Important images and precious information are contained in this verse. Lehi is the original patriarch of the family whose descendants are the subject of the Book of Mormon. Here we learn of Lehi’s first visionary encounter with God: his first theophany. (If there was an earlier one, the Book of Mormon makes no mention of it.)
The verse begins with Lehi “pray[ing] unto the Lord.” This is how revelation is received. Heaven does not impose upon the unprepared or disinterested. Before new light and knowledge is given, people must search to find it. Lehi is searching for it.
Lehi’s inquiry to the Lord was based upon the warnings underway at that time in Jerusalem. Lehi heard “many prophets, prophesying” a warning to Jerusalem it was about to be destroyed. (1 Ne. 1: 4.) These prophets would, no doubt, have included Jeremiah, who was a contemporary of Lehi’s. Lehi heard and believed these warnings, and was praying on behalf of Jerusalem, as an intercessor. (1 Ne. 1: 5.)
In response to the prayer, a “pillar of fire” descended. This is a familiar image. Moses’ first encounter with God involved a “burning bush” which was not consumed. “And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.” (Exo. 3: 2–3.) The “fire” or glory of the Lord radiated about a bush. In Moses’ time, having seen something radiate light meant it was lit by fire. Moses’ curiosity is piqued by seeing light emitting from a bush which is alight but not consumed. It is as if a spotlight has focused on the plant, and it shimmers with the light poured upon it. Spotlights were unknown in Moses’ day. Therefore, this mountainside menorah was unlike anything he had seen before, and required investigation. As Moses approached this new form of an old religious symbol, he found, like John the Revelator, “he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;” (Rev. 2: 1) was speaking to him. There he encountered the Divine Presence.
The “pillar of fire” image returns for all Israel to view as they flee from Egypt. Lehi would have been familiar with these earlier established signs for God’s presence. As this image unfolded before him, Lehi would have known it signaled the presence of God. Similarly, it is described to us in these terms to confirm this was a vision of dignity equal with the great revelations of the past. God gives us the kinds of signs which certify His presence. He wants us to be able to identify His true messengers. Therefore, they come with “fire and the Holy Ghost.” This “burning” presence can be felt, even when it is not seen. It certifies you are approaching God.
It is right to be wary of any visionary experience. The scriptures caution us about Satan’s ability to conjure up a counterfeit. Paul wrote: “Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” (2 Cor. 11: 14.) Of course, there is a great difference between God and Satan. The disparity between Satan’s claimed glory and Christ’s real glory is unmistakable to anyone who has beheld both. Moses explained this difference in these words: “Satan came tempting him, saying: Moses, son of man, worship me. And it came to pass that Moses looked upon Satan and said: Who art thou? For behold, I am a son of God, in the similitude of his Only Begotten; and where is thy glory, that I should worship thee? For behold, I could not look upon God, except his glory should come upon me, and I were transfigured before him. But I can look upon thee in the natural man. Is it not so, surely? Blessed be the name of my God, for his Spirit hath not altogether withdrawn from me, or else where is thy glory, for it is darkness unto me? And I can judge between thee and God.” (Moses 1: 12–15.)
Most people will read the account from Lehi (and other prophets) before having encountered these two presences. The record of Lehi’s vision is intended to convey to the reader that the vision is from God, and not a counterfeit. Satan may “transform” himself to appear like “an angel of light,” but he does not and cannot appear in a “pillar of light.” Further, as Moses explains, Satan can be seen by an untransformed man in the flesh, while God can only be seen by one who has been transformed to allow him to withstand his presence. It would appear no one has ever been physically transformed when beholding the Adversary. That is beyond his capacity. However, those who see the Lord and behold His glory are regularly transformed in the process.
The pillar of fire we read of in this verse, “dwelt upon a rock” before Lehi. Although insignificant to us as a symbol today, the image of a “rock” would have been important to Lehi. Lehi’s culture was in the political and economic orbit of Egypt. Egyptian influence in Jerusalem was so great at the time that it influenced even their language. As they prepared their own record, Lehi’s family elected to write it in a form of Egyptian hieroglyphs.
