A Dreary Waste and Fruit to Make One Happy

I saw for the first time today a parallel between Lehi’s vision of the tree of life and his family’s subsequent journey across the wilderness. Though we usually focus on the part of the vision of the tree of life where Lehi beckons to his family to join him at the tree, the description at the beginning of the vision where Lehi made his own journey is also significant. He described it this way: “And it came to pass that I saw a man, and he was dressed in a white robe; and he came and stood before me. And it came to pass that he spake unto me, and bade me follow him. And it came to pass that as I followed him I beheld myself that I was in a dark and dreary waste. And after I had traveled for the space of many hours in darkness, I began to pray unto the Lord that he would have mercy on me, according to the multitude of his tender mercies. And it came to pass after I had prayed unto the Lord I beheld a large and spacious field. And it came to pass that I beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy. And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof” (1 Nephi 8:5-11). So, Lehi traveled many hours in a dreary waste, and even though he was led by a heavenly messenger, he still found himself struggling to find the right way. But with the help of prayer, he continued and he finally arrived at the tree where he could partake of the fruit that filled him with joy.

            I think we can connect this journey of Lehi in his dream with the actual journey he and his family made across the Arabian desert. Nephi recorded, “And we did travel and wade through much affliction in the wilderness…. And we did sojourn for the space of many years, yea, even eight years in the wilderness” (1 Nephi 17:1, 4). So, like Lehi spent “many hours” struggling to find his way to the tree, the family spent “many years” wandering through the Arabian desert as they crossed over to what is likely present-day Oman. Lehi had a heavenly messenger as help in his vision, whereas in the real journey they had the heavenly-designed Liahona to guide them. And yet, in both cases they still struggled to find their way. Alma later mentioned to his son about their travels, “They did not progress in their journey; Therefore, they tarried in the wilderness, or did not travel a direct course” (Alma 37:41-42). Certainly the desert that the family crossed could be described as a “dark and dreary waste” like in Lehi’s vision. In fact, I looked up the word “waste” in the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary and found this as one of the definitions: “A desolate or uncultivated country. The plains of Arabia are mostly a wide waste.” So, the example it uses to define waste is that same Arabian desert that Lehi and his family spent eight years crossing. Interestingly, the word dreary is defined this way: “Dismal; gloomy; as a dreary waste; dreary shades. The word implies both solitude and gloom.” The phrase “dreary waste” was apparently a common one when the Book of Mormon was published, and certainly “solitude and gloom” described well the desolate, unending sand this family had to cross.  

            What ties the two stories together most is what they found at the end of their journeys. Lehi reached the tree whose fruit made him happy; in fact, he said, “It filled my soul with exceedingly great joy.” And that was exactly how his family must have felt when they reached the real fruit at the end of their journey across the plains of Arabia. Nephi highlighted three times that there was fruit there at the place they named Bountiful: “And we did come to the land which we called Bountiful, because of its much fruit and also wild honey…. We were exceedingly rejoiced when we came to the seashore; and we called the place Bountiful, because of its much fruit” (1 Nephi 17:5-6). When they later departed on the ship he emphasized again the fruit in that place: “We had prepared all things, much fruits and meat from the wilderness, and honey in abundance” (1 Nephi 18:6). Clearly the fruit they were able to eat after spending eight years living on raw meat in the desert gave them immense joy. At least part of being “exceedingly rejoiced” must have been to eat fruit again after so many years where it likely was not available to them. I have to imagine that in that moment as Lehi had his first taste of the fruit in Bountiful, he thought of the fruit he had in his dream that was “most sweet, above all” (1 Nephi 8:11). And both stories remind us that whatever our own “dreary wastes” that we must pass through at times in our lives, we can be confident that there is the figurative fruit waiting for us too at the end of our journeys if we persevere in faith.