Ox is a beast found in the forests of the land of promise. As travelers journeyed in the wilderness, they found “the cow and the ox, and the ass and the horse,” with goats and wild animals “for the use of men”. They also found “all manner of ore, both of gold, and of silver, and of copper” (1 Nephi 18:25).
Oxen are sent forth on hills dug with a mattock, where lesser cattle tread (2 Nephi 17:25). The commandment forbids coveting a neighbor’s possessions, including “nor his ox, nor his ass” (Mosiah 13:24). A lion “shall eat straw like the ox” (2 Nephi 21:7). Oxen are counted among cattle and other animals “useful for the food of man” (Ether 9:18).