Lehi's Dream Helps Me See to the End

 Lehi’s Dream of The Tree of Life 

Text and image by Marilyn Worden 

     There was once a man named Lehi, who was given a dream from the Lord about the Tree of Life that represents the love of God. The story of this tree is found in the Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 8. 

This is the vision of the tree of life Lehi had in the Book of Mormon without the people in it. The tree represents Christ, the fruit is His atoning sacrifice, the building the pride of the people, the swirling darkness is the darkness and loneliness.

      The dream started with Lehi seeing an angel, who told him to follow him. After traveling in darkness for many hours, Lehi stopped to pray. Immediately, he saw a tree in a large field. He invited his family to come to the tree to partake of the fruit there. 

     Lehi saw people walking on the path leading to the tree. They were holding onto an iron rod while darkness filled and obstructed their view. He saw a river that people fell in and disappeared, as well as a large and spacious building with people inside. Some of the people who wandered in started pointing and laughing at those eating the fruit of the tree. Some of the people felt ashamed and wandered from the tree. 

     The tree represents Christ and the fruit is his atoning sacrifice when he suffered for our sins and died for us on the cross. The Tree of Life is a parable about enduring to the end. 

     When I feel periods of darkness and loneliness, I pray for the strength to endure to the end. I feel the love of Jesus and his comforting presence. Sometimes I hear a gospel song in my head to remind me He is always with me. When I choose to live the gospel and follow the commandments, I can find happiness in my life. 

     If I had chosen to think that the things of the world were more important, I wouldn’t have known about the atonement and how Jesus gave his love for us by sacrificing on the cross.