Lehi's Vision

Today I taught Lehi's Vision of the Tree of Life lesson to my 8-9 years olds in Primary which is found in the beginning of the Book of Mormon (1 Nephi 8-15 LINK & LESSON LINK).  The dream was so inspired and full of symbolism. A reminder, the basic symbols are:

The Tree - The Love of God (in Giving the World his Only Begotten Son & Atonement)

The Fruit - Eternal Life

The Rod of Iron - The Word of God

The Mist of Darkness - Temptations of the Devil

The Great and Spacious Building - Pride of the World

The River of Filthy Water - Depths of Hell

The Strait and Narrow Path - Christ's Way of Life (Praying, Honest, Service, etc.)

The painting of Lehi's Vision by Greg Olsen below has been one of my favorite religious paintings since I was a little girl.

One thing that really stood out to me as I was preparing for the lesson that I would like to share is that once the people made it to the great and spacious building or fell and drowned into the river, they did not come back to the path to the tree.  If the people were caught in the mist of darkness, they may find their way back to the straight and narrow path with the rod and to the tree OR they may find themselves falling into the river or going to the building.  This shows the white, gray, and black lines of living a Christlike life.  Its so important to stay away from the gray area because you can be lost in the black area so quickly.  The black area of sins is so dangerous and can only be reversed by hard changes in ones life and repentance.  It is very difficult to be so caught up in the pride of the world and come back to the truth of the gospel.  The world's/devils ways are so enticing and so evil and it feels like the majority is choosing this way.

Today, I pray that everyone who is in the mist of darkness can find the iron rod again.  It is so sad to see family and friends who are lost in temptations continue to head towards the great and spacious building.  Lehi mourns and beckons in his dream for Laman and Lemuel to come back to partake of the tree of life, but they would not come, they would not listen to even their family members.

I am so grateful to have taught this lesson today and to reflect on the knowledge given by the words of the Prophets.