Liahona
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Liahona has two different meanings in the Latter Day Saint movement. In The Book of Mormon, the Liahona is a brass ball of "curious workmanship" that provided directions for Lehi and his party while traveling through the wilderness. The Liahona is also a periodical published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints whose name is derived from the usage in The Book of Mormon.
[edit] The Book of Mormon
In The Book of Mormon, the Liahona was found one morning at the tent door of Lehi. It is described as a round brass ball of "curious workmanship" with "two spindles," one of which indicated the direction that his party should travel (1 Nephi 16:10). It is sometimes referred to in the text as a compass. On occasion there was also writing on the ball that displayed additional instructions from God (1 Nephi 16:26-29). Using the Liahona, Lehi and his party were directed through the wilderness and across the ocean to the Americas. The Liahona worked "according to the faith and diligence" (1 Nephi 16:28) with which they heeded its direction, and ceased functioning at times when the members of the party demonstrated a loss of faith in God's commandments, notably when Nephi's brothers rebelled against Lehi during their ocean crossing (1 Nephi 18:12).
The only place in The Book of Mormon where the word Liahona is used is in the Book of Alma when Alma, speaking to his son Helaman, explains "our fathers called it Liahona, which is, being interpreted, a compass" (Alma 37:38). Alma tells his son that "it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ ... to eternal bliss, as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass ... to the promised land." (Alma 37:44)
[edit] Periodical
Liahona is also the name of the official international magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, named after the usage in The Book of Mormon. The Liahona is regularly published in fifty different languages, from two to twelve times a year depending on the language. It is generally equivalent to the Ensign, the English version of the magazine.
