Lehi’s Dream and Nephi’s Answer

Thanks to one of my best friends I read Daniel C. Peterson’s article entitled, “Nephi and His Asherah,” that is quite closely related to my questions about the female nature of wisdom. This provides insight into the very strange answer to Nephi by the angelic visitor who taught him. In the apocalyptic dream that he shared with his father Lehi, they saw the tree of life and various aspects related to it. They saw the tree with white fruit, delicious and beautiful. They saw those who failed to reach the tree in various traps in the world that are really timeless. The dream itself is fascinating and has been the topic of much discussion over the years since Joseph Smith first brought the Book of Mormon to light. I have always been fascinated that he prayed, asked to have a vision and then said that he wanted to see the same vision that my father saw, and that it was granted.

Now, the truly strange thing that Peterson addresses and I had always thought it strange but never having been a great thinker, had not put any effort into figuring it out. Of course I lacked the information and intellect to do so but Peterson is a dfferent case. The strange thing is that Nephi asks for an explanation to the dream and more specifically to know the tree’s interpretation. As a result the angel disappears and Nephi is shown the vision of Mary the virgin mother of Christ. Until now, it had seemed something of a non-sequiter that meant very, very little to me. However, the article puts it into the light of the concept the tree related to wisdom, the female personage in ancient religious belief. It is truly an incredible article since it is yet a virtually impossible thing for Joseph Smith to have known from any text available to him other than the golden plates. The article is well worth reading and is found on the FARMS website: http://farms.byu.edu/publications/jbms/?vol=9&num=2&id=223