1 Nephi 2:1-5

Once again we learn that Lehi has another dream where the Lord speaks to him. In this dream the Lord blesses Lehi for being obedient to the things the Lord asked him to do. Doing what the Lord asked him to do made him very unpopular and hated amongst the people of Jerusalem… to the point that they wanted to kill him. I ask again, how would we respond as members of the church today by someone other than THE prophet coming to us and telling us to repent; especially if it was based on his claiming revelation? If the Book of Mormon is written for our day, and I believe it is, why did the Lord include this? Will it happen again in our day?

Lehi is commanded in a dream to take his family into the wilderness. How do we respond when we receive dreams? What if Lehi had simply said “Sariah, I had the weirdest dream last night. I dreamed that I was supposed to leave all of our stuff and go into the wilderness. How weird is that?” I think it is significant that this story differs from the one found in the New Testament known as the Rich Young Man. In that story, the young man comes to the Savior and asks what he must do to inherit eternal life, where the Savior tells him to keep the commandments. The boy boasts that he has done that all his life. The savior then says “sell all you have, and give it to the poor and come follow me.” The boy went away sorrowfully because he was at that time unwilling to do that. (see Matthew 19;16-22).

Lehi isn’t asked to “sell all he has” but leave it all behind. This becomes evident when Nephi and his brothers go back to get their possessions for a trade of the Brass Plates. How would each of us respond to a dream to leave all we have and depart… especially when the directive didn’t come from church leadership or the living prophet? Would we have enough faith to do it? Do we have enough faith in our own ability to get revelation for us and our families?

Lehi was obedient to the Lord. He was indeed willing to sacrifice all that he had to be obedient.

And he left his house, and the land of his inheritance, and his gold, and his silver, and his precious things, and took nothing with him, save it were his family, and provisions, and tents, and departed into the wilderness. 1 Nephi 2:4

Verse 5 tells us that he took with him his family which consisted of “my mother Sariah, and my elder brothers Laman, Lemuel, and Sam.  Later, in 2 Nephi 5:6, as Nephi and those that will follow him separate themselves from the Lamanites, we read about Nephi’s sisters.

6 Wherefore, it came to pass that I, Nephi, did take my family, and also Zoram and his family, and Sam, mine elder brother and his family, and Jacob and Joseph, my younger brethren, and also my sisters, and all those who would go with me.       

It makes me wonder how old Lehi and Sariah were when they left Jerusalem? We know they had at least four children in the wilderness since we know of two additional sons, Jacob and Joseph and since “sisters” is plural. How old were Laman, Lemuel, Sam and Nephi? Interesting points to ponder.