In 1 Nephi 10:2, we read
For behold, it came to pass after my father had made an end of speaking the words of his dream, and also of exhorting them to all diligence, he spake unto them concerning the Jews
What he goes on to say doesn't immediately seem to have any connection to his dream. But as I noted during my study of chapter 10, Nephi wanted to learn for himself both what Lehi saw in a dream in chapter 8 and what he prophesied in chapter 10 (of which Nephi only wrote a small part). This results in Nephi's vision in chapters 11-14, where he sees the events of which Lehi prophesied unfold, interspersed with the elements from his dream. This way, the symbolism of the dream is placed in a grander context, signifying different events in the history of the House of Israel and the Gentiles. In the table below, we see both what Lehi prophecied and what he dreamed, and how these connect in Nephi's vision.
Event / Associated symbol
|
Lehi’s dream (1
Nephi 8) and prophecies (1 Nephi 10)
|
Nephi’s vision in 1 Nephi 11-14
|
The coming of the Messiah, a Savior/Redeemer of the
world
|
1 Nephi 10:4-6
|
1 Nephi 11:13-21
|
The tree
|
1 Nephi 8:10-12
|
1 Nephi 11:8-9 (the tree), 1 Nephi 11:22-23 (the
interpretation)
|
A forerunner of the Messiah, John the Baptist
|
1 Nephi 10:7-10
|
1 Nephi 11:27
|
The gospel preached among the Jews
|
1 Nephi 10:11
|
1 Nephi 11:28
|
The iron rod
|
1 Nephi 8:19
|
1 Nephi 11:25
|
The Jews rejecting Jesus and his gospel
|
1 Nephi 10:11
|
1 Nephi 11:32-33
|
The spacious building
|
1 Nephi 8:26-27
|
1 Nephi 11:35-36
|
The scattering of Israel, including Lehi’s
descendants in the promised land
|
1 Nephi 10:12-13
|
1 Nephi 12:20, 1 Nephi 13:14
|
Mist of darkness and filthy water
|
1 Nephi 8:23, 32
|
1 Nephi 12:4 (mist of darkness), 1 Nephi 12:16-17
(interpretation of the mist and the filthy water)
|
The Gentiles
receiving the gospel
|
1 Nephi 10:11, 14
|
1 Nephi 13:16,
33-35, 1 Nephi 14:5
|
The gathering of
Israel
|
1 Nephi 10:14
|
1 Nephi 13:39-42, 1
Nephi 14:2
|
"Many more things"
|
1 Nephi 10:15
|
All the parts in 1
Nephi 11-14 that have not been quoted, include more about Christ’s ministry,
the Gentiles settling in the Americas, the great and abominable church,
scriptures coming forth, etc.
|
Even though the angel stops talking about (or Nephi stops writing about) the symbols from Lehi's dream after 1 Nephi 12:17, they still seem to be recurring. For instance, the "great and abominable church" could easily be a "great and spacious building", the "mist of darkness" could be associated with the "stumbling blocks" of the Gentiles in 1 Nephi 13:34 and 14:1. All the talk of the scriptures coming forth in 1 Nephi 13 and 14, are another reminder of the iron rod. These symbols can work on many levels and be applied in many ways. But I find the intricacy of Lehi's dream and prophecies, and how these two are connected in Nephi's vision, fascinating.
