Dreams as Represented in the Book of Mormon

Parent page: Book of Mormon/Elements

Cultural and Geographical Dimensions of Lehi's Dream: Wealth

One of the dominant images in Lehi's dream is the "great and spacious building" whose occupants wear "exceedingly fine" clothing (1 Nephi 8:26,27). Such expressions point to obvious wealth. On a symbolic level the building and its inhabitants represented "the world and the wisdom thereof," as Nephi reminds us (11:35). But the wealthy occupants of the building were also at home in Arabia. Most probably, Lehi's party saw some of this opulence in travels farther south.

All recent commentators, from Ahmed Fakhry (1947) to Nigel Groom (1981), note the extraordinary wealth of the ancient kingdoms that arose in the southwestern sector of the Arabian Peninsula, in what is modern Yemen.22 A chief source of that wealth was incense, which camel trains carried into the Mediterranean and Mesopotamian areas from a time beginning long before Lehi and Sariah.23 The wealth derived not only from the sale of incense but also from taxing the goods, from transporting them, and from offering services in the form of food and so on to the men and animals that made up the caravans. The wealth led to massive public works programs, which included dams for irrigation and temples for the deities worshipped by people there.^[1]

Cultural and Geographical Dimensions of Lehi's Dream: Geography

The scenes in [Lehi's] dream alternate between long, lonely stretches of desert crossed at night (see 1 Nephi 8:4–8) and regions of dense population (see vv. 8:21, 8:24, 8:27, 8:30, 8:33). Lehi also wrote of deep canyons—known as wadis—that were almost impossible to traverse (compare "a great and a terrible gulf" in 12:18 and "an awful gulf" in 15:28). After rains, the seasonal streams in the wadis fill with mud and debris (called "filthy water" in 12:16 and "filthiness" in 15:26–27).25 In contrast, Lehi described occasional green fields next to the desert graced not only by abundant water (there were already extensive irrigation works in south Arabia that supported a larger population than the one living there now) but also by lush vegetation represented by the tree full of delicious fruit (see 8:9–13).26 He saw heavily traveled paths leading to the green areas (see vv. 8:20–21) as well as "forbidden paths" and "strange roads" of the surrounding desert where the unwary would become "lost" (vv. 8:23, 8:28, 8:32). Further, Lehi's mention of "a mist of darkness" (v. 8:23) reminds one of the heavy mists and fogs that blanket the coasts of Arabia, especially during the monsoon season, including the place where the family most likely emerged from the desert.27

The dream is also true to other cultural and geographical dimensions of the family's world. For example, Lehi's dream began in "a dark and dreary wilderness" wherein Lehi and a guide walked "in darkness" for "many hours" (1 Nephi 8:4,8). Plainly, they were walking at night, the preferred time for traveling through the hot desert. Further, when Lehi reached the tree that grew in "a large and spacious field"—which field is different from the wilderness—he partook of the fruit of the tree and then looked for his family, apparently expecting to see them (see vv. 8:9, 8:12-14). This sort of detail meshes with the custom of family travel in the Near East, with the father going as a vanguard to look for danger and for food while the mother and younger children follow. When there are other adult members in a clan or family, the males form a rear guard, as did Laman and Lemuel in this set of scenes (vv. 8:17–18). Hence, in the dream Lehi was evidently not alone with the guide as they traveled. His family members were following him, but at a safe distance as custom required.^[2]

Cultural and Geographical Dimensions of Lehi's Dream: Multitudes of people

The dream of Lehi teems with people. Although the dream begins with a desert journey undertaken only by Lehi, his family members, and a guide (see 1 Nephi 8:5–7,14,17–18), it quickly fills with others. In his own words, Lehi "saw numberless concourses of people" who "did come forth, and commence in the path which led to the tree" (vv. 8:21, 8:22). Soon he "beheld others pressing forward" to take "hold of the end of the rod of iron," which also would bring them to the tree (v. 24). In the next scene, he "beheld . . . a great and spacious building" that "was filled with people, both old and young, both male and female" (vv. 8:26,27). Moreover, in another setting Lehi "saw other multitudes," some of whom came to the tree and others of whom began "feeling their way towards that great and spacious building," each group proceeding cautiously and purposefully because of the murky mists (vv. 8:30,31). Where did all of these people come from? Was not Arabia basically an empty place?

The answer is yes and no. There are vast regions where no human inhabitant lives. The problem in those areas, of course, is a lack of water. But anciently both the northwest and southwest sections of the Arabian Peninsula supported large populations, as well as large numbers of animals.29 It was through these very areas that Lehi's party passed. Though animals do not appear in Lehi's dream—the lone exception is a lamb (see 1 Nephi 10:10)—people do. And lots of them, matching the images in the dream. Although it is possible for a modern author to make up parts of a story that are unrealistic, the story will not gain credibility in the eyes of readers unless the author carefully masks the unrealistic elements with a heavy dose of reality in the other parts. In the case of Lehi's dream, it is impressive that even this detail of large numbers of people fits the ancient context of the family's journey into Arabia. No source that Joseph Smith had access to would have told him this fact.^[3]

Notes

1. ↑ S. Kent Brown, "New Light from Arabia on Lehi's Trail," in Echoes and Evidences of the Book of Mormon, edited by Donald W. Parry, Daniel C. Peterson, and John W. Welch (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 2002), Chapter 5, references silently removed—consult original for citations.
2. ↑ S. Kent Brown, "New Light from Arabia on Lehi's Trail," in Echoes and Evidences of the Book of Mormon, edited by Donald W. Parry, Daniel C. Peterson, and John W. Welch (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 2002), Chapter 5, references silently removed—consult original for citations.
3. ↑ S. Kent Brown, "New Light from Arabia on Lehi's Trail," in Echoes and Evidences of the Book of Mormon, edited by Donald W. Parry, Daniel C. Peterson, and John W. Welch (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 2002), Chapter 5, references silently removed—consult original for citations.