The Elements Found in Lehi's Vision
We will
approach the elements as they appear in Lehi's vision. Then, we will approach
the elements in Nephi's vision. After we list out these elements, we will then
present the plausible arrangement of how these elements are presented in the
order that a person would first encounter them.
Elements of Lehi's
Vision (1 Nephi 8)
1. "a dark and dreary wilderness" (v. 4)
2. "a man, and he was dressed in a white robe" (v.
5)[1]
3. "a dark and dreary waste" (v. 7)
4. "a large and spacious field" (v. 9)
5. "a tree" (v. 10)
6. fruit on the tree
(v. 10)
7. "a river of water" (v. 13)
8. the
"head" of the river, and the river had a bank (v.14, 19)
9. "a rod of iron" (v. 19)
10. "a strait and narrow path" (v. 20)
11. "a large and spacious field" (v.20)[2]
12. "a mist of darkness" (v.23)
13. "a great and spacious building" (v.26)
14. "forbidden paths" (v. 28)
15. "fountain" (v.32)
16. "strange roads" (v.32)
Elements of Nephi's Vision (1 Nephi 11-15)
1. "a tree" (1 Ne. 11:8; 15:21-22)[3]
which is later referred to as "the tree of life" (1 Ne. 11:25)
2. "the rod of iron" (1 Ne. 11:25; 15:23-24)
3. "the fountain of living waters" (Id.)
4. "large and spacious building" (1 Ne. 11:35;
1Ne. 12:18), in the same verse Nephi
calls it the "great and spacious building" (Id.) also
5. "the land of promise" (1 Ne. 12:1)[4]
6. "mists of darkness" (1 Ne. 12:4, 17), later he
calls it "vapor of darkness"
(1 Ne. 12:5)
7. "fountain of filthy water" (1 Ne. 12:16;
15:26-27), or "river" (Id.)
8. "great and terrible gulf" (1 Ne. 12:18; 15:28
suggests it is the river)[5]
9. "fiery darts" (1 Ne. 15:24)
10. "brightness thereof was like unto the brightness of
a flaming fire" (1 Ne. 15:30)
Nephi's Additional Element (2 Ne. 31)
1. "gate" (2 Ne. 31:17)
One Picture
At this
point, I want to briefly try to combine all of these elements into one unified
picture. I will also try to present them in the order that a person travelling
the course of the vision would encounter them. Thus, we will start at the
beginning, the world, and finish at the end, the tree. In a later post I will
go into more detail as to why I think Lehi's vision would be ordered this way.
In a later-later post, I will expound on the doctrinal takeaways that this
order presents. Here is my reconstruction.
THE BEGINNING- You, the journeyman,
find your safe in a large and spacious field. This large and spacious field is
the world you live in. There are countless other people with you in this large
and spacious world. There is a path that leads you away from the hustle and
bustle of the world you find yourself. As you enter this path, and follow it,
you come to a head of the river. At this river is a gate (perhaps the gate was
lit, and this is what guided you to the path which led to it). It was difficult
to make it to this point, but your journey will only get more arduous.
THE MIDDLE- Once you enter through the
gate you notice that the path has narrowed. There is an iron rod that is on the
path. The path is straight. There is also a river which connected to the head
of the river at the gate that runs parallel to this path. You press forward on the strait straight
path, holding to the rod.
As you
advance, mists of darkness arise. You are unable to see. To make matters worse,
fiery darts are shot. This also blinds your vision. Luckily, you have the iron
rod to hold to. You press forward. It may be possible that this path is going
uphill. The river that is beside the path gets louder and more filthy. You can
tell that the river itself is becoming more dangerous. At some point, you
either cross over the river, or the river begins to quiet down, and become less
dangerous. At this point, you are met by a barrier of fire.
THE END- Like the gate, you press
through this barrier of brightness, holding to the iron rod. You find yourself
in another large and spacious field, except this time, you are note in the
world where you began, you are in a different world, or a different part of the
world. You see a white tree with fruit. The tree is also next to, or on top of
a fountain of water. You must be fatigued from the journey, and so you partake
of its fruit.
Once You
have eaten the fruit, you sense eyes glaring upon you. You turn, and at this
point, you see a great and spacious building. There are people in this building
dressed nicely. You might even know some of these people. They may be family
members and friends. The people in the building are mocking you. At this point,
you also notice that there are many strange and forbidden paths that lead to
other places, but none of them can produce the great feelings of joy that you
are experiencing now. Satisfied that this is where you want to be, you plant
yourself next to the tree.
We will
look more in-depth as to why this story is the more plausible order of the
elements later.
[1] I
am not going to include this in the analysis, because I think he is more of a
messenger for the vision, as opposed to the vision itself. However, this man's
role may be important for later discussions of the implications of Lehi's
vision.
[2]
This may be the same as the revious field, but it ma be different too.
[3] Up
until verse 25 we receive the interpretation of the tree, and so I will not
include any of these as elements. Here, I am specifically looking for elements
associated with Lehi's vision, and not it's interpreation.
[4]
This may be a reference to the large and spacious field (?).
[5]
May be another term for river, but it also may be something else
