-where did this observation come from? It seems so unusual and uncharacteristic of
the spiritual contents that preceed and follow it…
One Book of Mormon commentator
suggests: While journeying in the wilderness, Lehi dreams about a dark and dreary
wilderness and a tree of life. Nephi records this dream and Lehi's ensuing
concern for his children in 1 Nephi 8, beginning with verse 2. But in verse 1
of the same chapter he records, "And it came to pass that we had gathered
together all manner of seeds of every kind, both of grain of every kind, and
also of the seeds of fruit of every kind." Why is the information of the
seed-gathering recorded here? It doesn't seem to have anything to do with
Lehi's dream--or does it? The reference to "fruit of every kind"
prepares our minds for the central symbol of Lehi's dream: the fruit of the
tree of life, a fruit "desirable above all other fruit" (1 Nephi
8:12). The "seeds" anticipate Lehi's concern for his own
"seed" (verse 3); and the repetition of "every kind"
foreshadows the variety of people and paths in the dream. [Dennis and
Sandra Packard, "Pondering the Word," in Journal of Book of Mormon
Studies, FARMS, Vol 8, Num 2, 1999, p. 57]
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