Transcript: Lehi’s Dream — 1 Nephi 8–12

Thank you for the love that you bring into this room, the love of the Savior, and the love of each other.

This is a unique experience here, because you are here only because you want to be. Same with me.

A word about my use of the slides, for those of you who weren’t here when I made this explanation last year. Because of my granny eyes, I can’t see regular font, I can’t read regular font on a regular eight-and-a-half by eleven sheet of paper. And so these slides are my notes. There are a lot of them, but that’s the way I keep track of what we’re talking about.

But let’s start with Christ.

Elder Holland said, at the very outset of the Book of Mormon, in its first fully developed allegory—we’re going to talk about the tree today—Christ is portrayed as the source of eternal life and joy, and the living evidence of divine love.

We’re working a little bit with the mic this morning because it needs to be pretty loud for the Zoom to be effective. You can hear me okay? Am I too loud? Okay.

We’re talking today about 1 Nephi. Look, I left off the “First” in Nephi. That won’t be the first error you see, or the only one.

1 Nephi 8 through 12, that’s our assignment today, is about Christ’s invitation to partake of God’s love. It’s about Lehi’s dream, it’s about Lehi and Sariah’s family, and it’s about your and my family, and it’s also about Nephi’s revelation.

Scholars have interpreted this allegory in many ways, and it’s fascinating to read the many interpretations of this dream. Some have interpreted it as temple imagery, some as the Garden of Eden and the Fall, some as the Abrahamic covenant, some as the 23rd Psalm—“yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death”—and so on. It’s also been interpreted as mankind’s spiritual progression throughout his life, and a lot of others too. If you ever wanted to have a lot of fun, start looking at all the ways that this vision of Lehi has been interpreted.

These chapters provide endless opportunities for learning, discussion, and inspiration. But today we will focus only on Lehi’s dream and what it can mean in our lives. That necessarily leaves out much of interest and importance. Remember, it’s going to leave out a lot of stuff. So if you leave here and say, “Why didn’t she talk about that?” don’t worry about it. The other instructors will get to it. This is not your first or last reading and learning about Lehi’s dream. As a result, you bring a wealth of insight into today’s discussion, and that’s what we’re going to do.

I hope you’re sitting by someone you like, because you get a chance to talk to them today. Hi, Andrea. Are you my go-to girl?

What we’re going to do is just a quick overview of Lehi’s dream and Nephi’s vision.

Lehi, as you know, is shown a dark and dreary wilderness, the tree with white fruit, a river with filthy water, a rod of iron, a straight and narrow path, a mist of darkness, and a great and spacious building.

Nephi is shown a guiding spirit, the tree and its meaning, Christ’s birth, baptism, and ministry, the covenant path, spiritual opposition, the scattering of Israel, pride and worldly wisdom, and the restoration of the gospel.

Now, it’s not that Lehi didn’t know these things, but they weren’t all in his dream spelled out the way they were for Nephi. Lehi sees the journey of individuals toward the tree, while Nephi sees the larger story of Christ, Israel, the restoration, and the struggle between God’s kingdoms and the world. Nephi’s vision turns Lehi’s symbolic dream into a vision of Jesus Christ and the history of God’s work among His children. Nephi’s vision doesn’t replace Lehi’s vision, but it explains it and greatly expands it.

As you know, Lehi’s dream shows his concern for his family’s spiritual welfare. So we’re going to talk today about what we can learn from Lehi’s dream about our own and our loved ones’ spiritual welfare.

I’m going to show you a video. This is one you’ve seen before. It was part of the Come Follow Me manual, and it’s an eight-minute-long video. I’m not going to show the whole eight minutes. What I’ve done is I’ve chopped it up into segments, and we’re going to talk about those segments as we go through this lesson.

Once again, remember, even though the reading covers some of Nephi’s dream—and Nancy will discuss that next week—we’re going to focus on Lehi’s experience. These are a little choppy, so don’t be disturbed if they look and sound choppy, because they are. But let’s get started.

[Video clip]
“I saw in my dream a dark and dreary world.”
By the way, it’s dark because you can’t see it because it’s dark.
“Lehi. Come with me.”

So you’ve seen a dark and dreary waste, and you’ve seen Lehi offer a prayer for deliverance. He said, “And after I had traveled for the space of many hours in darkness, I began to pray unto the Lord that he would have mercy on me according to the multitude of his tender mercies.”

I have a video here. This is a Church-produced video. Let’s watch that and then let’s talk about it.

