Night Vision

¹“And it came to pass that I beheld others pressing forward, and they came forth and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press forward through the mist of darkness, clinging to the rod of iron, even until they did come forth and partake of the fruit of the tree.” (1 Nephi 8:24). There are two types of cells in the eye that are responsible for vision. Cone cells are clustered closer around the center of the eye and are primarily responsible for color vision. Rods, of which there are a far greater number, are spread out more towards the edges or the periphery of our field of vision. They are less useful in distinguishing colors but they are much more sensitive to light generally and are much more useful in seeing in the dark. I think it is very interesting that in Lehi’s vision, when the mists of darkness rose up, the people relied on the rod of iron to help guide them through the darkness. Rod cells may be less flashy than cone cells. There's less color and you have to kind of look out of the corners of your eyes, but in darkness they are all we have. The word of God as contained in the Scriptures might not be the flashiest kind of truth and knowledge. It's not the most colorful. You kind of have to squint and look out of the corner of your eye to get even a vague sense of what's going on. And while the scriptures can certainly bring added joy and strength when everything is bright and sunny, the reason that we have this iron rod is to help us see even when there are mists of darkness. It is easy enough to disbelieve in God and the scriptures when everything is calm and peaceful and easy, but much harder when we're pinned down in the foxhole taking enemy fire. The truths contained in the iron rod are not always clear or direct, just like the vision that we obtain from our rod cells is not always clear or direct. But when we are in the dark this is all we have. I hope that we will hold fast continually on the rod of God's word so that we can see our way forward both in the bright light of day and the misty darkness of night.