Post by Nephi –
Before I continue with telling you what I was shown by the Spirit of the Lord, let me provide an overview of the world my father told us about which he witnessed in his dream. He certainly saw and said more than what I include here but I relate this so you keep the vision I received in perspective.
The dream was very troubling to my father because he saw in vision that Laman and Lemuel refused to partake of the fruit of the tree. He described a world that included as I said, a tree with fruit that was desirable to make one happy. He saw the rod of iron that I described in a previous post. The rod of iron ran along a path that was straight and narrow. He saw a filthy river of water, a vast wilderness, and a large and spacious building.
When relating his experience with us, these symbols were not necessarily the focus of his attention. I think it was the people he saw that made the great impact. When he began telling us how the various members of our family behaved in his dream, he became very passionate and concerned as only a loving father could. Although he did not elaborate much about the symbolism of the things he saw, it was easy to see his concern for us, his family as well as the various multitudes of people reacting very differently in the scene he was seeing.
I mention all this because as I began to be shown the things my father saw, I was being taught the interpretation at the same time. Another lesson all by itself – I will probably get obnoxious about this but – if we seek to learn the mysteries of God, He has promised we can receive them.
In my father’s dream he saw a man dressed in a white robe come and stand before him asking my father to follow him. As he followed he found himself alone in a dark and dreary waste. After traveling many hours in darkness he began to pray to the Lord that he would have mercy.
To me this alone was a great lesson. As any of us feel we are alone and in darkness, prayer should be our first resort. As it was for my father it will be for us, for as he prayed he was delivered from darkness and he saw a large and spacious field. That is when he saw the tree that I described earlier.
As my father partook of the fruit, it filled his soul with exceedingly great joy and he desired that our whole family should partake. As he looked around, searching for us, he saw a river that ran along near the tree. As he looked to see where the river came from, he saw me, my mother Sariah and Sam. We were standing around not knowing where to go.
My father called to us, encouraging us to come and enjoy the fruit with him. After we did so he began searching for Laman and Lemuel so they could also come and enjoy the fruit. With great disappointment, they refused to come and partake of the fruit.
That is when he saw the rod of iron that extended along the bank of the river and led to the tree. The rod of iron followed a strait and narrow path or should I say the strait and narrow path followed the rod of iron. He said the path and the rod also led by the head of the fountain, unto a large and spacious field, as if it had been a world.
That is when he saw numberless concourses of people. Many of them were moving forward to reach the path which led to the tree where we stood.
As they started up the path there arose a great mist of darkness, so great a mist that they lost their way, and they wandered off and were lost.
He saw others pressing forward, and they came forth and took hold of the end of the rod of iron. They pressed forward through the mist of darkness, clinging to the rod of iron, all the way until they partook of the fruit of the tree. After partaking of the fruit, they looked around and they seemed to be ashamed. My father looked around to see what would make them ashamed and he saw on the other side of the river, a very large building. He described it as being very spacious and it seemed to be without foundation up in the air, above the earth.
The building was full of people of all ages, male and female and they were very finely dressed. Then he noticed why the people at the tree were ashamed. The people in the building were looking back at the tree and at the people who were partaking of the fruit. They were pointing fingers and mocking those who had come to partake of the fruit. Tragically, even though they had partaken of the fruit, because of the scoffing by those in the building, many left the tree and fell away into forbidden paths and got lost.
He saw other groups of people coming forward; and they came and took hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they moved forward, continually holding tight to the rod of iron, until they got to the tree and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree. Let me point out that this group didn’t fall down because they were tired, they fell down in reverence to Christ our Savior who is symbolically represented by the tree. It was interesting that this group gave no heed to those scoffing and pointing fingers. This group kept their focus on the Lord.
My father also saw other multitudes simply making their way towards that great and spacious building directly. Even that was not an easy path, as many were drowned in the depths of the fountain; and many were lost from his view, wandering in strange roads. Yet, the multitude that did enter into that strange building was huge. And after they entered the building they pointed the finger of scorn at me and those that were partaking of the fruit; but as I mentioned we ignored them.
My father pointed out that anybody that gave heed to those in the building fell away.
But as I mentioned, what broke my father’s heart was the fact that Laman and Lemuel did not even partake of the fruit. This made him exceedingly fearful for them. He feared they would be cast off from the presence of the Lord.
With all the passion that a father that loves his sons could muster, he pleaded, preached, prophesied, and practically begged them to keep the commandments, so the Lord would be merciful to them and not cast them off.
(Book of Mormon | 1 Nephi 8:2 – 38)
