Where did the Liahona come from?
On a fateful night that would forever shape Book of Mormon history, someone placed a brass compass of curious workmanship in front of Lehi's tent. Who constructed it? How did it get there? In The Compass Maker, a novel set in 600 B.C. Jerusalem, a skilled and faithful metalworker named Ezra has a vision of a mysterious compass that he is commanded to build. Before this vision, however, Ezra had constructed and delivered to the powerful Laban one of the greatest and most famous swords in history—a sword that, in a twist of fate and irony, becomes the instrument of Laban's own death.
As Ezra attempts to construct a compass unlike anything the world has ever seen, and under the direction of heaven, while navigating his way through the mounting political intrigues of ancient Jerusalem and the spiritual struggles of his own family, other characters spring to life in the story.
Who was the man Laban, and why was he out at night in his armor meeting with the elders of the Jews just before his death?
Who was Zoram and how could a mere servant become a trusted confidant of Laban, possessing the key to his treasury? And before he married the eldest daughter of Ishmael in the wilderness, could the two have known each other back in Jerusalem and secretly fallen in love—only to have that love shattered when Zoram suddenly disappeared on the fateful night of Laban's death?
Is it a coincidence that the ancient discoverer of magnetic ore—Thales of Miletus—lived at the same time as Lehi and in a nearby region? And could the mysterious "second spindle" of the Liahona have been made from the very magnetic ore (lodestone from Magnesia) discovered by Thales?
The Compass Maker is a story of faith, intrigue, love, and sacrifice in which ancient characters—both real and fictional—take part in the unfolding drama of the beginnings of Book of Mormon history in ancient Jerusalem.
On a fateful night that would forever shape Book of Mormon history, someone placed a brass compass of curious workmanship in front of Lehi's tent. Who constructed it? How did it get there? In The Compass Maker, a novel set in 600 B.C. Jerusalem, a skilled and faithful metalworker named Ezra has a vision of a mysterious compass that he is commanded to build. Before this vision, however, Ezra had constructed and delivered to the powerful Laban one of the greatest and most famous swords in history—a sword that, in a twist of fate and irony, becomes the instrument of Laban's own death.
As Ezra attempts to construct a compass unlike anything the world has ever seen, and under the direction of heaven, while navigating his way through the mounting political intrigues of ancient Jerusalem and the spiritual struggles of his own family, other characters spring to life in the story.
Who was the man Laban, and why was he out at night in his armor meeting with the elders of the Jews just before his death?
Who was Zoram and how could a mere servant become a trusted confidant of Laban, possessing the key to his treasury? And before he married the eldest daughter of Ishmael in the wilderness, could the two have known each other back in Jerusalem and secretly fallen in love—only to have that love shattered when Zoram suddenly disappeared on the fateful night of Laban's death?
Is it a coincidence that the ancient discoverer of magnetic ore—Thales of Miletus—lived at the same time as Lehi and in a nearby region? And could the mysterious "second spindle" of the Liahona have been made from the very magnetic ore (lodestone from Magnesia) discovered by Thales?
The Compass Maker is a story of faith, intrigue, love, and sacrifice in which ancient characters—both real and fictional—take part in the unfolding drama of the beginnings of Book of Mormon history in ancient Jerusalem.