We see in the record of the Bible how King Zedekiah rebelled against Babylon (who had put him on the throne of Israel) to realign politically with Egypt. Jeremiah described these events: “Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will give Pharaohhophra, king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life; as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, his enemy, and that sought his life.” (Jer. 44: 30.) A fuller account is found in 2 Kings 25: 1–7. One commentary says this: “Nebuchadnezzar wanted no trouble from this small kingdom on the southwest corner of his new empire. Among the group of several thousand hostages were Ezekiel and Daniel, who would become God’s prophets in faraway Babylon. These exiles had not been settled long in their new land before Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, thinking to ally himself with Egypt. But it did not work. Instead, when the Babylonians finally broke into the city, Zedekiah fled. He was quickly captured and, after Nebuchadnezzar had forced him to witness the execution of his sons (except one who escaped to the New World), Zedekiah was blinded and taken by force to Babylon, where we hear of him no more (2 Kings 25: 4–7; Helaman 6: 10; 8: 21).” (Brown, S. Kent and Holzapfel, Richard Neitzel. Between the Testaments: From Malachi to Matthew. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2002.)
The pull of Egypt upon Jerusalem was so strong that she underwent a siege and defeat, ultimately falling and being dispossessed by Babylon for a season. Jerusalem’s leadership failed to show loyalty to Babylon, and was exiled to Babylon as punishment.
Daniel’s interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream mentions the influence of Babylon, as well as the Medes, Persians, Greeks, Romans and modern governments and cultures. It does not mention Egypt. I’ve discussed this dream in an earlier book, The Second Comforter, and will not repeat that discussion here. This omission is significant, given Egypt’s continuing cultural and religious significance through the mid-Roman era.
In Egyptian symbolism, a vision which was set upon a “rock” was noteworthy. The symbol of the rock related to Ma-’at, which is discussed by Hugh Nibley in one place as follows:
The Stone of Truth (Maat) in our text is necessarily a shining stone, for “Maat seems to signify ‘reality’ on one hand, and ‘light’ on the other…. Light created all reality. Maat …is this reality” (Moret, Culte, p. 150). The prehistoric symbol of Maat is the Maat-stone, shaped like a chisel, that being the hieroglyph with which her name is written; the stone was cut in a special way and mounted in the walls of the oldest temples to direct the rays of the sun for ritual purposes. Thus, as Prof. Westendorf now informs us, Maat is before all else the conveyor of light, especially the sun’s light, to men in holy places (W. Westendorf, ZA, 97:143ff). Theophrastus tells us that the King of Egypt received a huge smaragdon from the King of Babylon, and that such a gem was set “in the obelisk of Zeus,” i.e., the Sun-stone or Benben at Heliopolis, the prehistoric center of solar worship in Egypt (De Lapid., 4, III, 29). The Egyptians who saw in luminosity the very essence of divinity strove to achieve miraculous lighting effects in ritual, covering sacred images with “effluorescent salt of unusual composition” to make them shine (Lucas, in An. Serv., 17:86–88), and making use of luminescent stones that would shine for a while in the dark after being exposed to sunlight (Pliny, Nat. Hist., XXXVI, 7, 58). (Nibley, Hugh. The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri: An Egyptian Endowment. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1975, p. 122.)
You can see a Ma-’at stone hieroglyph in Facsimile No. 2, figure 4, in the Book of Abraham. It appears between the boat and falcon, appearing as the base for the falcon figure. What is important to know is what Lehi saw was a vision specifically located on a “rock” before him. In the Egyptian cosmology of his time, this would have been significant in his mind, because it was the stone of Ma-’at, the stone of judgment, the symbol of truth in the Egyptian culture of his day. It would appear that Lehi was acquainted with Egyptian beliefs, given the use of Egyptian language, and the presence of Egyptian names in the record of the Nephites. This may be the very reason Nephi makes mention of the “rock” which appears in this vision.