[Video: woman’s testimony about depression]
I could draw a picture of what depression looks like. It’s chaotic. It’s dark. It’s like being literally in the middle of a storm that you cannot see what direction is up, what direction is down, and it’s just closing in on you. And you’re just desperate to see some kind of light break through the darkness, the storms, the craziness, the chaos that is just all-consuming.

So 22 years ago I was pregnant with my third child, and I was not wanting to get pregnant right away, but I felt very impressed that it was time. And so I went ahead and followed that, and five months later I felt like I was losing my mind. It wasn’t just the baby blues. I wanted to lash out at people, and I didn’t enjoy anything that I once did enjoy. It was just like the lights had gone out in me, and I couldn’t figure out what had happened and what was going on.

I was in my doctor’s office, and she had me take this test, and when she came in she said, “You have severe depression, major depressive disorder is what this is called.” And I remember just sitting there like in shock, because in my world at that time that meant that I didn’t have enough faith. It meant I was weak. It meant I wasn’t strong enough. And yet I had just done something courageous.

So as a result, my anger toward God just got greater and greater and greater. I thought He had left, He had abandoned me, or that I was so dark and evil that this was punishment.

So I go to counseling when I need to—I know when I need to—and lots of meditation, prayer, scriptures. But in the beginning none of it worked because I was so angry with God. And so although I didn’t feel like God cared, I didn’t feel like He was listening to me, I continued to go to church, I continued to read the scriptures, I never stopped praying. And so honestly I think that was one of the greatest gifts I gave myself, because three or so years into that anger, when I was finally able to listen and hear, there was a means for that to be communicated.

But I also know deep in my heart that there is a greater purpose. I truly believe that going through depression is helping me to fulfill the mission that I wanted to have on earth. I’ve learned so much, not only about the character and nature of our Heavenly Father and Savior, but also the ruthlessness of the adversary and his trips, traps, and snares. And so if going through this helps me to help somebody else recognize the lies from the truth, it’s worth it.

So what can be the benefit of a darkened and dreary waste? Has the Lord’s mercy delivered you or someone you know from a dark and dreary place? Have you been blessed by your experience in a dark and dreary place? How have God’s tender mercies comforted you in dark times?

Now let’s take a few minutes to talk about those. Will you choose one or all of these questions and chat with the person or persons next to you and see how a dark and dreary place has been in your life or the life of someone you know—perhaps grieving for a spouse who’s died, a child you’ve lost? Will you please take a few minutes to do that? Thank you.

[Discussion time]

Aren’t we blessed to have each other? Tell me, is there something you’d like to share with all of us? We have a couple of mics. Something that you said or your friend said that you think we could… oh, here’s a hand here, Jill.

Jill: I haven’t shared this experience before, and I don’t know—anyway, so if you’ve heard it I am so sorry—but there was a time in my life that I’d given up hope and given up trying, and it just lasted for a long time. And you don’t want to be in that dark spot. You don’t want to be in giving up hope.

And I remember I woke up one night. I was functioning like a robot. You just kind of go on, do your thing and whatever. And my life is not like the storybook life. You come to earth, you gain a body, you keep the commandments—and that’s where it gets dicey. And then you go home and you’re home, meaning to our Father in Heaven, and everything’s happy and joyful and everything. That part of keeping the commandments—not that I wasn’t trying to keep the commandments, but life is hard.

So anyway, long story short, I woke up in the middle of the night one night, and I was covered with perspiration. I mean, my night clothes were wet. And I’ve never been so terrified in my life. I’ve been held at gunpoint in a bank robbery, and that was a walk in the daisy field. But this was terrifying. And when the woman was going in the water and sinking, you felt the—I felt the weight of darkness. I felt the evil, and it wasn’t just air. It’s like you have this coat, this blanket or something, it’s a weight.

And then I was just terrified. And then it’s like I was telling my friends here, it’s like you’re an electric outlet and you’ve been unplugged. And then instantly I was connected.

And the next day I was talking to one of my clients and I said he said he’d never leave me and he left me, and she said no he didn’t, he came after you and you were connected. And I could tell the second I was connected again. And I thought when I got up, I thought I’m never going to go there again. No way. I’m going to do whatever I can to get back.

So it’s real. It’s real when we have our challenges and we should never judge. Thank you.

Thank you for that comment. You guys are awesome. Okay, moving along. So he’s through the darkened… thank you, sister. Let’s watch what happens next.

