Anciently, casting lots was an accepted way to determine God’s will. It is a little like drawing straws today. “[It] was practiced extensively by the Hebrews of Old Testament times. This authentic and typical use of the custom in the Book of Mormon would indicate again that this part of the story in the Book of Mormon is concerned with a group of people with a Hebrew background and that the Book of Mormon is a translation of an ancient record” (Ludlow, Companion to Your Study of the Book of Mormon, 95).