If the “rock” was intended to convey Egyptian meaning to Lehi, (and in turn Nephi), then the appearance on the rock authenticated that truth and light were coming from a divine source. It was truth and reality. It should be trusted and accepted. Nephi’s mention of the “rock” may have assumed his readers would be familiar with Egyptian cosmology. Perhaps that assumption is well placed. We do have reason to be acquainted with Egyptian cosmology because of the events of the Restoration which compel it.
When Joseph Smith purchased Michael Chandler’s mummies, he also obtained several scrolls. Joseph’s account of these acquisitions is found in DHC 2: 348–351. Because Joseph translated a portion of one of these scrolls, and had three hieroglyphs associated with that translated text (resulting in the Book of Abraham and its facsimiles), Latter-day Saints have been forever linked to Egyptian language and culture. We cannot escape at least some passing familiarity with things Egyptian.
Egypt was settled by a “righteous man” who tried “earnestly to imitate that order established by the fathers in the first generations, in the days of the first patriarchal reign, even in the reign of Adam, and also of Noah, his father.” (Abr. 1: 26.) Egypt preserved an “order” which ran back to Adam and Noah. So, studying Egypt provides a link back to the very beginnings of humanity.
Abraham dwelt there. (Abr. 2: 21.) Joseph was a refugee there, and saved his family by rising in power to become Pharaoh’s confidant. (Gen. 39–45.) Descended from Joseph and his family, Israelites lived in Egypt for generations. (Gen. 46 - Exo. 1.) Moses was prepared to be the great Israelite lawgiver-prophet by being raised in the household of Pharaoh. (Exo. 2: 1–10.) Jeremiah was a refugee there. (Jer. 43: 7–8.) Christ spent a season there; perhaps as long as nine years. (Matt. 2: 13–15.) Egypt’s role as a preserver of religious traditions has been underestimated by the Judeo-Christian world at large. For Latter-day Saints, however, Egyptian religion and history cannot be ignored. Both the Book of Mormon and Book of Abraham have made the Saints compulsory Egyptologists.
From an Egyptian vantage point, we see the description of a vision upon a “rock” holds symbolic meaning. From our own vantage point, apart from potential Egyptian symbolic meanings, we have our own symbolic meanings associated with a “rock.” One of the clearest is Christ’s declaration that His names include the title “Rock of Heaven.” In vision, Enoch saw and heard the Lord declare: “I am Messiah, the King of Zion, the Rock of Heaven.” (Moses 7: 53.) The reference to “rock” in Lehi’s vision suggests a direct link to Christ as the author of this vision.
The specific vision seen by Lehi is described briefly in these words: “he saw and heard much.” Lehi’s reaction to what he saw and heard is given to us (“because of the things which he saw and heard he did quake and tremble exceedingly”). But the vision itself is condensed to “he saw and heard much.”
As is often the case, what is concealed in one place in scripture is revealed in another. We have the material given us in the course of the continuing narrative.
When Moroni first came to instruct Joseph Smith, he entered the bedroom through a pillar of light from above. He spoke to Joseph in some detail about who he (the messenger) was, about a record he had kept which was to come forward, about a work for Joseph to do, and the context of the latter-days in which these events would fulfill a variety of prophetic promises found in scripture. (JS-H 1: 33–42.) Upon completing this instruction, Moroni departed, only to return and repeat the whole course of instruction to Joseph a second time. (Id., v. 44–45.) He then departed and returned, relating the instructions a third time. (Id., v. 46.)
This series of visits throughout the night was repetitious. Although some warnings were added in the second and third visits, the curriculum was the same. Repetition was intended to make Joseph familiar with the message so he would never forget what he had been taught. The encounters left him exhausted. As Joseph described it: “in attempting to work as at other times, I found my strength so exhausted as to render me entirely unable” to work. (Id., v. 48.)