[Video]
“As I partook of the fruit, it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy, wherefore I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also.”
“They would not come unto me.”
“And it came to pass that I beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy. And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof, and beheld that it was most sweet above all that I had ever tasted.”

Elder Maxwell has a comment about that. The tree of life is the love of God. The love of God for His children is most profoundly expressed in His gift of Jesus as our Redeemer. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. To partake of the love of God is to partake of Jesus’s atonement and the emancipations and joys which it can bring.

To partake of the love of God—this, Elder Maxwell just said—to partake of the love of God is to partake of Jesus’s atonement and the emancipation and joys which it brings. Do you find the love of God emancipating and freeing? Have you experienced tasting the fruit, the love of God?

He goes on to say, “Wherefore I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also, for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit.”

And this question: What advice would you give young parents about how best to invite their children to partake of the fruit? How, what advice would you give? Anyone. How do you get them to partake of the fruit?

Class member: I think that one of the most important things to teach your children is that you have joy in the fruit.

Thank you. The perfect answer. Are you freed by the fruit? Are you joyous because of the fruit? Does your life reflect that joy, that freedom?

“And it came to pass that I was desirous that Laman and Lemuel should come and partake of the fruit also. But they would not come unto me and partake of the fruit.”

How have you dealt with the heartache when a loved one rejected the love of God? Think about these questions. Well, let’s go on.

We come to a rod of iron. Let’s listen to that.

[Scripture reading / video]
“And it extended along the bank of the river, and led to the tree by which I stood. And I also beheld a straight and narrow path, which came along by the rod of iron, even to the tree by which I stood. And it also led by the head of the fountain unto a large and spacious field, as if it had been a world. And I saw numberless concourses of people, many of whom were pressing forward, that they might obtain the path which led unto the tree.

And it came to pass that there arose a mist of darkness, yea, even an exceedingly great mist of darkness, insomuch that they who had commenced in the path did lose their way, that they wandered off and were lost.

I beheld others pressing forward, and they came forth and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron. And they did press forward through the mist of darkness, clinging to the rod of iron, even until they did come forth and partake of the fruit of the tree.

I beheld on the other side of the river of water a great and spacious building, and it stood as it were in the air, high above the earth.”

Well, time for a rest song. Judy Allen and Feline Loveland, my friends, have agreed to lead us in this song. Now, this is an old song, you know this one, but I do have the lyrics on the screen, so you don’t have to get your book out of your phone. “The Iron Rod.” This is a song by Clayson and Townsend. And once again, it’s an old Mormon hymn. And you get to sing it with me. So the lyrics on the screen, there are four verses. There are actually five to the song, but we usually only sing the first three. But the fourth one I thought had application to you and me, so we’ll sing that one also, and that’ll be on the screen. And then we’ll sing the chorus after we’ve sung the verses, all of the verses first, okay? Come on down, girls.

[Congregation sings “The Iron Rod”]

Well, that was an experiment. Did it succeed? Sure. The verse we… this is the verse, number four. “And hand in hand… this is talking about you and me… the rod along through each succeeding day with earnest prayer and hopeful song, we’ll still pursue our way.”

Well, like I say, it was an experiment. I got permission to do that, by the way. I don’t pull those on you without permission.

And I’ve included this picture, which you know, and I know, this is a favorite of ours… James Christensen’s portrayal of the iron rod. Is that you and me, burdened with all kinds of things, holding all kinds of stuff, so that our hands aren’t free to reach up and grab the rod? Oops.

“And it came to pass that there arose a mist of darkness, yea, even an exceedingly great mist of darkness, insomuch that they who had commenced in the path did lose their way, that they wandered off and were lost.”

I asked my husband what he thinks an example of a mist of darkness is, and this is what he said: the one time in his life that he walked through a casino, he felt a great mist of darkness, especially as he walked by the people playing the slot machines.

What present-day mists of darkness lead some who had commenced on the path to lose their way? What present-day mists of darkness?

Judy: Getting too involved in social media.

I’ll repeat that. Getting too involved in social media. Anyone else? Thank you, Judy, right on. Anyone else?

Okay, my dear friends, you’re not too involved in social media, right? And you have not lost your way. Do you know anyone who has, whom you love, and are heartbroken?

Well, let’s move on.

