The story of the Book of Mormon (1888) (14595904347)

The tree of life vision is a

vision Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain und ...

discussed in the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude d ...

, one of the

scriptures Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pra ...

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by J ...

, published by

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, ...

in 1830. In the Book of Mormon, the vision was received in a

dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

by the prophet Lehi, and later in vision by his son Nephi, who wrote about it in the

First Book of Nephi The First Book of Nephi: His Reign and Ministry (), usually referred to as First Nephi or 1 Nephi, is the first book of the Book of Mormon and one of four books with the name Nephi. The original translation of the title did not include the word "f ...

. The vision includes a path leading to a tree symbolizing

salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...

, with an iron rod along the path whereby followers of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

may hold to the rod and avoid wandering off the path into pits or waters symbolizing the ways of sin. The vision also includes a large building wherein the wicked look down at the righteous and mock them. The vision is said to symbolize the spiritual plight of humanity, and is a well known and cited story among members of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church). A Latter-day Saint commentator reflected a common belief of church members that the vision is "one of the richest, most flexible, and far-reaching pieces of symbolic prophecy contained in the standard works criptures" The vision is similar to the second vision recounted by Smith's father

Joseph Smith Sr. Joseph Smith Sr. (July 12, 1771 – September 14, 1840) was the father of Joseph Smith Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Joseph Sr. was also one of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon, which Mormons believe was translate ...

prior to publication of the Book of Mormon. The vision of Smith Sr. contained a tree with delicious fruit, a path, and a large building where the wicked looked down in scorn of the righteous; however, the vision of Smith Sr. contained a rope rather than an iron rod, and there were other minor differences. Because of the similarity, secular church scholars postulate that Smith Sr.'s dream is the source for the tree of life vision. Smith Sr.'s dream was first recorded by his wife

Lucy Mack Smith Lucy Mack Smith (July 8, 1775 – May 14, 1856) was the mother of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. She is noted for writing the memoir, '' Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and His Progenitors for Many Ge ...

after publication of the Book of Mormon, and some Latter-day Saint scholars suggest that the text of the Book of Mormon may have influenced Lucy's account, rather than vice versa. Other apologetic scholars, such as

Hugh Nibley Hugh Winder Nibley (March 27, 1910 – February 24, 2005) was an American scholar and an apologist of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who was a professor at Brigham Young University (BYU) for nearly 50 years. He was a ...

, postulate that Lehi and Smith Sr. simply had the same

archetypal The concept of an archetype (; ) appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, and literary analysis. An archetype can be any of the following: # a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main model that o ...

vision.

Synopsis

According to the

, the prophet Lehi received this vision in a dream during his exile in the Arabian wilderness sometime after 600 B.C. He awoke and recounted it to his children as described in the 8th chapter of the First Book of Nephi. Lehi's son, Nephi, recorded the vision on the

golden plates According to Latter Day Saint belief, the golden plates (also called the gold plates or in some 19th-century literature, the golden bible) are the source from which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the faith. Some acco ...

, and later had the same vision, albeit a more detailed version, which he records later in the same book. Nephi's vision also included an interpretation of the vision. In the vision, Lehi related that he saw several objects, including the following: #A tree with white fruit, symbolizing the love of God, and by extension, the atonement of Jesus. #A strait and narrow path, symbolizing the path to

. #A rod of iron, which runs along the path, symbolizing the "word of God". Holding onto the iron rod refers to holding tightly to the gospel of Jesus Christ, which enable a person to avoid the temptations of the world or to stray from the strait and narrow path. #A mist of darkness, symbolizing the temptations of the

devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...

. #A great and spacious building, symbolizing the pride of the world. The many inhabitants of the building mock and laugh at those who are on the strait and narrow path. Lehi sees in the vision that his sons Sam and Nephi, and his wife

Sariah According to the Book of Mormon, Sariah () was the wife of Lehi, and the mother of Laman, Lemuel, Sam, and Nephi. The Book of Mormon also mentions Jacob, and Joseph, two additional sons born to Lehi after his departure from Jerusalem, but does ...

partake of the white fruit, indicating that they will be saved.1 Nephi 8:14-16 He sees that his sons

Laman and Lemuel In the Book of Mormon, Laman and Lemuel () are the two eldest sons of Lehi and the older brothers of Sam, Nephi, Jacob, and Joseph. According to the text, they lived around 600 BC. They were notable for their rebellion against Lehi and Nephi, ...

do not partake of the fruit.

Importance

The story of the vision is well known among members of the LDS Church and is widely cited. The "rod of iron" specifically is mentioned often referring to the scriptures or the words of the Lord, in order to convey the importance of heeding God's teachings.

Izapa Stela 5

Some members of the LDS Church, including Jakeman, believe that

Izapa Stela 5 Izapa Stela 5 is one of a number of large, carved stelae found in the ancient Mesoamerican site of Izapa, in the Soconusco region of Chiapas, Mexico along the present-day Guatemalan border. These stelae date from roughly 300 BCE to 50 or 100 BCE, ...

, an ancient

stela A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), wh ...

found in ancient

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica ...

in the 1930s, is a depiction of the tree of life vision. This interpretation is not supported by mainstream scholars. Mesoamerican researchers identify the central image as a Mesoamerican world tree, connecting the sky above and the water or underworld below. Mesoamerican art scholar, Julia Guernsey Kappelman does not support this association between Izapa Stela 5 and the

. Kappelman has stated that Jakeman's research disregards the cultural context behind Izapa Stela 5 in favor of his own interpretations and biases.Guernsey, p. 53.

Notes

References

* (2006) ''Ritual and Power in Stone: The Performance of Rulership in Mesoamerican Izapan Style Art'', University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas, . *
Izapa (Precolumbian Art and Art History)"
accessed December 2007. * (1958) ''Stela 5, Izapa Chiapas, Mexico''. *.

External links

Book of Mormon video of the Tree of life vision
produced by the LDS Church {{DEFAULTSORT:Tree Of Life Vision Book of Mormon Mormonism-related controversies Trees in Christianity Dream Apparitions