Lehi's Dream

This is a paper I had to write for a church class.  I'm kind of proud of it.  I spent a lot of time and thought on it, so I thought I'd post it here.  It's about a story from the Book of Mormon.  The paper was about how I am trying to progress to the Tree of Life ... please read, if you'd like ...

Lehi’s Dream, or Vision, has a lot of meaning to me. I remember it was my second meeting with the missionaries since I had set a baptism date. I had been cleaning the house and listening to the Book of Mormon on my iPod as I did so, preparing to have some scriptures to talk about for when they arrived. I remember not paying too much attention to what I was listening to because I was doing other things, except I knew there was a tree with fruit and there were two boys who didn’t eat from the tree. So, I sat down and started to read it so I could understand it better. What resulted was 1 Nephi 8 through 1 Nephi 11 turning into a rainbow of different highlighter colors, notes and observations crowding each other and written in the size of crumbs in the margins, and post-in notes stuck onto the beginning of each chapter with questions about what all of this meant.

I feel like the definition of Lehi’s dream was my first real lesson I received from my missionaries, and it remains my favorite story in the Book of Mormon.

In Lehi’s dream, after he had walked in the darkness with a man in white for many hours, he was shown a marvelous tree with white fruit that tasted “sweet, above all that I had ever before tasted,” (1 Nephi 8:11) and that “it was desirable above all other fruit” (1 Nephi 8:12). Lehi wanted to share this with his family and all of his family came when beckoned, except for his two oldest sons Laman and Lemuel. Lehi encounters other things in his dream, such as “a river of water” that was “led by the head of a fountain” (1 Nephi 8:13), “a rod of iron” (1 Nephi 8:19), “a strait and narrow path” (1 Nephi 8:20), “a mist of darkness” (1 Nephi 8:23), and “a great and spacious building” full of people who’s “manner of dress was exceedingly fine; and they were in the attitude of mocking" (1 Nephi 8:26). All of these things he could see from the tree with the fruit, or the tree of life. Lehi also experienced “numberless concourses of people” (1 Nephi 8:21) who were trying to get to the tree of life. Some lost their way through the mist, some fell into the fountainhead, some were simply lost from his view in the darkened mist, and many entered the great and spacious building.  But some held onto the iron rod and made it to the tree of life.

However, just because some people made it to the tree of life, didn’t mean they stayed there. Some tasted the fruit but then even “after they had tasted of the fruit they were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them; and they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost” (1 Nephi 8:28).

At the end of 1 Nephi 8, I understood that I had read something very symbolic and important, but I still was a bit unsure as to what I had just read. What did all of these things represent?

When my missionaries came over, they explained it all to me while we read the scriptures together. If I had just read a few chapters more to 1 Nephi 11 and 12 then it all would have been revealed to me. Nephi desires to understand all it was that his father saw and “was caught away in the spirit of the Lord” (1 Nephi 11:1) and shown what it all meant.

The tree of life with the fruit represented the “love of God ... it is the most desirable of all things” (1 Nephi 11:22) and “the most joyous to the soul” (1 Nephi 11:23). The rod of iron represented “the word of God, which lead to ... the tree of life, a representation of the love of God” (1 Nephi 11:25). The great and spacious building represented “the pride of the world” (1 Nephi 11:36). The darkened mist was “the temptations of the devil” (1 Nephi 12:17).

All of those who feel victim to the spacious building, the filthy waters, or the darkened mist, fell away from the love and the word of Heavenly Father. Even those who partook of the fruit and ended up turning away from the tree of life after the mocking from the people in the building must not have immersed themselves enough in the Lord’s love and word to be so easily ashamed.

I am progressing towards the tree of life in many ways, and yet, there is still so much more I can do. The biggest step I’ve done to get closer to Heavenly Father is accept the gospel in my life one-hundred percent. Being baptized into the true church has given me more blessings that I think I even realize. I had prepared myself even before I set my baptism date. I gave up coffee and tea per the Word of Wisdom, I had stopped drinking alcohol many months prior, I prayed to Heavenly Father often, and I rid myself of the things in my life that were holding me back and causing negativity.

Still, after I was baptized, there was a struggle. I was always so tired to get up in the morning for church. I just wasn’t used to it. I hadn’t been to any kind of weekly organized church gathering since I was twelve. I slept through church a lot. I would give tons of excuses to those who asked where I’ve been. “Oh, I work really late and don’t get to sleep until four in the morning so I’m just so tired when ten a.m. rolls around.” It was the truth, but it wasn’t a good excuse. Finally, one of the brothers from my church sat down with me, and in a very polite and kind way, he more or less said, “Hey, Julie, seriously, you need to get to church more often.” And that little bit of honesty has made all the difference. I didn’t want to disappoint my friends who are church members, but more importantly, I didn’t want to disappoint Heavenly Father and I know he is happy when I go to church every Sunday. I am also happier if I go to church on Sunday.

Another thing that I did often before my baptism that I slacked with a bit was reading scriptures daily. After the initial excitement of my baptism wore off, I just stopped reading as often. I’m not sure why. It got to the point where I would go weeks without reading. But when the brother from my ward talked to me about coming to church more often, I realized so many things needed to change. I need to read scriptures every day, even if it’s just a few verses. I need to observe fast sunday with more reverence. I need to be more diligent with paying my tithing. These are all things that I feel like are a learning curve for converts to the church. I’ve never been held responsible, even when I was in the Catholic church, by anyone to uphold the covenants I made with my Heavenly Father, and even if I did something that went against them, the priest would tell me, “Say five Hail Mary’s and two Our Father’s, and you’re all set.” That didn’t seem like repentance to me.

Even now, today, as I write this, I feel my connection with Heavenly Father is the strongest it’s ever been, but I feel as though He is testing my resolve and my patience lately. I feel with all my heart that I can cross the bridge between wanting noble and worthy causes and obtaining noble and worthy causes by doing my best with fasting, prayer, devotion, and tithing. I’ve seen life work in my favor when I do these things.

I feel like I am moving closing to the tree of life, or at least I am trying my best to not get lost in the mist, drown in the river, or succumb to the great a spacious building. I do my best everyday, and I feel like the virtuous efforts help me in so many different ways. I hold fast to the iron rod because I know it is my salvation and the true way to happiness.