Elder Holland talks about mists of darkness. “Our times are turbulent and difficult. We see wars internationally and distress domestically. Neighbors all around us face personal heartaches and family sorrows. Legions know fear and troubles of a hundred kinds. This reminds us that when those mists of darkness enveloped the travelers in Lehi’s vision of the Tree of Life, it enveloped all of the participants, the righteous as well as the unrighteous, the young along with the elderly, the new convert and seasoned member alike. In that allegory, all face opposition and travail, and only the rod of iron, the declared word of God, can bring them safely through. We all need that rod. We all need that word. No one is safe without it. For in its absence, any can fall into forbidden paths and be lost, as the record says.”

So Lehi saw other multitudes. By the way, do you want to go back and talk about what Elder Holland said? I’m struck with his statement that all are affected. And that includes you and me. We’re also affected by those mists of darkness. The fact that you’re sitting here means you probably have not lost your way, but maybe you did sometime. And maybe you know someone whom you love who did or is presently lost their way.

Anybody want to say anything? Okay.

Well, Lehi saw other multitudes pressing forward, and they came and caught hold of the end of the rod, continually holding fast to the rod of iron—continually, this is what Elder Holland just said—continually holding fast, until they came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree.

These are they, these are you, who persevere and hold fast to the word, to the word of God.

Now I’d like you to take a minute with your friend to describe someone you know—I know that’s the person sitting next to you who holds fast to the word of God—but someone you’ve come to admire. Talk about this person with you for a moment.

[Discussion time]

Okay, how did that go? You know anybody who fit that example? Anybody want to share somebody they know and admire and love because they hold fast to the rod? Anyone? You had a lot of talking going on, I could hear. Okay, Feline. Poor Feline. Okay, I pick on these people I talk to. That’s why you want to avoid my eye contact.

Feline told me about a person she knows who perseveres and holds fast to the word.

Feline: I was one of these people who wasn’t very active in the Church. I worked when I had my weekends free, we had to take off. We were late, and so I didn’t attend church a lot. But I have a good friend who persevered with me and kept me on the straight and narrow and kind of told me, like, you need to do this, you need to do that, and kept me active. And not when we needed to leave the Church, I still believed in God and all that, but I just wasn’t very active. And she activated me. She kept me going and I went to all the meetings and stuff with her. And she didn’t go, I didn’t go, but it’s okay, it’s okay, we love you anyway. But I really appreciate her, and she still leads me and guides me today in keeping me on the straight and narrow, and she knows who she is.

I like that. Good. Well, let’s move on.

Now we’re into the river and some strange roads and so on, so let’s watch this.

[Video]
“…in the depths of the fountain, and many were lost from view, wandering in strange roads. And great was the multitude that did enter into that strange building. And after they did enter into that building, they did point the finger of scorn at me and those that were partaking of the fruit also. But we heeded them not.”

Okay, that might be the theme of the whole lesson: but we heeded them not.

So he says, “And great was the multitude that did enter into that strange building. And after they did enter into that building, they did point the finger of scorn at me and those who were partaking of the fruit also, but we heeded them not.”

Well, let me tell you of my unexpected encounter with a mocker in a great and spacious building. My son and his wife and teenage boy just moved to Sydney, Australia. It was a job move for my Matt, my son. And so they’re really excited about it. They’re doing well. They’re loving it, frankly. Frankly, they love it. Bethalaine spent some time living in Sydney and loves it also. Anyway, which you can imagine how I felt about them moving that far away, but nonetheless, it’s going well for them.

Well, because I wanted to get better acquainted with where they were going and find out something about this part of the world, which I didn’t know a lot about, I chose to read—oh, well, I asked my daughter Becky, who’s well-read, if she could guide me to a book that I could read that would tell me something about what we call the South Seas or the South Pacific. And she said yes, there’s a book called The Happy Isles of Oceania. She said I haven’t read it, but it’s by this very famous travel writer, Paul Theroux. And so she got the book for me. I read it on a Kindle this size. Anyway, and it was an interesting read. It was about the various islands and so on and his travels there, and it’s well written, very well written. Engaging and witty, and I was enjoying it, you know, he’s telling about all the places I’ve never been to.

And then, as you get into the book, of course he’s talking about the cultures on these islands and about the various influences that have corrupted the aboriginal people. And of course there were early Christian missionaries who came to those islands, and he kind of made snarky comments about that, but you know, okay. And then about two-thirds of the way through the book he starts naming Latter-day Saints influence, and he started talking about the Mormon missionaries. These are—and he gets very specific. Okay, in general he didn’t like Christian missionaries in general, but boy, he has it in for the Mormons. And this is an example:

“The Mormon, American Mormons who evangelize on these islands can seem rather fearsome and intrusive, like the worst sort of door-to-door insurance salesman, with all the answers, clutching books, copies of the book that the angel gave to Joseph Smith. Smith put peep stones on his eyes and a blanket over his head, dictating the text to Emma, the first of his fifty wives. When I see a pretty woman, I have to pray.” It’s a quote he says purportedly from Joseph Smith. And then he says, “Mormonism is like junk food. It was American to the core, and it looked all right, but it wasn’t until after you had swallowed some that you felt strange.”

