Nephi’s strong steel bow broke and the other bows in the company had lost their spring, and the family began to perish for lack of food. Nephi made another bow out of wood and inquired of his father where he should go to find food. Having success in his hunt, Nephi returned to the camp and all were fed.
33. And it came to pass that we did again take our journey, traveling nearly the same course as in the beginning; and after we had traveled for the space of many days we did pitch our tents again, that we might tarry for the space of a time.
34. And it came to pass that Ishmael died, and was buried in the place which was called Nahom.
Not much is said about Ishmael in the Book of Mormon, but I think we can safely conjecture a little bit about him based on what we do know. He must have been a man of great faith. When the sons of Lehi came and asked him to go into the wilderness with them, he went, and without much delay. How much faith would that take, to completely uproot your family, leave behind your home and all you own, to go out into the wilderness because someone asked you do? He must have also been a man of great integrity. Lehi wanted his sons to marry good women. Surely he would want an appropriate helpmeet for Nephi, who would become the next prophet. He looked to the family of Ishmael for such a wife for his son, and this says a lot about the kind of father Ishmael was. I believe it’s safe to say he was a good, dear man, and as we see in the next verse, his passing was very difficult to be born.
35. And it came to pass that the daughters of Ishmael did mourn exceedingly, because of the loss of their father, and because of their afflictions in the wilderness; and they did murmur against my father, because he had brought them out of the land of Jerusalem, saying: Our father is dead; yea, and we have wandered much in the wilderness, and we have suffered much affliction, hunger, thirst, and fatigue; and after all these sufferings we must perish in the wilderness with hunger.
36. And thus they did murmur against my father, and also against me; and they were desirous to return again to Jerusalem.
Ishmael was the lynchpin in his family. Without his leadership, his family saw no reason to keep moving forward into the wilderness. Chances are, they only went because their father told them to. The record doesn’t indicate how Nephi’s wife felt at this time, but she stood beside him through so many other things, we can safely conjecture she was on his side in this, as well.
From today’s reading: how important is it that we gain our own testimony of the things we’re asked to do?