Why Were the Three Witnesses Shown the Liahona? (Knowhy #405)

And now, my son, I have somewhat to say concerning the thing which our fathers call a ball, or director—or our fathers called it Liahona, which is, being interpreted, a compass; and the Lord prepared it.”
Alma 37:38

The liahona, which has parallels to each of the items kept in the Ark of the Covenant, was revered by Nephite prophets and preserved as one of their most sacred national treasures. Its very existence helps establish the reality of the Lehite exodus from Jerusalem, and it meaningfully represents the Lord’s hand in leading a branch of Israel to a land of promise in the New World. These features help explain why it was included among the sacred objects shown to the Three Witnesses.

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[peggybogar]

Very nicely done. Thank you once again for increasing my knowledge in such a lovely way.

[dinocollins]

Dom Bradley has done excellent work on this incredible!!! Anyone interested look into his work on this it will blow your mind!!!

[genejudson]

Everybody do a search for "Indian coach warmer" and see where Joseph may have gotten some inspiration. Also look up Mormonism Live episode 30 for a more detailed explanation of this topic...

[Seraphim-Hamilton]

The Liahona seems to me to be a spin on the concept of a seerstone. Just as writing appears on Joseph's seerstone, so writing appears on the Liahona. Just as the seerstone leads a person around to the location of buried treasure, so also the Liahona leads Lehi's group to food and nourishment. The seerstone is a major theme throughout the Book of Mormon, of course making an appearance with the "interpreters" of King Mosiah and later with the stones which shine in the darkness after being touched by the hand of the Lord. These are arguably the stones which came to form Mosiah's interpreters, as accounts of the narrative of the Lost 116 Pages indicate: the discovery of the Jaredite stones by Mosiah's group signaled the end of the Liahona's operation. Joseph, of course, placed his face in a hat so as to block out external light, similar to how external light makes a computer screen difficult to read. The stone shines out and produces text which Joseph dictates as revelation. Seerstones are also arguably echoed in 1 Nephi 18 (IIRC) where Nephi describes his production of light by striking two stones together.The best model, as far as I can see, for the prominence of seerstone concepts in the Book of Mormon, spanning both Lehite and Jaredite civilizations, is that it comes from the mental furniture of Joseph Smith's so-called "magic worldview."

[DoctorZisIN]

It's "very existence"? So where is it?