Nephi records a vision his father received. Lehi went out and prayed on behalf of his
people. He was following Jeremiah’s
words, “Then shall ye call upon me, and
ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken [HEB hear you] unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye
shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:12 - 13). Nephi would
later write about his experience crying unto the Lord.
Behold,
he hath heard my cry by day, and he hath given me knowledge by visions in the
night–time.
And
by day have I waxed bold in mighty prayer before him; yea, my voice have I sent
up on high; and angels came down and ministered unto me.
And
upon the wings of his Spirit hath my body been carried away upon exceedingly
high mountains. And mine eyes have
beheld great things, yea, even too great for man; therefore I was bidden that I
should not write them.
2 Nephi 4:23 - 25
John Welch writes about Lehi’s prayer. “[Lehi] may have gone forth and prayed unto
the Lord (1 Nephi 1:5) because he was among the prophets who were already
actively crying repentance in Jerusalem, but it appears more likely that he was
profoundly moved to pray, motivated by the problems in Jerusalem and by the
messages of the prophets whom he had just heard.”[1]
Terryl Givens continues:
We know virtually nothing for
certain of Lehi or his background except that he is a person of wealth and, as
his wife laments and Lehi agrees, is a "visionary man" (1 Nephi
5:2, 4). His first recorded vision occurs as Lehi is praying "with all his
heart" (1 Nephi 1:5) on behalf of his people. Strangely, this is the
only one of Lehi's visions about whose content we are told nothing at all.
Nephi simply reveals that as Lehi prays, "there came a pillar of fire . .
. and he saw and heard much" (1 Nephi 1:6). No details of the
message, no particulars of any message, are available to distract from the fact
of the visitation itself, given to a man who shares neither the public prestige
nor, so far as we can tell, the national stewardship of his contemporary Jeremiah. [2]
While praying, a pillar of fire appeared on a rock in front
of Lehi. This may well have reminded
Lehi of the Lord’s dealing with Moses during the exodus. “And the LORD went before them
by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar
of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night” (Exodus 13:21).
What he saw and heard during his vision is unknown. What Nephi did records is that what “he saw and heard much; and because of the
things which he saw and heard he did quake and tremble exceedingly” (1
Nephi 1:6).
After his vision ended, he returned home, having been
overcome by his vision. Being weakened
by a vision is not unusual. Nephi would
later tell his brothers, “Behold, my soul
is rent with anguish because of you, and my heart is pained; I fear lest ye
shall be cast off forever. Behold, I am full
of the Spirit of God, insomuch that my frame has no strength” (1 Nephi 17:47). When Ammon met Alma2, his joy “was so great even that he was full; yea, he
was swallowed up in the joy of his God, even to the exhausting of his strength;
and he fell again to the earth” (Alma 27:17).
No sooner had he “cast himself upon his bed,” he saw a
second vision. The heavens opened and he
saw God sitting on his throne. He was
surrounded by angels singing and praising God.
Alma2 would describe his experience, identical to Nephi’s
words. “Yea, methought I saw, even as our father Lehi saw, God sitting upon
his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels, in the attitude of
singing and praising their God; yea, and my soul did long to be there” (Alma
36:22)
He next saw One descending out of heaven. “[H]is
luster was above that of the sun at none-day” (1 Nephi 1:9). Describing His luster, Richard Dilworth Rust
wrote, “As Christ is called a fire, so he is a light in the wilderness (see 1
Nephi 17:13). In vision, Lehi saw the Son of God as glowing brighter than the
sun (see 1 Nephi 1:9) … Both physically and figuratively, light and whiteness
are associated with truth, purity, and divine guidance, just as darkness is
associated with unbelief and error (for example, see Alma 40:14).”[3]
Twelve followed him, “and
their brightness did exceed that of the stars in the firmament” (1 Nephi
1:10). The twelve went forth and the One
stood before Lehi.
[1] The
Calling of Lehi as a Prophet in the World of Jerusalem, John W. Welch, Provo,
Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed December 19, 2012.
[2] Joseph
Smith's American Bible: Radicalizing the Familiar, Terryl L. Givens, Provo,
Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed December 19, 2012.
[3] Book
of Mormon Imagery, Richard Dilworth Rust, Provo, Utah:
Maxwell Institute, accessed December 19, 2012.
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