Lesson 2 The Miracle of the Great Fish
Lesson 2
The Miracle of the Great Fish
Hope When the Journey Seems Impossible
📚 Reading Assignment
Primary Source
Ayahtkuhyaht Nemenhah – Complete Text (Second Edition)
The Book of Hahgohtl – Main Record
Read the account of Hahgohtl's journey up the great river, the suffering of his people, the miracle of the Great Fish, and the lessons learned before continuing upstream.
Related Scriptures
Ether 2–3
Mosiah 24
Alma 24
🌿 Opening Thought
"Sometimes the Lord's greatest miracles come only after we have reached the end of our own strength."
Hahgohtl and his people had already committed themselves to a journey unlike any they had ever known.
The river was powerful.
The heat was relentless.
Food was nearly gone.
The river itself could not safely be drunk. Those who drank from it became desperately ill with fever and sickness. Soon the entire company believed they might perish in the wilderness.
Every day became harder than the one before.
Yet they kept moving upstream.
🌿 The Story
The suffering eventually became almost unbearable.
One young man had given away his own food and water to strengthen others along the journey.
Now his own strength was gone.
His mind, overcome by pain and despair, sought relief in death. The record describes him opening a vein while lying in the river so that he might quickly end his suffering.
Then something extraordinary happened.
A great fish rose from the river and seized only the young man's arm.
It did not crush him.
It did not devour him.
It simply held him.
Hahgohtl rushed to the river, drew his sword, and killed the fish, saving the young man's life.
The miracle did not end there.
The fish was enormous—longer than one of their boats. It provided meat for the hungry people, and within its entrails they found nourishing plants useful for both food and medicine. As they recovered, they lifted their voices in gratitude to the Peacemaker for preserving their lives.
🌿 What Does This Teach Us?
The Great Fish is far more than an exciting story.
It teaches us that hope often arrives when we believe there is none.
The people had prepared themselves to die.
Yet the heavens had not forgotten them.
The record says they learned a great lesson:
Even in their deepest despair they did not forget nor deny their Creator.
And the heavens were opened to them.
Another beautiful principle appears immediately afterward.
When the fish was prepared, every person received an equal portion.
They shared all things in common so that pride and division would not grow among them.
Deliverance was followed by unity.
🌿 Walking the Path
Every one of us experiences moments when the journey feels impossible.
Illness.
Loss.
Discouragement.
Loneliness.
Sometimes we wonder whether we can continue another day.
The Great Fish reminds us that God's answers are not always what we expect.
Sometimes the very thing that startles us becomes the instrument of our deliverance.
Faith is not believing we will never suffer.
Faith is believing the Lord has not abandoned us in our suffering.
🌿 Talking Feather's Porch
I've floated portions of the Colorado River, but only after the dams changed it.
As I read Hahgohtl's account, I tried to imagine that ancient river before modern reservoirs—wild currents, towering canyon walls, scorching heat, and small boats struggling against the current day after day.
Whether this event occurred on the same waterways we know today is a question readers may explore for themselves. What struck me most was not the geography.
It was the courage.
Life often feels like rowing upstream.
There are seasons when the current seems stronger than we are.
Yet Hahgohtl kept going.
His people kept going.
And when they believed all hope was gone, the Lord had already prepared what they needed.
That gives me courage to keep rowing.
📚 Continue the Journey
Lesson 3
Why Hahgohtl Refused to Settle
Why did Hahgohtl refuse to stop at the mouth of the great river when everyone else wanted to remain?
What did he see that others could not?
📖 Source Note
This lesson is based on Ayahtkuhyaht Nemenhah – Complete Text (Second Edition), The Book of Hahgohtl – Main Record. It is written as a study companion to encourage readers to read the record for themselves. The reflections in Talking Feather's Porch are my own personal observations and are clearly distinguished from the narrative of the record.
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