandments left for him to fulfill, or is this a rhetorical device to indicate a transition in his story?

Verse 9

• Why does the Lord wait until only the night before to tell Lehi when they will leave?

Verse 10

• Why does he deliver the Liahona is such an unusual way?
• Do Latter-day Saints have anything comparable to Liahona today?

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The Book of Mormon > First Nephi > Chapter 16

Questions

Verse 11

• Why might Laman and Lemuel not complain at this departure, especially given its suddenness?

Verse 12

• How did they cross the river if there was no wood available at this point in the journey for making rafts or boats?

Verse 13

• Where did Nephi learn to become this precise with his navigating and directions?

Verse 14

• Was it the food or the families that was located in the wilderness?

Verse 15

• Will we always find food along the path or will we sometimes have to follow paths whose fruit is only found at the end?

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The Book of Mormon > First Nephi > Chapter 16

Questions

Verse 16

• Were they blazing new trails or following the paths of their predecessors?

Verse 17

• If the food had been plentiful on the trail, so that they could obtain what they needed each day, was this an attempt to store up food for a journey of several days or had the food suddenly become more scarce?

Verse 18

• Could Nephi have done anything to prevent the breaking of his bow?

Verse 19

• Why couldn't they set traps to catch the game that their broken bows were unable to reach?

Verse 20

• Laman, Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael didn’t murmur when they departed quickly (v. 10-11), but they do murmur now. What does that difference tell us? What does Lehi’s murmuring suggest?

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The Book of Mormon > First Nephi > Chapter 16

Questions

Verse 21

• Was there something in the climate that caused all of the bows to break down at the same time?

Verse 22

• Did Nephi have encouraging or reprimanding words for his brothers?

Verse 23

• For what kinds of reasons might Nephi have asked his father where he should go to hunt?

Verse 24

• Did Nephi lecture and humble his father as much as he did with his brothers?

Verse 25

• Did Nephi ever chasten the members of his family, or did he usually leave that up to the Lord and angels?

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The Book of Mormon > First Nephi > Chapter 16

Questions

Verse 26

• Why was the Lord so quick to answer Lehi's prayers, given the lack of faith he had demonstrated?

Verse 27

• What things did the Liahona communicate to Lehi and his family that caused them to "fear and tremble exceedingly?"

Verse 28

• It is relatively simple to see the Liahona as a metaphor for other things in our spiritual lives that “work according to the faith and diligence and heed which we . . . give unto them.” What are some of those things? Why is our spiritual life like that?

Verse 29

• Nephi himself draws a lesson from the Liahona: “by small means the Lord can bring about great things.” Why might the Lord choose to work by small means? What are some of the small means in your own life that have brought about great ends?

Verse 30

• Is this the first time that Nephi has gotten into a mountain by his own effort?
• Why was Nephi directed to go “up into the top of the mountain” to slay beasts? Was that just where the animals were, or is there something else going on?
• Since mountaintops are holy places, actual natural temples, is there something else going on here related to killing beasts on mountains/temples?

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The Book of Mormon > First Nephi > Chapter 16

Questions

Verse 31

• Why is there a footnote here to Gen 9:3? Is this to indicate that somehow Nephi killing beasts on the mount is related to the LORD's covenant with Noah after the flood that allowed Noah and his posterity to eat wild animals?

Verse 32

• Why did Laman and Lemuel allow Nephi to become the new provider for the extended family, rather than asserting their own dominance over the party?

Verse 33

• How was Nephi able to catch and carry enough food for everyone in the party to survive off of for "many days" of travel?

Verse 34

• Why does Nephi decline to say who did the burying?

Verse 35

• Do you think that when Nephi tells us that the daughters mourned exceedingly he means that they mourned excessively? What might excessive rather than “normal” mourning be? Are there any indicators in these verses that they mourned excessively?

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The Book of Mormon > First Nephi > Chapter 16

Questions

Verse 36

• How did they realistically plan to reach Jerusalem if they couldn't even catch the food they needed to survive?

Verse 37

• Notice the strangeness of these events: Ishmael dies and his daughters mourn exceedingly (v. 34-35). Presumably that includes Nephi’s wife. In response, the husband of one of those wives, Laman, urges the husband of another, Lemuel, that they should kill Lehi, their own father. What motivates Laman’s plan?

Verse 38

• Of what do Laman and Lemuel accuse Nephi? What evidence do they have for their accusation?

Verse 39

• Was the Lord trying to make it obvious to everyone there that only the righteous members of the group would be blessed with the ability to obtain food?

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