Blaine:
In the Book of Mosiah in the BoM, King Noah, a wicked Nephite King, built
many elegant buildings and "ornamented them with fine work of wood,
and of all manner of precious things, of gold, and of silver, and of
iron" (Mosiah 11:8)
We would not think of
iron as a decorative metal nowadays, nor was it considered such in the time
of Joseph Smith. However, it was considered a precious item at
one time, along with gold and silver
and the semi-precious blue stone Lapis Lazuli in ancient
Israel, according to a recent article, "King Og's Iron Bed--Fact
or Fancy?" Bible Review 6 (April 1990):
16-20
Here, Allen R. Millard
documents archeological evidence of iron being used to decorate beds (Deut
3:11) and thrones, as well as bracelets and jewelry, weapons and royal
swords.
