In Lehi's dream, the image of a rod of iron seems to be figurative since it is not something one would expect to see in a natural setting of a tree, a narrow path, and a river. But what would make Lehi think of such a thing? If a rod represents something that one might hold on to in order to keep oriented, and if iron is something hard and durable, then we might look for something natural that would represent such qualities. In wadi Tayyib al-Ism the granite walls of the canyon themselves may be the natural manifestation that inspired Lehi. Granite is one of the hardest rocks on earth and the solid walls of the canyon would contrast sharply with the soft sandstone walls of the rest of the wadi. If the purpose of the rod of iron was to lead those struggling through the mists of darkness to the tree of life, then these canyon walls serve the same purpose. Anyone wishing to find their way up or down the canyon in the dark need only place their hand on the wall and walk. This might explain why Lehi tells us that the multitudes were "feeling their way" (1 Nephi 8:31) or "pressing forward" (1 Nephi 8:24). The phrase "pressing forward" not only implies pressing on the walls, but it also implies large numbers of people moving forward in a confined space, such as the narrow canyon. It is interesting that Nephi, in talking about the awful gulf (or gorge cut between the vertical canyon walls) which separated the righteous from the wicked was a result of the "word of . . . God" (1 Nephi 12:18). "The word of God" is also the meaning that Nephi gives to the symbolism of the rod (1 Nephi 11:25). The idea of a granite canyon wall inspiring the image of the rod of iron makes sense in the context of these two definitions. [George Potter and Richard Wellington, Discovering the Lehi-Nephi Trail, pp. 61-62]