Interestingly, this first recorded use of the Liahona was not a case of its being used to help Lehi’s family learn the direction in which they should travel, but rather to help them find food. The Liahona should serve us, therefore, as a life-sustaining symbol, not just as a direction-giving instrument. It symbolizes the Lord’s willingness to direct us towards physical and spiritual sustenance or nourishment. Yet, if harmony and peace are absent, the Spirit of the Lord and this instrument cannot function.
Recall the time when Joseph Smith was translating the Book of Mormon and quarreled with Emma about a domestic matter. Without making any effort to repair their relationship, Joseph attempted to resume the translation, but the words of the Book of Mormon would not appear on his translation device. He had to retire to the woods in prayer for about an hour and then seek for Emma’s forgiveness before he was able to translate again. The main point is that the Liahona was used for more than just helping wandering travelers stay on the right path. It functioned as a multi-purpose revelatory device. And just like Joseph Smith’s Urim and Thummim, the Liahona only worked when those using it were sufficiently worthy. Likewise, we must have peace and harmony for the Spirit to fully function in our lives (see Alma 37:41–47).
Also, some writing appeared on the Liahona, which could change from time to time (1 Nephi 16:29), but we do not know exactly how it appeared or functioned. In some ways, it may have been like the biblical Urim and Thummim. Those are plural words which, in the Hebrew text of the Bible, appropriately translate as lights and perfections (or truths). People later described the Urim and Thummim as twelve stones. These stones were worn on the breastplate of the high priest. These stones reportedly had letters on them. Some people have speculated that the stones could be cast, like rolling dice, and the resulting words or messages that appeared would then provide a way for the Lord to send messages to the high priest or to his people. Unfortunately, we have little direct evidence for how the Urim and Thummim functioned. But such traditional understandings do somewhat connect this ancient Israelite relic with the Liahona, which similarly featured divinely revealed words or letters on spindles that somehow moved around. Remember that vowels were not written out in ancient Hebrew, so just a few consonants could make up a variety of divinely revealed words or sentences that would need to be interpreted.
In any event, 1 Nephi 16:29 states, "And there was also written upon them a new writing, which was plain to be read, which did give us understanding concerning the ways of the Lord; and it was written and changed from time to time." It probably said more than just here is where you are to go. It was probably not just a matter of teaching people to have the right attitude about this. It gave instructions that were meant to teach and to give them further "understanding of the ways of the Lord," as when angels appear to give further light and knowledge.
Book of Mormon Central, "Were Joseph Smith’s Translation Instruments Like the Israelite Urim and Thummim? (Alma 37:24)," KnoWhy 417 (March 20, 2018).
Book of Mormon Central, "Why Were the Three Witnesses Shown the Liahona? (Alma 37:38)," KnoWhy 405 (February 6, 2018).