LDS Freedom Forum

I want to start a series. Some will be short, some long. Naturally, the first one, here, is about Lehi. We don't know much about Lehi other than what we read in the Book of Mormon. Unfortunately, the 116 page manuscript that Martin Harris lost contained the translation of the Book of Lehi. But the Lord commanded Joseph Smith to replace the lost pages with an abridgment of Nephi's plates, which contain the same account in Nephi's own words.

1 Nephi 1:17 But I shall make an account of my proceedings in my days. Behold, I make an abridgment of the record of my father, upon plates which I have made with mine own hands; wherefore, after I have abridged the record of my father then will I make an account of mine own life.

In any case, we might have missed out on some of Lehi's personal thoughts, but not Lehi's account of what transpired. We might have read about Lehi's encounter in Jerusalem, listening to prophets warnings, or what occurred at camp while his sons went back to Jerusalem or maybe some details of the birth of Jacob and Joseph, or Lehi's own thoughts while he and Sariah lay sick while their ship sailed to the promised land. It's all speculation. But 116 pages is quite a lot of lost material. No doubt one day we'll get to know the contents.

I think Lehi was a good man. He understood the Law of Moses, endeavored to teach his sons, two of whom were indifferent and probably spoiled by their accumulated wealth in their land of inheritance, which was not in Jerusalem, where he dwelt all his days (1 Ne:4). I seem to recall studying that while they lived in Jerusalem, they could still enjoy a retreat in their land of inheritance where they could enjoy all their possessions.

I'd like to think that Lehi was something of a trader, merchant, traveler and perhaps was a bit of a smith with his own forge. I think he passed on all of his knowledge to his youngest at the time, Nephi. Nephi learned about ores, smelting, refining, probably woodworking and all kinds of crafts. Lehi took Nephi often with him on trade routes and perhaps even set up shop in Jerusalem to trade/sell their wares. I have little doubt that Lehi made trips to Egypt and that might have been a grand adventure for an impressionable young guy like Nephi. Obviously Lehi could read and write Egyptian as well as Hebrew and passed that knowledge on to Nephi. Perhaps Laman an Lemuel also knew the trades and how to work with wood, metals, etc, but by the time Nephi came around, Laman and Lemuel just wanted to have fun and not waste time with their dad's family traditions. They were caught up with having too much fun in town.

And so we catch up with Lehi when he was moved by the many prophets who came preaching repentance. Lehi's obedience then ushers forth the creation of remarkable gift--a record of his posterity, a branch broken from an olive tree; a remnant of Israel. I don't think we miss too much about what happened in the Book of Lehi other than his own poetic style, some personal thoughts and maybe a few "sub plots." In any case, I believe Lehi was quite a talented, skilled, spiritual and a very capable man.

I found an article online from an Ensign magazine that I read a couple decades ago. I'll include it and anything else I can find about Lehi.

1.http://www.lds.org/ensign/1976/09/in-se ... n?lang=eng" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
2. https://www.lds.org/ensign/1976/10/in-s ... y?lang=eng" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
3. http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publica ... m=2&id=413" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

coachmarc wrote:I want to start a series. Some will be short, some long. Naturally, the first one, here, is about Lehi. We don't know much about Lehi other than what we read in the Book of Mormon. Unfortunately, the 116 page manuscript that Martin Harris lost contained the translation of the Book of Lehi. But the Lord commanded Joseph Smith to replace the lost pages with an abridgment of Nephi's plates, which contain the same account in Nephi's own words.

1 Nephi 1:17 But I shall make an account of my proceedings in my days. Behold, I make an abridgment of the record of my father, upon plates which I have made with mine own hands; wherefore, after I have abridged the record of my father then will I make an account of mine own life.

In any case, we might have missed out on some of Lehi's personal thoughts, but not Lehi's account of what transpired. We might have read about Lehi's encounter in Jerusalem, listening to prophets warnings, or what occurred at camp while his sons went back to Jerusalem or maybe some details of the birth of Jacob and Joseph, or Lehi's own thoughts while he and Sariah lay sick while their ship sailed to the promised land. It's all speculation. But 116 pages is quite a lot of lost material. No doubt one day we'll get to know the contents.

I think Lehi was a good man. He understood the Law of Moses, endeavored to teach his sons, two of whom were indifferent and probably spoiled by their accumulated wealth in their land of inheritance, which was not in Jerusalem, where he dwelt all his days (1 Ne:4). I seem to recall studying that while they lived in Jerusalem, they could still enjoy a retreat in their land of inheritance where they could enjoy all their possessions.

I'd like to think that Lehi was something of a trader, merchant, traveler and perhaps was a bit of a smith with his own forge. I think he passed on all of his knowledge to his youngest at the time, Nephi. Nephi learned about ores, smelting, refining, probably woodworking and all kinds of crafts. Lehi took Nephi often with him on trade routes and perhaps even set up shop in Jerusalem to trade/sell their wares. I have little doubt that Lehi made trips to Egypt and that might have been a grand adventure for an impressionable young guy like Nephi. Obviously Lehi could read and write Egyptian as well as Hebrew and passed that knowledge on to Nephi. Perhaps Laman an Lemuel also knew the trades and how to work with wood, metals, etc, but by the time Nephi came around, Laman and Lemuel just wanted to have fun and not waste time with their dad's family traditions. They were caught up with having too much fun in town.

And so we catch up with Lehi when he was moved by the many prophets who came preaching repentance. Lehi's obedience then ushers forth the creation of remarkable gift--a record of his posterity, a branch broken from an olive tree; a remnant of Israel. I don't think we miss too much about what happened in the Book of Lehi other than his own poetic style, some personal thoughts and maybe a few "sub plots." In any case, I believe Lehi was quite a talented, skilled, spiritual and a very capable man.

