1 Nephi 16
When Laman and Lemuel called Nephi’s words hard I have always thought they meant “unforgiving” or “harsh.” Now I wonder if part of what they meant was “confusing.” Nephi’s words really were not harsh or even unforgiving but for those who are past feeling the spirit of God they could well be confusing.
This sounds like they lived in the valley of Ishmael for months while they made two treks back to Jerusalem, read the scriptures, and paired of into young couples.
I’m sure the bow was more effective than the stones and slings but no matter how few bows they had they could still use stones and slings for survival. Why then was even Lehi murmuring when the bow of Nephi broke? Probably because traveling life was hard even before that.
By the time Ishmael died and his family desired to return to Jerusalem they were probably far enough away that it would take months of hard travel to return and even far enough that they might not reliably remember the way even if they tried to make the journey. Maybe that is part of what the Lord told them when he chastened them.
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