16 And
the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the fountain of filthy water which thy
father saw; yea, even the river of which he spake; and the depths thereof are
the depths of hell.
17 And
the mists of darkness are the temptations of the devil, which blindeth the
eyes, and hardeneth the hearts of the children of men, and leadeth them away
into broad roads, that they perish and are lost.
18 And
the large and spacious building, which thy father saw, is vain imaginations and
the pride of the children of men. And a great and a terrible gulf divideth
them; yea, even the word of the justice of the Eternal God…. (1 Nephi 12:16-18)
I notice that in Lehi’s
dream (or as it is interpreted to Nephi by the angel), there are three elements
that Satan uses as his tools.
1) The filthy river of
water. This is not a clear river.
It’s carrying a ton of silt. I think the river can express sinfulness that is
immersive and addicting, the kinds of sins that can make one think everything
is dirty. It is aptly described as
the depths of hell. This is not
the kind of river a person can just wade in a little and walk out of. It’s
worse than quicksand. It’s called “the depths
of hell” for a reason.
2) The mists of
darkness. Mists are nebulous and insubstantial, but they make things look
different and hazy. I think mists are a great way to express how Satan’s
temptations mess with our perceptions and try to make us think that things are
different than what they really are.
3) The large and
spacious building. Manmade, yet unstable, since it eventually falls. It looks like
it would provide shelter from the elements, like it would be comfortable. But
it is inherently unsafe. (I have to wonder if we make our own great and
spacious buildings.) It looks like it would be a better, more interesting
destination than that tree over there. A fancy-but-unsafe building is an
excellent symbol for pride. Also, the way it gathers a judgmental, scornful
crowd captures pride’s workings in larger society. Even if it feels like it is
safe to go with the crowd, wrong is still wrong, and eventually it will be
proven so.
So, we’re not just to
beware of the mists of temptation, but also pride and filthiness.
Compare these things
to the instruments of God, which are the path, the rod, and the tree with its
fruit.
1) The path. It’s the only safe way with sure
footing and a desirable destination. There aren’t rocks or obstacles or holes
in it. (Only Satan tries to make us think there are.) To me the way we walk in
the path teaches that God gives us things to do that help us progress.
2) The rod. It’s a
fail-safe for the path and works in tandem with it. If you can’t see
the way to go, you can feel it
through the rod. For every place you are on the path, there is rod there to
guide you. Also, anyone who
honestly grabs and holds the rod will
get on the path. The rod is
guidance that God gives us through revelation and the scriptures.
3) The fruit. The fruit seems to me
to be both the goal and nourishment along the way. God’s love nourishes us with sweet tastes that point us to a
future hope of exalted bliss, and isn’t the fullness is also the reward? (This is perhaps the place where it
seems like the dream breaks down for me as an allegory.)
So, I see that God
uses gospel progression, revelation, and love as His tools during this life.
If we can just choose
more of God’s tools and reject Satan’s tools!
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