There are many instances in the scriptures where dreams have provided direction or instruction to God’s children. Jacob’s dream of the ladder reaching to Heaven, Joseph’s interpretation of the Pharaohs dream of the famine in Egypt, Peter’s dream of the equality of men, etc. One of the greatest dreams was dreamed by Lehi in the Book of Mormon. The dream is summarized here: 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…he spake unto me, and bade me follow him…as I followed him I beheld myself that I was in a dark and dreary waste. And after…many hours in darkness, I began to pray unto the Lord that he would have mercy on me…And it came to pass after I had prayed…I beheld a large and spacious field. And…I beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy. And…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. And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should come unto me and partake of the fruit, which was desirable above all other fruit. And it came to pass that they did come unto me and partake of the fruit also. And it came to pass that I was desirous that Laman and Lemuel should come and partake of the fruit also;…but they would not come unto me and partake of the fruit. And I beheld a rod of iron, and it extended along the bank of the river, and led to the tree by which I stood. And I also beheld a strait and narrow path, which came along by the rod of iron, even to the tree by which I stood; and it also led by the head of the fountain, unto a large and spacious field, as if it had been a world…And I saw numberless concourses of people, many of whom were pressing forward, that they might obtain the path which led unto the tree…And it came to pass that there arose a mist of darkness; yea…insomuch that they who had commenced in the path did lose their way…And it came to pass that I beheld others pressing forward, and they came forth…through the mist of darkness, clinging to the rod of iron, even until they did come forth and partake of the fruit of the tree. And after they had partaken of the fruit of the tree they did cast their eyes about as if they were ashamed….on the other side of the river of water, a great and spacious building; and it stood as it were in the air, high above the earth…filled with people, both old and young, both male and female; and their manner of dress was exceedingly fine; and they were in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers towards those who had come at and were partaking of the fruit…they were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them; and they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost. And…behold, other multitudes pressing forward; and they came and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree. And he also saw other multitudes feeling their way towards that great and spacious building. And it came to pass that many were drowned in the depths of the fountain; and many were lost…great was the multitude that did enter into that strange building. And after they did enter into that building they did point the finger of scorn at me and those that were partaking of the fruit also; but we heeded them not. (1 Nephi 8:19–32)
Nephi requested clarification of his Father Lehi’s dream and received the following: “And it came to pass that I beheld that the rod of iron, which my father had seen, was the word of God, which led to the fountain of living waters, or to the tree of life;… and that the tree of life was a representation of the love of God.: (1 Nephi 11:25)
Lehi was a great prophet who was led by the Lord to the promised land, this land, around 600 years before Christ. In his dream, the rod of iron represented the Gospel of Jesus Christ or the word of God, and if we can hold onto it with all our might, we can follow it to the end (of life), and there we will be able to obtain the fruit of the ‘tree of life.’ The fruit is defined as the fruit that is most delicious above all other fruit. To obtain it is to obtain the love of God and to gain access to eternal life in the presence of God. It is the ultimate gift of God or the very purpose of life.
Because we are human, there are many things that distract us in life, things that draw us away from hanging onto the rod. Most of the things that draw us away are worldly things, things that have no lasting value, things that are temporary in nature, that rust and corrode, things that lose their value. Yet, these things, when new, are shiny, bright and pleasing to the eye. Other distractions are of a social nature. The world is described as a large building where the people of the world are depicted as those who are jeering and pointing their fingers at those holding onto the rod as if they were ignorant for doing so. These distractions cause many who would want to be faithful to fall away.
The world and worldly ways are magnetic, they say if the earth’s gravity were not as strong as it is that we would all fall up and away from from it. Whether its gravity or magnetism, there is no question that we are attracted to the earth and the things thereof. There are many references to the difficulty that people have in turning away from worldly things, but it is especially hard for the wealthy. The following parable emphasizes that: “And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?…Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. (Matthew 19:16–22) Given that day and time, the young man’s possessions were probably very little compared to the possessions we have in our day. The very poor in our society have more, in all likelihood, than he had. It is hard for us to give up what we have, as well.
Besides the material things of the earth, we are distracted by the rampant social decay of our day. Things that were at one time unseen and unheard are now every day occurrences. What was once black is no longer called black, what was immoral is no longer considered immoral, and if a person were to call it immoral, he would be referred to as a prude or something even less accept- able. The world (the spacious building in Lehi’s dream) expects us to change and to get in line with it. A popular song writer of this generation said, “Life has got a habit of not standing hitched. You got to ride it like you find it. You got to change with it. If a day goes by that don’t change some of your old notions for new ones, that is just about like trying to milk a dead cow.” (Woody Guthrie)
If we refuse to go along with the world, we are sometimes referred to as strange and peculiar and, yes, even belonging to a cult. If we can resist feeling ashamed for being ‘different,’ then those dis- tractions will go away by and by. We must see ourselves as good people trying to do the right thing in a sometimes immoral world. Albert Einstein said, “Great spirits have always encountered vio- lent opposition from mediocre minds.”
Members or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and all good Christians should, in fact, have a different perspective about life and what it is all about then do all others. That different perspective is what should help us, should give us strength to hang onto the Iron Rod, in spite of all the jeers, our worldly possessions and regardless of the temptations surrounding us morally. May God bless us with the strength, the patience and the determination of Nephi during the Book of Mormon times.