Lehi describes similar events. He was exhausted from the visionary experience. “[H]e returned to his own house at Jerusalem; and cast himself upon his bed, being overcome with the Spirit and the things which he had seen.” (1 Ne. 1: 7.) Lehi is so overcome he falls into his bed to recuperate. This is a common experience for those who have visionary encounters. The encounters are physically draining. Daniel’s explanation of his exhaustion is similar. Daniel reports his encounter with the other side of the veil resulted in the following: “Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength. Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground.” (Dan 10: 8–9.) Lehi’s reaction is consistent with experiences reported by others.
Furthermore, the account of what follows puts Lehi into the same visionary setting as Joseph Smith. Lehi falls to his bed, then has a second vision open to him. From the context, it appears the second vision is a repeat of the first. It might be more correct to say Lehi has the vision a second time. Later, Nephi gives a more detailed account of the Lehi’s second vision.
Visions do not always happen in repetition, of course. Joseph Smith’s First Vision was a singular encounter. From what we know of Joseph’s accounts, it is apparent he did not fully understand the First Vision at the moment it occurred. He reports when he returned home afterward, when asked if anything was wrong his explanation to his mother, consisted of this reply: ‘“Never mind, all is well—I am well enough off.’ I then said to my mother, ‘I have learned for myself that Presbyterianism is not true.’” (JS-H 1: 20.) Richard Bushman writes of Joseph’s experience in this way: “Judging from his first written account, composed in 1832, he understood the vision primarily as a personal conversion.” (Bushman, Richard L. “Joseph Smith’s Many Histories.” A Bicentennial Conference at the Library of Congress. Edited by John W. Welch. Provo: BYU Press, 2006, p. 12.) The varying, and increasingly meaningful accounts Joseph gave of the encounter as time went on, illustrate he did not fully grasp the vision’s meaning when it first occurred. It was given once, but then left to Joseph to grow in understanding about its full import. He did increase in his understanding of this First Vision over time, with the various accounts showing the progress.
The Vision of the Three Degrees of Glory found in Section 76, was given only once. However, the account was dictated at the moment of the vision, and recorded in an official transcript by the scribe present. This account could be studied later, and its import explored by reflection on the inspired written account.
Both Moroni’s visits to Joseph, and Lehi’s visions, were repetitive installments. The scope of the material conveyed in the visions, and the need for accuracy and understanding, required repetition to have the human recipient understand the message. When Heaven has a message for mankind, the method chosen to convey it fits the content of the message, and the capacity of the witness(es) to comprehend it. The patriarch Joseph, for example, had successive dreams with the same meaning. First, he dreamed of the sheaves representing his family members bowing to his sheaf. (Gen. 37: 5–7.) Then a second dream provided him celestial symbols of his family again showing obeisance to him. (Id., v. 9–10.) Repetition is one of the divine tools for teaching us, even in vision.
Lehi’s vision included a view into the Throne Room of Heaven, where a ceremony was underway. The ceremony he saw included “concourses of angels in the attitude of singing and praising their God.” (1 Ne. 1: 8.) We aren’t given the words of the song and praise, but as the vision continued Lehi joins in the same ceremony, singing alongside these heavenly celebrants with the words: “Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty! Thy throne is high in the heavens, and thy power, and goodness, and mercy are over all the inhabitants of the earth; and, because thou art merciful, thou wilt not suffer those who come unto thee that they shall perish!” (Id., v. 14.)
The vision between the opening and closing celebrations included an audience with Christ (Id., v. 9), and with the future twelve apostles of Christ (v. 10), as well as the reading of a book containing an account of the history of mankind (v. 11–13). He read of future events, and therefore was a “seer” who has knowledge of things which cannot be seen with the natural eye.
From this vision we learn of pre-existent spirits for mankind. Not only Christ, but His disciples were seen in the vision. (“And he also saw twelve others following him, and their brightness did exceed that of the stars in the firmament. And they came down and went forth upon the face of the earth…” 1 Ne. 1: 10–11.) None of these personages were mortal at the time of the vision. Therefore the Book of Mormon testifies and restores knowledge about the pre-existence of the souls of mankind.
