~600–592 BC

1 Nephi 8

And it came to pass that we had gathered together all manner of seeds of every kind; both of grain of every kind, and also of the seeds of fruits of every kind.

And it came to pass that while my father tarried in the wilderness, he spake unto us, saying: Behold, I have dreamed a dream; or, in other words, I have seen a vision.

And behold, because of the thing which I have seen, I have reason to rejoice in the Lord, because of Nephi, and also of Sam; for I have reason to suppose that they, and also many of their seed, will be saved.

But, behold, Laman and Lemuel, I fear exceedingly, because of you; for, behold, me thought I saw a dark and dreary wilderness.

And it came to pass that I saw a man, and he was dressed in a white robe; and he came and stood before me.

And it came to pass that he spake unto me, and bade me follow him.

And it came to pass that as I followed him, and after I had followed him, I beheld myself that I was in a dark and dreary waste.

And after that I had travelled for the space of many hours in darkness, I began to pray unto the Lord, that he would have mercy on me, according to the multitude of his tender mercies.

And it came to pass that after I had prayed unto the Lord, I beheld a large and spacious field.

And it came to pass that I beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable, to make one happy.

And it came to pass that I did go forth, and partake of the fruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever had before tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to exceed all the whiteness that I had ever seen.

And as I partook of the fruit thereof, it filled my soul with exceeding great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirous above all other fruit.

And as I cast my eyes round about, that perhaps I might discover my family also, I beheld a river of water; and it ran along, and it was near the tree of which I was partaking the fruit.

And I looked to behold from whence it came; and I saw the head thereof, a little way off; and at the head thereof, I beheld your mother Sariah, and Sam, and Nephi; and they stood as if they knew not whither they should go.

And it came to pass that I beckoned unto them; and I also did say unto them, with a loud voice, that they should come unto me, and partake of the fruit, which was desirable above all other fruit.

And it came to pass that they did come unto me, and partake of the fruit also.

And it came to pass that I was desirous that Laman and Lemuel should come and partake of the fruit also; wherefore, I cast mine eyes towards the head of the river, that perhaps I might see them.

And it came to pass that I saw them, but they would not come unto me.

And I beheld a rod of iron; and it extended along the bank of the river, and led to the tree by which I stood.

And I also beheld a straight and narrow path, which came along by the rod of iron, even to the tree by which I stood; and it also led by the head of the fountain, unto a large and spacious field, as if it had been a world;

and I saw numberless concourses of people; many of whom were pressing forward, that they might obtain the path which led unto the tree by which I stood.

And it came to pass that they did come forth, and commence in the path which led to the tree.

And it came to pass that there arose a mist of darkness; yea, even an exceeding great mist of darkness, insomuch that they which had commenced in the path, did lose their way, that they wandered off, and were lost.

And it came to pass that I beheld others pressing forward; and they came forth, and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press forward through the mist of darkness, clinging to the rod of iron, even until they did come forth and partake of the fruit of the tree.

And after that they had partaken of the fruit of the tree, they did cast their eyes about as if they were ashamed.

And I also cast my eyes round about, and beheld, on the other side of the river of water, a great and spacious building; and it stood as it were in the air, high above the earth;

and it was filled with people, both old and young, both male and female; and their manner of dress was exceeding fine; and they were in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers towards those which had come at, and were partaking of the fruit.

And after that they had tasted of the fruit, they were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them; and they fell away into forbidden paths, and were lost.

And now I, Nephi, do not speak all the words of my father.

But, to be short in writing: Behold, he saw other multitudes pressing forward; and they came and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they came forth and fell down, and partook of the fruit of the tree.

And he also saw other multitudes, feeling their way towards that great and spacious building.

And it came to pass that many were drowned in the depths of the fountain; and many were lost from his view, wandering in strange roads.

And great was the multitude that did enter into that strange building. And after that they did enter into that building, they did point the finger of scorn at me, and those that were partaking of the fruit also; but we heeded them not.

These are the words of my father: For as many as heeded them, had fallen away.

And Laman and Lemuel partook not of the fruit, saith my father.

And it came to pass that after my father had spoken all the words of his dream or vision, which were many, he said unto us, because of these things which he saw in a vison, he exceedingly feared for Laman and Lemuel; yea, he feared lest they should be cast off from the presence of the Lord;

and he did exhort them then with all the feeling of a tender parent, that they would hearken to his words, in that, perhaps the Lord would be merciful to them, and not cast them off; yea, my father did preach unto them.

And after that he had preached unto them, and also prophesied unto them of many things, he bade them to keep the commandments of the Lord; and he did cease speaking unto them.

Influences

  • 8:8 — Matthew 15:22 (KJV)
    And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
  • 8:12 — Matthew 2:10 (KJV)
    When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
  • 8:15 — Luke 1:22 (KJV)
    And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.
  • 8:19 — Revelation 12:5 (KJV)
    And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
  • 8:23 — 2 Peter 2:17 (KJV)
    These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.

Notes

  • 8:1-38

    Both Joseph Smith’s father and Nephi’s father are described as having multiple dreams. In her book, Lucy Mack Smith recounts several of her husband’s visions, which were likely shared often within the family. One of these dreams is dated sixteen years before Joseph Smith obtained the plates:

    "In 1811, we moved... to the town of Lebanon, New Hampshire. Soon after arriving here, my husband received another very singular vision, which I will relate..."

