An Historical Perspective for the Book of Mormon ~ We Meet Lehi

I am now about - and finally! - to tie in the past two weeks: the blessings of Jacob, the tribes of Israel, the kingdoms and the conquests; all in the personage of a prophet contemporary with Jeremiah: a man named Lehi.

Lehi lived in the kingdom of Judah just prior to the Babylonian conquest.  His wife's name was Sariah.  They had four sons: Laman, Lemuel, Sam, and Nephi, as well as unnamed daughters.    His family had lived in the Southern Kingdom for at least three generations.  Lehi himself was unaware of his genealogical lineage and most likely considered himself to be a Jew.
 

During the first year of the reign of King Zedekiah, many prophets were foretelling the utter destruction of Jerusalem and the temple if the people did not repent. One of the most prominent was Jeremiah, but there were others. Some were named in the Old Testament and some were not. 

 

The prophets' messages were disturbing to Lehi so, being at a righteous man, he went off by himself to pray for his people.  As he was praying, he saw a pillar of fire come down from heaven and dwell upon a rock in front of him.  He heard many things during this vision, things that caused him to shake and tremble (see 1 Nephi 1: 5-6.)

Lehi returned to his house and cast himself upon his bed - physically, emotionally, and spiritually overcome by what he had seen and heard.  While he was in this state, another vision came upon him.  I will quote now from the words of his son, Nephi:

And being thus overcome with the Spirit, he was carried away in a vision, even that he saw the heavens open, and he thought he saw God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels in the attitude of singing and praising their God.  And . . . he saw One descending out of the midst of heaven, and he beheld that his luster was above that of the sun at noon-day.  And he also saw twelve others following him, and their brightness did exceed that of the stars in the firmament.  And they came down and went forth upon the face of the earth; and the first came and stood before my father, and gave unto him a book, and bade him that he should read. . . .  as he read, he was filled with the Spirit of the Lord.  And he read, saying: Wo, wo, unto Jerusalem, for I have seen thine abominations! Yea, and many things did my father read concerning Jerusalem—that it should be destroyed, and the inhabitants thereof; many should perish by the sword, and many should be carried away captive into Babylon.  (1 Nephi 1: 8-13)

 

Lehi was grateful that God had seen fit to warn Judah and, perhaps, save her from herself.  He began to preach  to that end.  But, as I mentioned yesterday, being a prophet was a dangerous calling.  The people rose up against him and sought to take his life.  Being warned by revelation that the Lord had a special purpose for him, he rose up in the night, gathered his family, his flocks, and necessary supplies, and fled into the wilderness. Thus began an amazing journey for Lehi and his family. 

Text copyright June 2013, Gebara Education

 

Picture of Lehi preaching in Jerusalem; Lehi and the pillar of fire; and

Lehi's family fleeing into the wilderness from www.lds.org