In Exo 14:31, we read of how the Israelites, after the parting of the Red Sea, had faith, not just in Yahweh, but in Moses:
And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses.
The Hebrew underlying "and his servant Moses" is וּבְמֹשֶׁ֖ה עַבְדּֽוֹ ("and in Moses his servant").
While examining this text, I was reminded of D. Charles Pyle's response to Marian Bodine:
Bodine, arguing against the Book of Mormon, wrote the following:
16. I Nephi 16: 28,29, faith given to the “ball.” Does God ask us to have faith in anything but Him?
Pyle offered the following cogent response:
Accurately reflecting the meaning of the Hebrew text at 2 Chronicles 20:20, the New International Version of the Bible has this to say:
Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful. (emphasis mine)
This should have settled the matter, but I will take it a step further. It is unfortunate that Ms. Bodine forgot to check the rest of the Book of Mormon for further information about the "ball" or Liahona (that is, if she really has read the Book). I would think that we are to believe in anything that God tells us to believe in, for example, we believe in his word. We believe that his word will point us in the right direction. The ball that Nephi was discussing had the word of the LORD written upon it. From time to time, the writing would change, and would give the travelers greater understanding of the ways of the LORD, as long as they were faithful. Basically, to give faith, diligence and heed to something, in Old World thought, was to obey it. Because they knew that it was the LORD that was behind the operation of the ball, to obey it was to obey the LORD. Indeed, it was the LORD who told them to look upon the ball for guidance (1 Nephi 16:26).
Generations pass, and the story of the voyage to the promised land and the Liahona itself, were passed on from prophet to prophet. Alma, continuing this tradition, told his son, Helaman, about the ball and its operation. After relating the story of the travels of their fathers, he, concerning the operation of the ball, said that:
it did work for them according to their faith in God; therefore, if they had faith to believe that God could cause that those spindles should point the way they should go, behold, it was done; therefore they had this miracle, and also many other miracles wrought by the power of God, day by day. (Alma 37:40, emphasis mine)
I think that this should settle the matter. It should be clear that the Liahona was not considered by Nephi to be a substitute for God, as the correct understanding of it was passed on to Alma, who then related the tradition to his son, Helaman.
As we see, the Bible teaches it is proper to have faith/trust, not just in deity but mortals and even objects, exactly as we find in 1 Nephi 16:28-29 and other like-texts, including Exo 14:31.