    Readers have noted similarities between this account and the dream of Lehi in the Book of Mormon.

    The following outlines parallels between Joseph Smith Sr.’s dream, as recorded in Lucy Smith's Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith the Prophet and His Progenitors for Many Generations, and Lehi’s dream in 1 Nephi 8, along with Nephi’s expanded description of the same vision in 1 Nephi 11-14.

    1. Both Joseph Smith's father and Lehi state they were traveling (1 Nephi 8:8; Smith, p. 58).
    2. Both mention a field (1 Nephi 8:4,9; Smith, p. 58).
    3. Both dreams compare the field to a world (1 Nephi 8:20; Smith, p. 58).
    4. Both Joseph Smith Sr. and Lehi have a guide (1 Nephi 8:5-6; Smith, p. 58).
    5. Both mention a broad road or roads (1 Nephi 12:17; Smith, p. 58).
    6. Both mention a narrow path (1 Nephi 8:20; Smith, p. 58).
    7. Both mention a stream of water (1 Nephi 8:13; Smith, p. 58).
    8. Both mention something extending along the bank of the stream (1 Nephi 8:19; Smith, p. 58).
    9. Both mention a tree (1 Nephi 8:10; Smith, p. 58).
    10. Both mention the beauty of the tree (1 Nephi 11:8; Smith, p. 58).
    11. Both trees bore fruit (1 Nephi 8:10; Smith, p. 58).
    12. Both compared the whiteness of the fruit to snow (1 Nephi 11:8; Smith, p. 58).
    13. Both Joseph Smith Sr. and Lehi ate of the fruit (1 Nephi 8:11; Smith, p. 58).
    14. Both found the fruit to be delicious (1 Nephi 8:11; Smith, p. 58).
    15. Both wanted their families to partake of the fruit (1 Nephi 8:12; Smith, p. 58).
    16. Both families came and partook of the fruit (1 Nephi 8:16; Smith, p. 58).
    17. After eating the fruit both experienced great joy (1 Nephi 8:12; Smith, pp. 58-59).
    18. Both mention a spacious building (1 Nephi 8:26; Smith, p. 59).
    19. Both indicate the building reached high into the air (1 Nephi 8:26; Smith, p. 59).
    20. Both buildings were filled with people (1 Nephi 8:27; Smith, p. 59).
    21. In both buildings the people were finely dressed (1 Nephi 8:27; Smith, p. 59).
    22. In both cases the people in the building pointed the finger of scorn at those partaking of the fruit (1 Nephi 8:33; Smith, p. 59).
    23. Both state they ignored the people in the building (1 Nephi 8:33; Smith, p. 59).
    24. Both state the meaning of the fruit is the pure love of God (1 Nephi 11:21-22; Smith, p. 59).
    25. Both state two members of the family are not present (1 Nephi 8:17; Smith, p. 59).
    26. Both mention the fall of the building (1 Nephi 11:36; Smith, p. 59)
    27. Both imply that pride was connected with the building or its inhabitants (1 Nephi 11:36; Smith, p. 59).

    For a full treatment of this subject, including a side-by-side comparison of the above references, see Jerald Tanner and Sandra Tanner, Joseph Smith's Plagiarism of the Bible in the Book of Mormon, pp. 161–163.

  • 8:2

    "Smith's writings contain many similar phrases as the Book of Mormon...'Or, in other words' is another common phrase of Smith's but not in the Bible. This phrase is in the 1830 Book of Mormon Preface, the Bok of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Smith's revision of the Bible and other writings, such as his 1838 Liberty Jail letter published in the Times and Seasons." Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Joseph Smith's Plagiarism of the Bible in the Book of Mormon, p. 40.

    See Preface 1830 Book of Mormon; 1 Nephi 8:2; 1 Nephi 10:4; Mosiah 7:27; Alma 32:16; 3 Nephi 6:20; D&C 10:17; D&C 61:23; D&C 95:17; Luke 6:29-30 JST; Luke 17:37 JST; Mark 9:3 JST; Joseph Smith's 1838 Liberty Jail Letter, Times and Seasons, vol. 1 no. 6, p. 83.

    For additional examples Smith's common phrases, see: 1 Nephi 19:2; 2 Nephi 28:22; 2 Nephi 26:15, and 2 Nephi 28:16.

  • 8:12

    "Smith's writings contain many similar phrases as the Book of Mormon...'Exceeding great' or 'exceedingly great' is a phrase in the Book of Mormon, Doctrines and Covenants and Joseph Smith's 1832 diary." - Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Joseph Smith's Plagiarism of the Bible in the Book of Mormon, p. 41.

    "Exceeding (or exceedingly) great" is found in 1 Nephi 8:12; 1 Nephi 8:23; Mosiah 4:11; Ether 11:4; Moroni 10:11; D&C 108:3; D&C 109:23; D&C 127:10; and Joseph Smith's 1832 Diary as recorded in An American Prophet's Record, p. 5.

    For additional examples of Smith's common phrases, see: 1 Nephi 19:2; 2 Nephi 28:22; 2 Nephi 26:15; Helaman 3:30; and 2 Nephi 28:16.