He Was Filled With the Spirit of the Lord

We have three accounts in the first book of Nephi in the Book of Mormon where the prophet Lehi had a powerful experience with the written word of God. The first was in a vision that he had of God on His throne. Lehi “saw One descending out of the midst of heaven, and he beheld that his luster was above that of the sun at noon-day. And he also saw twelve others following him, and their brightness did exceed that of the stars in the firmament.” One of those twelve then “came and stood before my father, and gave unto him a book, and bade him that he should read. And it came to pass that as he read, he was filled with the Spirit of the Lord.” Because of what he read, Lehi exclaimed, “Wo, wo, unto Jerusalem, for I have seen thine abominations!... 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!” (1 Nephi 1:8-14) Even though the vision was of God, His Son, and angelic messengers, all of whom could have spoken to him, it was in reading a book that they gave him that he was moved upon by the Spirit of the Lord and led to speak in a powerful way of the things of God.  

                Lehi was moved by the Spirit a second time when he read the records that Nephi brought back from Laban. Right after receiving the plates of brass, Lehi gave thanks and then “Lehi, took the records which were engraven upon the plates of brass, and he did search them from the beginning.” He read the five books of Moses and the rest of the record of the Jews up until the time of Zedekiah, including many prophecies of the holy prophets. He learned of his own genealogy and how the Lord had preserved Joseph in Egypt and his posterity. Nephi recorded Lehi’s reaction after he read all of these things: “And now when my father saw all these things, he was filled with the Spirit, and began to prophesy concerning his seed—That these plates of brass should go forth unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people who were of his seed. Wherefore, he said that these plates of brass should never perish; neither should they be dimmed any more by time. And he prophesied many things concerning his seed.” It is interesting that in both experiences, the act of reading led Lehi to be “filled with the Spirit,” and after both he was led to speak himself by that same Spirit. Nephi summarized their powerful experience with the plates: “And we had obtained the records which the Lord had commanded us, and searched them and found that they were desirable; yea, even of great worth unto us, insomuch that we could preserve the commandments of the Lord unto our children” (1 Nephi 5:17-19, 21).

                A final story also highlighted the power of the written word of God for Lehi. After they journeyed into the wilderness for a while, they were unable to obtain food. Lehi and most of the others murmured, but Nephi encouraged them to faithfulness. Lehi humbled himself before the Lord, and “the voice of the Lord said unto him: Look upon the ball, and behold the things which are written. And it came to pass that when my father beheld the things which were written upon the ball, he did fear and tremble exceedingly, and also my brethren and the sons of Ishmael and our wives.” Nephi gave us just a sense of what was written there: “And there was also written upon them a new writing, which was plain to be read, which did give us understanding concerning the ways of the Lord; and it was written and changed from time to time, according to the faith and diligence which we gave unto it” (1 Nephi 16:26-29). The written word of God, this time on the Liahona, provided knowledge of the ways of the Lord and a powerful experience for Lehi who was moved to humble himself before God and to “tremble exceedingly” because of the words. These three stories highlight the power of the word of God for Lehi, and they invite us to likewise seek more deeply to be guided by the holy scriptures today through His Spirit.