Visions not only answer the immediate inquiry (in this instance Lehi was praying about Jerusalem and the destruction threatened by the testimony of prophets), but also extend and enlarge knowledge of many other things. You cannot see into heaven without enlarging your knowledge of heavenly things. Hence Joseph’s comment: “Could you gaze into heaven five minutes, you would know more than you would by reading all that ever was written on the subject.” (DHC 6: 50.) Reading cannot communicate understanding in the same way as seeing and joining in the heavenly ceremonies, celebrations and rejoicing.
Lehi became uniquely qualified to join the prophets who sounded the voice of warning. He prayed on behalf of Jerusalem. He received divinely conferred knowledge about the true state of Jerusalem’s residents and their immediate and distant history. He was prepared to warn them, then lead his own family to safety. Although we had no knowledge of him from 600 b.c. until the publication of the Book of Mormon in 1830 a.d. (some 2400 years of obscurity), he was nonetheless chosen and qualified by the Lord as a witness of Him. It isn’t important for the Lord’s prophets to receive an audience during their lives. It isn’t necessary. Obscurity to mankind is not comparable to Heavenly obscurity.
Returning to the image in the verse being considered in this Chapter, Lehi was praying to God when this pillar of fire came to rest upon the rock before him. The setting suggests he was praying before a rock altar. We know from the account shortly after this Lehi regularly built altars and offered sacrifice to the Lord. He did so immediately after the initial three-day flight of his family from Jerusalem. This was one of his first acts after fleeing Jerusalem. He renewed the practice upon the successful return of his sons with the plates belonging to Laban. He did it again when his sons returned with Ishmael and his daughters. Thereafter, the record is mostly occupied with the unfolding of interpersonal and spiritual events. However, it is safe to conclude the practice of building altars and sacrificing to the Lord continued, even if not specifically mentioned. Nephi wrote about matters to illustrate his teachings, then did not repeat them. He was, after all, etching into metal. We should expect his account to be deliberate, efficient and orderly. That being the case, the record shows us how they petitioned, worshipped and thanked the Lord by building altars and offering sacrifices. One should feel free to conclude Lehi’s prayer in this instance was before the very stone altar on which the pillar of fire came to rest.
In the stone altar, we see another symbol of ancient religious practice. From Adam, to Abraham, to Lehi, building stone altars to petition the Lord was a common religious act. Lehi’s prayer for Jerusalem was such a petition. As Lehi offered his intercessory prayer for wayward and condemned Jerusalem, he stood before the very symbol of the Redeemer’s sacrifice. That stone altar testified of the coming sacrifice which would eventually redeem Jerusalem from her sins.
This description would suggest Lehi was outside the city walls, in a private place, petitioning the Lord. The subject of Lehi’s prayer would drive the need for privacy. Asking for the Lord to forgive and save Jerusalem, to pour out his heart on behalf of these condemned people, would not be something for public display. This private setting would also have been suitable for the Divine manifestation which came to him. One has to wonder if this event occurred, as is so often the case, at a spot which would then acquire later significance. Was it in Gethsemane? Or at Golgotha? Or in a stony spot which would later prove suitable for carving a tomb in which to lay the temporarily deceased Messiah? Or the place on Mt. Olivet where the Risen Lord would ascend to heaven? We cannot know the exact spot except by revelation. We should not be surprised to learn Lehi’s stone where a pillar of fire rested would later become the very spot where another sacrifice and another pillar of fire also rested. As the final events unfold, there will yet be another pillar to rest there.
The greater care we use in examining this Nephite record, the more it surrenders to us great secrets. Eternal truths permeate the Book of Mormon. The verse we have examined in this Chapter is yet another example of how careful, solemn and ponderous thoughts (to paraphrase Joseph Smith from Liberty Jail) can yield treasures and uncover hidden knowledge for us all.