Well, that made me mad. And he named, he actually named missionaries by name that he thought were foolish and destructive to the culture. I don’t recommend Paul Theroux’s reading. And I’m sorry that happened. But it was a mocking. It wasn’t just a funny side comment, but several places he mocked the Church of Jesus Christ.

Okay. Don’t you love this picture? What can we do to heed not those who revile the Church of Jesus Christ, its leaders and members? What can we do to heed them not? By the way, do you get exposed to any of this stuff in any form? Comments on that? What, where are you seeing these scornful attitudes coming from? Are you seeing it in the media, obviously? Does it occur in your family at all? Does it hurt?

Well, Elder Kevin Pearson gave a talk entitled “Stay by the Tree,” and he talks about how to avoid or how to heed not those scorners and scoffers. Let’s listen to what he has to say.

[Elder Pearson clip]
Search the Book of Mormon and the words of the living prophets every day, every day, every day. It’s the key to spiritual survival and avoiding deception. Without it, we are spiritually lost. Number five, don’t be distracted and deceived. To heed is to give careful attention. Heeding those who do not believe in Christ will not help you find Him. Searching hashtags, spacious building for knowledge will not lead you to truth. It’s not posted there. Only the Savior has the words of eternal life. Everything else is just words. The large and spacious building symbolizes the vain imaginations and the pride of the world. In other words, distraction and deception. It’s filled with well-dressed people who seem to have everything, but they mock the Savior and those who follow Him. They are ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. They may be politically correct, but they are spiritually lost.

What good advice.

Elder Bednar has given us additional advice. He gave a talk—I think it was entitled Laman and Lemuel—anyway, but the quote we’re interested in from this segment is his “but we heeded them not.” This is such a profound talk that he gives. Let’s listen to that.

[Elder Bednar clip]
Valiant members often highlight the importance of inviting the power of the Holy Ghost into their lives through meaningful scripture study, fervent prayer, and proper preparation to participate in the ordinance of the sacrament. Also mentioned frequently are the spiritual support of faithful family members and trusted friends, the vital lessons learned through ministering and serving in the Lord’s restored Church, and the capacity to discern the absolute emptiness of anything in or coming from the great and spacious building.

I have noted in these member responses a particular pattern that is especially significant. First and foremost, these disciples have firm testimonies of Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness and the role of Jesus Christ as our Redeemer and Savior. And secondly, their spiritual knowledge and conviction are individual, personal, and specific. They are not general and abstract.

I listen to these devoted souls speak of covenants providing strength to overcome opposition, and their connection with the living Lord supporting them through times both good and bad. To these individuals, Jesus Christ indeed is a personal Savior.

And finally, the final plea to Laman and Lemuel. Laman and Lemuel partook not of the fruit. “I don’t understand. I fear exceedingly for you, my sons, and I plead with you. Hearken to my words that perhaps the Lord will be merciful and not cast you off. Please, keep the commandments of the Lord.”

And he exhorted them with all the feeling of a loving, tender parent, that they would hearken to his words. He bade them to keep the commandments of the Lord.

I don’t know if you could see this video well enough, but Sariah’s tears are running down her face. I’ve watched this several times and it makes me cry every time. I cry of Laman. Did you see the anguish on Laman’s face? Not understanding. Simply heartache all around.

I’m going to conclude with Elder Bednar’s concluding remark.

“As we are bound and hold fast to the Lord and are transformed by living His doctrine, I promise that individually and collectively we will be blessed to stand in holy places and shall not be moved. If we abide in Christ, then He will abide in and walk with us. Surely, in the days of trial, His saints He will cheer and prosper the cause of truth. Press on, hold fast, heed not.

I witness that fidelity to the covenants and ordinances of the Savior’s restored gospel enables us to press on in the work of the Lord, to hold fast to Him as the Word of God, and to heed not the allurements of the adversary. In the fight for right, may each of us wield a sword, even the mighty sword of truth, in the sacred name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.”

Thank you, sisters. I love the Savior. I’m grateful to be here. I love you. And I say this in Jesus’ holy name, amen.

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