Nephi picks up from where Lehi left off after relating Lehi’s vision of the tree of life. If the tree of life told an allegorical (symbolic) story about the spiritual consequences of Lehi’s family, among a much larger human family, now we’re about to hear some very specific prophecies of the future. Whether this knowledge had been revealed to Lehi at the time he was warned to leave Jerusalem as the book begins, or it came later as he asked the Lord for greater understanding of the experiences he and his family were having, we don’t know. What Nephi does tell us is that Lehi seems to direct his account with particular emphasis to Laman and Lemuel, apparently in an attempt to highlight the potential impact their choices can have on the destiny of the house of Israel.
Lehi starts by telling them that some time after the Jews’ exile to Babylon, the Jews would return from captivity to once again possess Jerusalem and its vicinity. But, he goes on, the story really is only beginning at that point. For then Lehi relates that the great prophet known as the Messiah will come among the Jews of Jerusalem six hundred years from Lehi’s time. Lehi describes the Messiah as the Savior and Redeemer of all mankind from their sins, points to many other prophets who had foreseen his coming, and also tells of the prophet who would come before Him and baptize Him (John the Baptist).
In essence, Lehi tells his sons, “If you think the exile to Babylon will be bad, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.” After the leaders of the Jews in Jerusalem reject the Messiah and His gospel for their people, and approve of His death, He will rise again. Only, now, He will make Himself known among the non-Jews (known as the Gentiles) of the world by the power of the Holy Ghost. This signifies a period in history where the whole house of Israel (which includes, but is not limited to, the Jews) will endure the hardship of being scattered throughout the world. Lehi explains that his own family’s journey to their “land of promise” is an early fulfillment of this scattering of Israel.
If this were the end of the story, it would be quite a downer. But Lehi saves the most interesting twist for the end. He tells his sons that scattered Israel will be gathered again, like branches from a tree that are grafted back in, after the Gentiles are given what Lehi calls “the fullness of the Gospel” (which we interpret as the Lord’s Restoration of his Church and authority through Joseph Smith in the early 19th Century).
It strikes me as significant that right after Lehi tells this very personal story of the tree of life, which has great spiritual importance for him and his family, he reinforces the importance of that story by revealing how his family’s destiny will unfold in the greater context of human history. That they will be a part of these two great phenomena—first, a scattering; second, a gathering. In my opinion, he’s trying to give his sons (especially the wavering Laman and Lemuel) reassurance that despite the challenges and difficulties of the transition they are experiencing, it’s all part of a basic plan for their happiness that involves both a spiritual end-goal (the fruit of the tree of life) and a tangible one (the land of promise they seek).
And then we see a familiar pattern emerge. Just as Nephi—unlike Laman and Lemuel—had gone directly to the Lord after Lehi led his family out of Jerusalem and into the wilderness, to gain a confirmation that it was the right thing to do, he goes to the Lord after Lehi shares his prophecies. This time, Nephi wants to know if what his father is saying is correct. As the chapter ends, Nephi tells us that he learned Lehi was right, but we realize that what Nephi received was not a simple confirmation, but a revelation of his own that in some ways is even more profound than Lehi’s. This teaches us a very important principle: that we should never underestimate how much God wants to share with us directly, if we only think to ask Him for guidance.
You can read the chapter here: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/10?lang=eng.
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