Sariah was the wife of the prophet Lehi¹ and mother of his sons, including Laman, Lemuel, and Sam, with whom she left Jerusalem around 600 B.C. and traveled in the wilderness near the borders of the Red Sea (1 Nephi 2:5). The Nephite and Lamanite peoples descend from her line.
When her sons did not return promptly from their errand to obtain the brass plates from Laban, Sariah supposed they had perished and complained against Lehi, calling him a visionary man who had led the family from their inheritance to die in the wilderness (1 Nephi 5:2). After Lehi comforted her, the sons returned safely, and she said, “Now I know of a surety that the Lord hath commanded my husband to flee into the wilderness ... and I also know of a surety that the Lord hath protected my sons” (1 Nephi 5:8). The family then offered sacrifice and burnt offerings to God (1 Nephi 5:9).
In Lehi’s dream of the tree of life, Sariah stood with Sam and Nephi near the head of the river and came to partake of the fruit (1 Nephi 8:14-16). During the ocean voyage to the promised land, she and Lehi, by then stricken in years, were brought to their sickbeds and near death from grief over the mistreatment of Nephi by Laman and Lemuel (1 Nephi 18:17-18). The record does not state when she died.