I found an article online from an Ensign magazine that I read a couple decades ago. I'll include it and anything else I can find about Lehi.

1.http://www.lds.org/ensign/1976/09/in-se ... n?lang=eng" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
2. https://www.lds.org/ensign/1976/10/in-s ... y?lang=eng" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
3. http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publica ... m=2&id=413" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We just started the Book Of Mormon again. I agree with you on Lehi. I think "Spiritual" was the greatest of all his qualities. I am going to enjoy your series!

Thank you, Juliette! He definitely was a spiritual giant. I was in a hurry with my initial post or else I would have added more insight. But I can continue here. Lehi, after praying earnestly after hearing prophets' warnings, receives great visions and a warning to leave Jerusalem to a new land of inheritance. It's easy to realize that all his riches and possessions meant nothing to him compared to the celestial visions he received and of the new land of promise that waited for him. He had no doubt that he was leaving behind a doomed country. I live in Utah. I can only imagine being told to leave my home because the entire city was going to be destroyed! By the way, I live on the epicenter of a fault line! Anyway, there isn't much more we can glean from his life other than what Nephi allowed us to glimpse, other than some great videos that provide greater insight into Lehi's life, culture and his mission. Enjoy:




Supplemental research:

"House of Lehi." Could this be Lehi's home in his land of inheritance besides where he dwelt at Jerusalem?



A fascinating series of documentary videos tracing Lehi's likely trail:



One more "Easter egg" you can open up:

http://en.fairmormon.org/Book_of_Mormon ... orld#Nahom" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I started the Book of Mormon again last night and as I went over Lehi's blessings to his children, it occurred to me that Lehi went through three cultural phases of influence in his life as evidenced by the naming of his sons:

Lehi is Hebrew for cheek or jawbone. He was a traditional Israelite who stayed true to his roots when he named his first two sons:

Laman, a variation of Laban, Hebrew meaning white. Lemuel is also Hebrew for devoted to God, belonging to God, God is bright and is thought to be take from Proverbs 31:1-4

Obviously a lot of Lehi's wealth came as a result of his trade as a merchant who traveled much and very likely often to and from Egypt. It's no wonder that he influenced the permanent writing style of reformed Egyptian of the Book of Mormon. Lehi's book, however, was probably written on something like papyrus in reformed Egyptian before being transcribed onto plates (my guess). Nephi began the tradition of writing on plates of ore. I wonder why Lehi chose reformed Egyptian over Hebrew and there is a brief mention of it in the Book of Mormon:

Mormon 9:33 And if our plates had been sufficiently large we should have written in Hebrew; but the Hebrew hath been altered by us also; and if we could have written in Hebrew, behold, ye would have had no imperfection in our record.

Anyway, the Egyptian culture influenced Lehi so much that he named his next two sons, Nephi, an Egyptian name meaning prophet (interesting?) and Sam, not to be mistaken for Samuel. Sam is a pure Egyptian name of great dignity. It is Egyptian for Shem, son of the prophet Noah. It is particularly significant considering that the highest priesthood order of the Egyptians was the "holy priesthood" after the order of Sam (Shem).

Finally, the last phase of influence in Lehi's life is his wanderings. He left comfort, wealth and civilization behind and had two sons born to him in the wilderness, this after discovering his heritage in the Brass Plates. He was so impressed and honored to have fulfilled the prophecy concerning the remnant of Joseph, son of Jacob, who is Israel, that he named his next and last two sons after these great direct ancestors, of whom he was a pure descendant. And so he named this first born in the wilderness Jacob, after the father of all the tribes of Israel and his second born after the father of his tribe, Joseph.

2 Nephi 3

4 For behold, thou art the fruit of my loins; and I am a descendant of Joseph who was carried captive into Egypt. And great were the covenants of the Lord which he made unto Joseph.

5 Wherefore, Joseph truly saw our day. And he obtained a promise of the Lord, that out of the fruit of his loins the Lord God would raise up a righteous branch unto the house of Israel; not the Messiah, but a branch which was to be broken off, nevertheless, to be remembered in the covenants of the Lord that the Messiah should be made manifest unto them in the latter days, in the spirit of power, unto the bringing of them out of darkness unto light—yea, out of hidden darkness and out of captivity unto freedom.

6 For Joseph truly testified, saying: A seer shall the Lord my God raise up, who shall be a choice seer unto the fruit of my loins.

7 Yea, Joseph truly said: Thus saith the Lord unto me: A choice seer will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins; and he shall be esteemed highly among the fruit of thy loins. And unto him will I give commandment that he shall do a work for the fruit of thy loins, his brethren, which shall be of great worth unto them, even to the bringing of them to the knowledge of the covenants which I have made with thy fathers.

8 And I will give unto him a commandment that he shall do none other work, save the work which I shall command him. And I will make him great in mine eyes; for he shall do my work...

15 And his name shall be called after me; and it shall be after the name of his father. And he shall be like unto me; for the thing, which the Lord shall bring forth by his hand, by the power of the Lord shall bring my people unto salvation.

Going off on a tangent, there are four Josephs here:

1. Joseph who was sold into Egypt
2. Joseph, Lehi's last born in the wilderness
3. Joseph Smith, Jr
4. Joseph Smith, Sr

Apparently, this prophecy was held in high esteem by the people of the tribe of Joseph that they made sure to preserve in their records, as eveidenced in the Brass Plates, in Laban's care. Unfortunately, conspiring hearts made sure to remove any evidence of this prophecy when canonizing the Bible, which is the stick of Judah. 2 Nephi 3 is a really good chapter to read!

So to recap:

Phase one: Laman and Lemuel
Phase two: Nephi and Sam
Phase three: Jacob and Joseph