“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.” (1 Nephi 8:5-9)
For a long time, I thought that this man dressed in a white robe was an angel sent from God to guide Lehi in this vision. I’m not sure where I got that idea, because if I go back and read it, I realize that’s not what it says. This is what is does say:
- A man, dressed in a white robe.
- Bade me follow him.
- As I followed him I beheld myself in a dark and dreary waste.
- Traveled for the space of many hours in darkness.
Hold up. Does it really say that this man led him into darkness where he remained for many hours? That doesn’t sound like an angel. But all this time, I thought that an angel led him to the tree of life. If that’s not the case, then who did lead him there?
“I began to pray unto the Lord that he would have mercy on me…after I had prayed unto the Lord I beheld a large and spacious field.”
Ok. So God did that himself. Immediately after Lehi decided to pray and ask the Lord, he was delivered from the darkness. This shouldn’t surprise me, since the Lord is always the one who delivers us with his mercy and grace. I’m not sure why I made the assumption that it was an angel, but I love that it was the Lord himself that delivered Lehi from the darkness, as if He was just waiting to be asked.
It’s also interesting to note that Lehi (who had the vision), and Nephi (who recorded the vision), were both familiar with the glory of God and what it looked like. When they describe heavenly interactions, they don’t talk about just plain whiteness or just plain brightness. They are always described as exceedingly bright/white/fair. Or above the brightness of the sun/stars. That’s a stark difference from his description of “a man…dressed in a white robe.”
“And it came to pass that he 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.” (1 Nephi 1:9-10)
“And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the great city of Jerusalem, and also other cities. And I beheld the city of Nazareth; and in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white.” (1 Nephi 11:13)
“And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance; and I beheld that they were white, and exceedingly fair and beautiful, like unto my people before they were slain.” (1 Nephi 13:15)
Theses descriptions of exceeding whiteness tie back to the pillar of fire that I wrote about last time. When mortals come in contact with—or have visions of—beings or symbols of glory, they know they are encountering the glory of God. It’s manifest in the bright whiteness that they see. It’s unmistakable.
“Satan came tempting him, saying: Moses, son of man, worship me. And it came to pass that Moses looked upon Satan and said: Who art thou? For behold, I am a son of God, in the similitude of his Only Begotten; and where is thy glory, that I should worship thee? For behold, I could not look upon God, except his glory should come upon me, and I were transfigured before him. But I can look upon thee in the natural man.” (Moses 1:12-14)
Moses wasn’t fooled by Satan’s attempt to gain his worship. It was obvious that Satan did not have the same glory as the Father has because Moses had no trouble looking on him with his natural eyes. Once someone has encountered the glory of God, anything else looks dim in comparison.
When Lehi encountered the pillar of fire that dwelt on the rock, he saw and heard much. He was taught by the spirit, and the encounter was so intense that it left him exhausted (much like Joseph Smith after being taught by the angel Moroni throughout the night). However, when Lehi encounters this man in the white robe, there is no knowledge taught, and nothing miraculous is shown. He simply wanders in darkness for many hours. So it’s no wonder that Lehi describes him as merely a man in a white robe. In contrast, when the Lord delivers Lehi to the spacious field and he encounters the tree of life, and the fruit:
“…I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to exceed all the whiteness that I had ever seen.” (1 Nephi 8:11)
If Lehi had never encountered the glory of the Father as he did in 1 Nephi 1:8, or seen the vision of the fruit which was exceedingly white—if he didn’t have anything to compare it to, he probably would have made the same assumption that I made, that the man in the white robe was an angel, a heavenly messenger or guide. It’s another reminder that no matter how much I think I know, there is always more truth and light to be sought.