In his
vision of the Tree of Life, as recorded in 1 Nephi 8, Lehi said:
And Laman and Lemuel partook not of the
fruit, said my father. (1 Nephi 8:35).
In the
context of Lehi's vision, partaking of the fruit was salvifically participating
in the gospel, whether permanently or temporarily (the latter should be
paralleled with the apostates from Heb 6:4-6).
However,
what struck me recently was that Lehi did not view this as "set in
stone"; instead, he interpreted this vision as a possible future. How so?
He would immediately call Laman and Lemuel to repentance:
And it came to pass after my father had
spoken all the words of his dream or vision, which were many, he said unto us,
because of these things which he saw in a vision, he exceedingly feared for
Laman and Lemuel; yea, he feared lest they should be cast off from the presence
of the Lord. And he did exhort them then with all the feeling of a tender parent,
that they would hearken to his words, that perhaps the Lord would be merciful
to them, and not cast them off; yea, my father did preach unto them. And after
he had preached unto them, and also prophesied unto them of many things, he
bade them to keep the commandments of the Lord; and he did cease speaking unto
them. (1 Nephi 8:36-38)
Indeed, Lehi
would continue to call Laman and Lemuel to repentance up until the day of his
death. For instance:
And now my son, Laman, and also Lemuel, and
also Lemuel and Sam, and also my sons who are the sons of Ishmael, behold if ye
will hearken unto the voice of Nephi ye shall not perish. And if ye will
hearken unto him I leave unto you a blessing, yea, even my first blessing. (2
Nephi 1:28; note how, in this verse, Lehi exhorted Sam, his other son, who he
saw partake of the fruit in his vision [1 Nephi 8:16], to persevere in the
faith)
This shows
that, for Lehi and the Book of Mormon prophets, visions were not infallible
pronouncements of the definitive future; instead, they were a revelation of a
potential future contingent upon the free-will actions of those involved.
Indeed, we see this also in a vision of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Recounting
his vision of the Celestial Kingdom on 21 January 1836, we read:
I saw the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb, who
are now upon the earth, who hold the keys of this last ministry in foreign
lands, standing together in a circle, much fatigued, with their clothes
tattered and feet swoolen, with their eyes cast downward, and Jesus standing in
their midst, and they did not behold him. The Savior looked upon them and wept.
I also beheld Elder [William E.] McLellin in the South, standing upon a hill,
surrounded with a vast multitude, preaching to them, and a lame man standing
before him, supported by his crutches; he threw them down at his word and
leaped as an hart, by the mighty power of God.
Also Elder Brigham Young standing in a
strange land, in the far south west, in a desert place, upon a rock, in the
midst of about a dozen men of color who appeared hostile He was preaching to
them in their own tongue, and the angel of God standing above his head, with a
drawn sword in his hand protecting him, but he did not see it: and I finally
saw the Twelve in the celestial kingdom of God. I also beheld the redemption of
Zion, and many things which the tongue of man cannot describe in full. Many of
my brethren who received this ordinance with me saw glorious visions also,
angels ministered unto them, as well as myself, and the power of the highest
rested upon us; the house was filled with the glory of God, and we shouted
hosanna to God and the Lamb. My scribe also received his anointing with us, and
saw in a vision the armies of heaven protecting the saints in their return to
Zion— and many things which I saw. (source)
That this
vision was a revelation of a possible future reality can be seen in the fact
that this did not happen; indeed, of the twelve apostles of his day, five would
later be excommunicated and never returned to the Church. This was due to the
free-will actions of those involved thwarting this vision from becoming a
reality, both temporally (e.g., the various missions and events in the “here
and now”) as well as eschatological (heir no longer being heirs of the
Celestial Kingdom). Such makes sense if one holds to God having contingent foreknowledge; otherwise, it really smacks of divine deception.
Further Reading