1 Nephi 8:7

7  And it came to pass that as I followed him I beheld myself that I was in a dark and dreary waste.

    “as I followed him”

            -this man took Lehi into the dark and dreary waste.  They did not avoid it or go around it, but rather directly into it.  Is it surprising then when we find ourselves knee deep in a muddy bog or wandering lonely through a frightful place?  Lehi was not taken there to be abandoned but to be taught about contrasts, about life and about deliverance. 

      “I beheld myself that I was in a dark and dreary waste.”

            -There must be, if we are to come to God, a point where we see “things as they really are.”  When we recognize, by humility, that we are in a sad situation and this life is not becoming of us –neither is it our end, our beginning nor are its substance or processes our final purpose.  We recognize that life is not about the earth (riches, fame, temporal things and amenities) we live and are tested in this “dark and dreary waste”.

            -Lehi had done nothing wrong to merit such a dismal environment.  The condition of his immediate condition was less than optimal by design.  When we find ourselves in challenging conditions –perhaps born in a third world country, with physical or mental challenges, in a family that is less than entirely celestial or terrestrial- it is good always to remember that the dark and dreary state of this existence is by design and will be compensated and rectified soon.  On the other hand, sometimes our decisions contribute to the dark and dreary nature of our life.  The biggest way we do this is by sinning and bringing darkness, disappointment, addiction, pain and sadness into our lives.  We are creatures of life and not amenable, by nature,with darkness and dreariness.

            -it is useful to compare the state Lehi describes and which we can relate to as a general condition of mortality agains its opposite:  the temple.  We frequently flee to the temple for solace and sanctuary.  We even talk about it as escaping from the world.  Interestingly, we are not to stay in the temple, to live there, to make it our earthly residence.  It is the House of the Lord, not the house of man.  We are welcome as visitors but not as tenants.  Our lot in mortality is to live in the dark and dreary waste.  By successfully living in this neighborhood, we qualify –eventually- to live with God in his home.

            -Lehi and his family were, on the night of this dream/vision, in actuality traveling through a dreary waste.  He could certainly relate to the message of this vision due to the circumstances of his life.  It would have had added meaning for him because of the promise that it contained.  His journey through the wilderness would have an end and he would arrive at and enjoy a sweet and glorious destination.  Clearly this is an accurate account of what would happen to Lehi and his family.