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Lesson 3: "The Vision of the Tree of Life"

Disclaimer: The information provided here is a supplement to the lesson manual to assist teachers in addressing issues that might arise in the course of teaching. It is in no way intended to replace or supplant the lesson materials provided by the Church. It is intended only to be used as background information for prior preparation by teachers and should not be used in any way to replace correlated lesson materials.

LDS Lesson Manual

Lesson 3: The Vision of the Tree of Life: off-site

1. The Symbols in the Vision of the Tree of Life

Helpful Insights

• The religion of Israel was significantly reformed approximately 50 years before Lehi's ministry by King Josiah. Josiah cleared the temple of all the symbols of other divine figures besides Yahweh (Jehovah). One of the symbols that had a common presence in the temple before this reformation was an idealized carving of a tree on a wooden pole that represented the goddess "Asherah". Asherah was believed to be the consort or companion of Yahweh. [1] [2] [3]
• When Nephi asked his guide what the tree in his dream represented the answer was associated with "the mother of the Son of God" (1 Nephi 11:18) [4] [5]. This may be connected the symbolism of Asherah.
• The symbol of Asherah, a pole carved in the shape of a tree, was a part of worship in Solomon's temple for almost 2/3 of the temple's existence. [6] Asherah and her symbols were purged from Israel by King Josiah ~50 years before Lehi's ministry. Lehi would have been familiar with her symbols, but Nephi would not have been familiar. This may explain why Nephi required an explanation from the angel for the symbols in Lehi's dream and Lehi did not. (Gardner, "Second Witness", 2007, Kofford Books, vol. 1 pp. 153).
• 1 Nephi 9:2-6 discusses how Nephi created two separate records, both of which he refers to as the "plates of Nephi". The two sets of plates differed in their size, the larger being a more secular account of Nephi's reign, and the smaller being a more spiritual account of Nephi's reign and ministry. The record we have in the Book of Mormon is the smaller of the two. [7] [Brant Gardner, "Second Witness: Analytical and Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon," vol. 1, Kofford Books, 2007, pp 185.]

Potential Criticisms and Faithful Information

• Lehi's dream has some similarities to a dream that Joseph Smith Sr. (Joseph's father) had ~1815, as described by Lucy Mack Smith (Joseph's mother) in ~1844. Some critics claim that Joseph used his father's dream as a template for inventing Lehi's dream. However, because Lucy Smith described her husband's dream about 30 years after the fact, and because she described it 15 years after the publication of the Book of Mormon, it is more likely that her telling of her husband's dream was more influenced by Lehi's dream in the Book of Mormon, and not vice versa. [8]
• An ancient Mesoamerican "stela" (large stone carving), Izapa Stela 5, depicts a scene that many LDS have interpreted as a representation of Lehi's dream. As LDS scientists have learned more about Mesoamerican culture and artwork they have come to realize that Izapa Stela 5 is not a representation of Lehi's dream. Latter-day Saints should be discouraged from promoting the stela as evidence for the Book of Mormon [9]
• When the Book of Mormon was first published critics argued that writing on metal plates was not an authentic ancient practice. Modern scholarship has proven this claim to be false. [10]
• Nephi speaks explicitly of a coming Messiah who will redeem mankind, including using the term "the Lamb of God" (1 Nephi 10:10). Some critics charge that this Christian belief did not exist among the Jews before Christ. However, recent scholarship has shown that such beliefs did in fact exist. [11] [12]

Faith Affirmations

• An ancient Hebrew document called "The Narrative of Zosimus", dating to before the time of Christ, contains a story with remarkable similarities to Lehi's dream. Points of correspondence include a righteous man entering a desolate area, a spiritual guide, and images of a tree and a river. [13]
• Some ancient middle eastern documents describe the Tree of Life as having white fruit. This corresponds to Lehi's vision of the tree. [14]
• 1 Nephi 8:3 contains a Hebraism called "cognate accusative" in which a direct object noun shares the same root as the preceding verb, such as "I have dreamed a dream". [15]
• There are many similarities between Lehi's dream-landscape and the Arabian Peninsula, the area that Lehi's family was traveling through.

  • "Lehi's dream, perhaps more than any other segment of Nephi's narrative, takes us into the ancient Near East. For as soon as we focus on certain aspects of Lehi's dream, we find ourselves staring into the world of ancient Arabia. Lehi's dream is not at home in Joseph Smith's world but is at home in a world preserved both by archaeological remains and in the customs and manners of Arabia's inhabitants. Moreover, from all appearances, the dream was prophetic—and I emphasize this aspect—for what the family would yet experience in Arabia. To be sure, the dream was highly symbolic. Yet it also corresponds in some of its prophetic dimensions to historical and geographical realities." S. Kent Brown, "New Light from Arabia on Lehi's Trail," in Echoes and Evidences of the Book of Mormon

• 1 Nephi 11:1 describes Nephi being swept away by the Spirit unto a high mountain. In ancient Hebrew cosmology mountains were sacred places that reach the heavens and symbolically bring one closer to God. Temples were often referred to as the "mountain of the Lord." [16]

2. The People in the Vision of the Tree of Life

Helpful Insights

Potential Criticisms and Faithful Information

Faith Affirmations

Additional Information Related to 1 Nephi 8-11

• 1 Nephi 8:20 refers to a "strait and narrow path". Recent scholarship suggests that the word "strait" is a mistranscription and should instead be the word "straight". Noel B. Reynolds and Royal Skousen, Was the Path Nephi Saw "Strait and Narrow" or "Straight and Narrow?", Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 10, no. 2 (2002), 30.

Chiasms and Other Poetic Parallelisms in 1 Nephi 8-11; 12:16-18;15

The Book of Mormon contains a number of literary structures called poetic parallelisms, chiasmus being the best known. While these are frequently used as evidence for the Book of Mormon’s authenticity, their real value is in helping shed light on the meaning and message in the text. The following passages contain examples of these structures from chapters being covered in this lesson. If you are planning on using any of these passages in your lesson, it may be worthwhile to check these structures to see if they help emphasize or focus attention on the message you hope to convey, or if they provide an alternative perspective you had not considered before which may enhance your lesson. For the sake of space, the references can only be listed here. To look at these structures, see Donald W. Perry, Poetic Parallelisms: The Complete Text Reformatted, which is graciously provided online for no charge (you have to go to the PDF file) by the Neal A. Maxwell Institute.

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