Lesson 3 Teacher Material

Lehi’s Dream of the Tree of Life

Lehi’s dream of the tree of life helps us know how to experience God’s love and enjoy the blessings of the Savior’s Atonement. In this lesson, students will identify what can help or hinder their efforts to come unto Christ. They will have an opportunity to determine what they can do to make the word of God a higher priority in their lives.

Suggestions for Teaching

Improving Our Teaching and Learning

Seek to be learner focused. President Dallin H. Oaks observed, “A gospel teacher, like the Master we serve, will concentrate entirely on those being taught” (“Gospel Teaching,” Ensign, Nov. 1999, 79). As you seek to be learner focused, ask yourself the following questions: What can I do to better understand my students’ background, experiences, challenges, and needs? How can I help them build on what they already know? How can I help them be active learners and contribute to the learning of others? What can I do to invite them to come closer to the Savior?

Lehi has a vision of the tree of life.

Lehi’s Dream, by Greg K. Olsen

Show the accompanying image of Lehi’s vision of the tree of life, and ask students to share briefly what they know about the vision. You might ask a student to briefly summarize the account of Lehi’s dream.

Invite students to review 1 Nephi 8:10–12 and 1 Nephi 11:21–22, referenced in the preparation material, looking for how Lehi and Nephi described the tree and its fruit.

Based on students’ understanding of Lehi’s dream, you might ask some of the following questions:

• What does the tree and its fruit represent? (See section 1 of the preparation material.)

• What does Lehi’s description of the tree and its fruit teach us about God’s love and the Savior’s Atonement?

• What do these verses teach us about obtaining joy? (Students may identify a truth similar to the following: Coming unto Christ and partaking of the blessings of His Atonement bring us joy.)

• In what ways are the blessings of the Savior’s Atonement “desirable above all”? (1 Nephi 8:12; 11:22).

Display the following statement by President Russell M. Nelson.

President Russell M. Nelson

My dear brothers and sisters, the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.

When [we] focus … [on] Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening—or not happening—in our lives. Joy comes from and because of Him. … Jesus Christ is joy! ( “Joy and Spiritual Survival,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2016, 82)

• What could you do to make Jesus Christ a greater focus in your life so you could experience greater joy? (Provide students time to ponder and record their impressions.)

Lehi and Nephi learn that the word of God leads to the Savior and His Atonement.

Divide the class into small groups, and provide each student with the following handout.

Obstacles to Receiving the Fruit of the Tree of Life

Teachings and Doctrine of the Book of Mormon Teacher Material—Lesson 3

Read this paragraph as a group: In Lehi’s vision of the tree of life, the filthy river, “mists of darkness” (1 Nephi 12:17), and “great and spacious building” (1 Nephi 8:26) made it more difficult for people to arrive or remain at the tree and partake of its fruit. In the class preparation material, you may have identified some modern examples of these dangers or distractions that keep people away from the Savior. With the members of your group, discuss ways young adults today encounter the following situations:

Filth or sin (river of filthiness: 1 Nephi 8:13; 12:16; 15:27)

Deceptions and temptations (“mist of darkness”: 1 Nephi 8:23; 12:17)

Pride and mocking of the world (the “great and spacious building”: 1 Nephi 8:25–28; 12:18)

Discuss: In what ways can the examples you discussed prevent a young adult from coming unto Jesus Christ and enjoying the blessings of His Atonement? How have you tried to overcome these obstacles in your own life?

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Obstacles to Receiving the Fruit of the Tree of Life

teacher handout

After sufficient time, invite a few students to share with the class what they discussed in their groups.

Invite students to review what they learned about the four groups of people Lehi saw in his vision (see section 3 of the preparation material). Write on the board the following headings: Group 1 (1 Nephi 8:21–23), Group 2 (1 Nephi 8:24–28), Group 3 (1 Nephi 8:30, 33), Group 4 (1 Nephi 8:31–32).

• What role did the iron rod, or word of God, play for each group? (Record student responses under the appropriate heading.)

• What is significant about the phrase they “heeded them not” in 1 Nephi 8:33? What might this look like in our day?

• What hope is there for those who have let go of the iron rod and strayed away from the path? (You may want to ask students to review the statement by Sister Ann M. Dibb in the preparation material.)

Explain that as Nephi prayed to understand his father’s dream, he was shown a vision and learned the meaning of the dream. Afterward he taught his brothers what the iron rod represented. Invite a student to read 1 Nephi 15:23–24 aloud. Then ask:

• What do you learn from Nephi’s explanation and invitation to his brothers? (Among other truths, students may identify a principle similar to the following: Holding fast to the word of God enables us to withstand Satan’s attempts to lead us away from Jesus Christ.)

• What do you think it means to “continually [hold] fast” to the word of God? (1 Nephi 8:30).

Display the following statement by Elder Kevin W. Pearson of the Seventy.

Elder Kevin W. Pearson

Unless we are “continually holding fast” [1 Nephi 8:30] to the word of God and living it, we will become spiritually blinded rather than spiritually minded. Search the Book of Mormon and the words of the living prophets every day, every day, every day! It’s the key to spiritual survival and avoiding deception. Without it, we are spiritually lost. ( “Stay by the Tree,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2015, 115)

Ask students to share how holding fast to the word of God has helped them survive spiritually or avoid deception. Invite them to also share how the word of God has helped them come closer to Jesus Christ and His atoning power.

To help students act on what they are learning and feeling, you might display the following questions and invite students to ponder and record their answers.

• What can I do to better hold fast to the word of God?

• Who could be blessed by hearing my testimony of the importance of holding fast to the word of God?

Consider inviting a few students to share what they have written.

For Next Time

In light of the discussion on the iron rod, you might invite students to think about how diligent they have been in their scripture study recently. As they study the preparation material for the next class, encourage them to consider how making personal scripture study a priority can draw them closer to the Savior.