LEHI's DREAM: the Indispensable Foundation of the Book of Mormon
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--Rough Draft and Incomplete-- LEHI’S DREAM: The Indispensable Foundation of the Book of Mormon Bruce Satterfield Brigham Young University - Idaho For many, the Book of Mormon may seem like a mere collection of stories edited from the records of the Nephites by Mormon for his latter-day readers. To them, Mormon is simply recounting in chronological order the rise and fall of the Nephite nation. Yet, Mormon’s masterful work is far more than this. A careful study of the book will reveal that Mormon had a well established agenda. At least in part, his objective seems to include the following. From the outset of the book to its conclusion, Mormon makes it clear that while in mortality men are “free to choose liberty and eternal life” or “captivity and death” (2 Nephi 2:27). No where is this more clearly shown than in Lehi’s dream. Lehi’s Dream Sometime after Lehi and his family left Jerusalem and while camping in a valley they called Lemuel, Lehi “dreamed a dream” which caused a great deal of controversy among the family members. In the dream, the duel between liberty/eternal life and captivity/destruction is graphically portrayed in allegorical style. Lehi saw “a large and spacious field” in which he “beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy” (1 Nephi 8:9-11). Upon eating the fruit, he was filled “with exceedingly great joy.” He then turned to look for his family that they also might come and eat (1 Nephi 8:12). As he began to search, he discovered a “river of water” flowing near the tree. He found his wife, Sariah, and two of his sons, Sam and Nephi, standing at the head of the river “as if they knew not whither they should go” (1 Nephi 8:11-14). Having successfully persuaded them to come and eat of the fruit, he then looked for and found Laman and Lemuel, his other two sons. However, they would not come to the tree (1 Nephi 8:9-18). After this Lehi saw a “rod of iron” and “strait and narrow path” that “extended along the bank of the river, and led to the tree” (1 Nephi 8:19-20). Beyond the path he saw “numberless concourses of people” many of whom “were pressing forward, that they might obtain the path which led unto the tree.” After entering the path “there arose a mist of darkness” which covered the path. Those “who had commenced in the path did lose their way, that they wandered off and were lost” (1 Nephi 8:21-23). Then Lehi saw “others pressing forward, and they came forth and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron.” However, when the mist of darkness obscured their vision, they clung “to the rod of iron, even until they did come forth and partake of the fruit of the tree” (1 Nephi 8:24). 1 This must have given Lehi great satisfaction. If it did it was short lived for while he watched those who had been faithful, “they did cast their eyes about as if they were ashamed” (1 Nephi 8:25). Alarmed, Lehi turned to see what was the cause of this sudden change. He saw “on the other side of the river of water, a great and spacious building.” The ominous structure hovered “in the air, high above the earth.” Those in the building were “both old and young, both male and female; and their manner of dress was exceedingly fine.” While pointing their fingers, they ridiculed and mocked those who were eating the fruit of the tree causing them to wander “into forbidden paths and were lost” (1 Nephi 8:26-28). Lehi saw many others who came forward and “caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree.” Although they too were mocked by those in the great and spacious building, they did not heed the persecution but happily ate of the fruit (1 Nephi 8:30,33). Lehi also saw many others who were “feeling their way towards that great and spacious building.” In so doing, “many were drowned in the depths of the fountain; and many were lost from his view, wandering in strange roads” (1 Nephi 8:31- 32). A few additional insights can be gleaned from Nephi’s comments about the dream. We are told that the great and spacious building which hovered in the air “fell, and the fall thereof was exceedingly great” (1 Nephi 11:36). Nephi also informs us that the river of water was “filthy” (1 Nephi 12:16; 15:27) and flowed through a “great and terrible gulf” (1 Nephi 12:18; 15:28). Finally, there was a “fountain of living waters” which flowed from or near the base of the tree (1 Nephi 11:25). From the dream, Lehi must have been able to see that everything the Lord established had its opposite. The tree which brought eternal life to all who endured in partaking of the fruit was opposed by the great and spacious building which brought destruction to all who dwelt therein. The living waters which brought the sweetness of life was opposed by the river of filthy water which brought the depths of hell. The rod of iron and the strait and narrow path which led those who entered therein to the tree was opposed by the mist of darkness which caused those who let go of the rod to wander off the path to their destruction. Lehi’s Dream as the Stage and Backdrop of the Book of Mormon Many aspects of the dream (including Nephi’s interpretation in 1 Nephi 11-15) can be found scattered throughout the Book of Mormon. For instance, in Alma 5:34,62, reference to the tree, fruit and living waters is made by Alma while speaking to the saints in Zarahemla. Also, Alma clearly has the tree and fruit in mind when he talked to the apostate people of Zoram in Alma 32:27-43; 33:1,23. Reference to the strait and narrow path can be found in 2 Nephi 31:18-20; 33:9, Jacob 6:11; Helaman 3:29; 3 Nephi 14:13,14; 27:33; 3 Nephi 14:13- 14. The river of filthy waters is behind 2 Nephi 1:13; 2:29; 28:21-23 Alma 5:57; 7:21; 11:37; 26:20; 40:26 Helaman 3:27-30; 5:12; 8:25; 3 Nephi 20:41. The great and spacious building is referred to in 1 Nephi 22:12-17; 2 Nephi 6:12; 10:15,16; 3 Nephi 27:11. These are but a 2 few examples. The frequent references to the various aspects of Lehi’s dream throughout the Book of Mormon seem to indicate that the premise of the dream is fundamental to the theology of the Book of Mormon. If the Book of Mormon was a dramatic play, Lehi’s dream may be thought of as the stage and backdrop. The whole of the Book of Mormon presents real life examples of the allegorical representation found in the dream. Mormon shows in every book of the Book of Mormon that mankind can either hold to the rod and follow the strait and narrow path that leads to liberty and eternal life or they can follow the ways of the world which lead to captivity and destruction. Consider the following examples from 1 Nephi, the Book of Mosiah, and the Book of Alma. Nephi’s Vision The vision given to Nephi (1 Nephi 11-14) is an outgrowth of Lehi’s dream and an obvious correlative parallel. After relating the dream to his family, Lehi told them many other things by way of preaching and prophesying (1 Nephi 8:38). However, he never gave the family an interpretation of the dream. The family had to find that out for themselves. While some of the family were “disputing one with another concerning the things which (Lehi) had spoken” (1 Nephi 15:2), Nephi turned to the Lord to learn the meaning of the dream. Because of Nephi’s desire and belief as well as his ability to ponder, the Lord granted Nephi a vision in which he saw the things his father had seen and learned the interpretation thereof. This vision along with Nephi’s discussion of the dream with his brothers in 1 Nephi 15 is the basis for the interpretation of Lehi’s dream. In the vision, Nephi saw the tree of life. Through a process of discovery learning, he found that the tree symbolized the love of God expressed through the atonement of Christ which came by the shedding of his blood and makes possible eternal life (1 Nephi 11:1-23). With Lehi’s dream as the backdrop, Nephi saw that the strait and narrow path was the establishment of the kingdom of God including the ordinances of salvation. He saw that the rod of iron was the word of God revealed through Christ to his prophets and apostles (1 Nephi 11:24-25). This kingdom was first established by Christ, himself, during his mortal ministry (1 Nephi 11:24-31). As the vision progressed, Nephi saw that everyone who was not part of the kingdom of Christ were gathered together in “a large and spacious building, like unto the building which (Lehi) saw” in order to “fight against the apostles of the Lamb” and thus destroy the means by which the word of God or revelation comes (1 Nephi 11:34-35).