This week, we’re studying what Lehi taught his family after obtaining the brass plates and being joined by the family of Ishmael.
Key Events
- Lehi’s dream (1 Nephi 8)
- Nephi explains the purposes of his two sets of plates (1 Nephi 9)
- Lehi teaches his family about the Savior and about the scattering and gathering of Israel (1 Nephi 10)
Symbols from Lehi’s Dream
- The tree of life represents the love of God.
- The rod of iron represents the word of God.
- The mist of darkness represents the temptations of the devil.
- The great and spacious building represents the pride of the world.
Key Principles
- We can have spiritual experiences even in unfavorable circumstances.
- God prepares a way to accomplish all of His purposes.
- It’s important to prioritize how we use our resources.
- Ancient prophets knew about the Savior.
- We are in a lost and a fallen state. We need to be saved.
Questions
- What Do We Know About God’s Love for Us?
- How Can I Avoid Distractions?
- Why Were the Children of Israel Scattered?
- What Is the Gathering of Israel?
- Why Is Firsthand Spiritual Knowledge Important?
Blog Posts: January 14-19
Lehi’s Dream
Not long after Lehi and his family left Jerusalem, he related to them a spiritual dream he had experienced. The central focus of the dream was “a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy” (1 Nephi 8:10). This tree represents the love of God (1 Nephi 11:21-22), and every character in the dream…
Overcoming Dreariness
Lehi’s dream opens with a depressing scene: a “dark and dreary wilderness” (1 Nephi 8:4). A heavenly messenger beckons him forward, and then for several hours he walks through “a dark and dreary waste” (1 Nephi 8:7-8). The concept of a “dreary” wilderness must have resonated with some members of Lehi’s family, who had unfavorably…
Uncertainty and Certainty in the Writings of Nephi
Nephi opens his writings with a statement of conviction: And I know that the record which I make is true; and I make it with mine own hand; and I make it according to my knowledge (1 Nephi 1:3). He is unafraid to declare what he knows. For example, here is his reason for accepting…
Lehi’s Prophecies – 1 Nephi 10:2-14
After describing a spiritual dream to his family and urging two of his sons to repent, Lehi went on to prophesy about a number of future events. Because he had recently obtained the brass plates, which contained the words of many prophets, it’s likely that his awareness of these events was enhanced by his study…
Seeking the Lord Diligently – 1 Nephi 10:17-19
Moses prophesied that his people would eventually forget the Lord and would be scattered among all nations. But he made a promise about what would happen next: If from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul (Deuteronomy 4:29,…
What Are the Mysteries of God?
A knowledge of the mysteries of God was important to Nephi. He knew that he was “highly favored of the Lord” because he “had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God” (1 Nephi 1:1). His first recorded spiritual experience came because he had “great desires to know of the mysteries of…
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