1 Nephi 8 - the Tungsten Rod

The iron rod is the word of God. We know that. 1 Nephi 11:25

but why is it IRON?

As an engineer, I've put more thought into this than I imagine the average reader. The iron rod is "strong and bright and true." ...really? in fact, iron is not a very "strong" metal at all. Without going into too much boring detail, iron is a "weaker" metal than many aluminum alloys, any type or form of steel, titanium, tungsten carbide, etc.

So why was the rod that Lehi (and Nephi) saw made of IRON?

Because the Lord speaks to us according to our own personal understanding. The iron is symbolic. Today we know that many metals exist and alloys can be made which are much stronger than iron. Not in Lehi's time. Chances are, the strongest material in the world according to Lehi was IRON. So, when the Lord wanted to show Lehi this vision with a rod symbolizing the strength and straightness and rigidity of the word of God, he showed it to Lehi as a rod of iron. That is what made sense to Lehi. He got the symbolism right away. No explanation was needed. Symbolism is awesome like that.

Similarly, I imagine that if I were to have the pleasure of seeing "Lehi's vision" for myself, the rod wouldn't be iron, it would be tungsten carbide. That is because, according to my understanding, this is the strongest, most rigid material (metal, anyway) out there. It would have the same symbolic effect for me as it did Lehi.

The Lord caters to our understanding when he speaks to us. He doesn't have pre-recorded visions and messages sent to us. They are personalized to a degree that we fail to appreciate. That's why Christ taught his disciples in terms of mustard seeds, fishing, fig trees, beggars, lepers, servants, etc. These are things they understood and were familiar with. I imagine if Christ lived during our time the parables he would teach would involve ipods and facebook and airplanes and the internet. The principles taught would be the same, but the message would be personalized to make sure we understood.

So when I read Nephi 8 and 11, I always think of the tungsten rod, and that reminds me that God speaks to us very, very personally.