You're not going to be here. I remember once being so tired as we made our way out of a remote area of the

remote area of the Sinai desert in Egypt. It was night and we wanted to drive all the way back to Cairo,

but we were just too exhausted from having hiked Mount Sinai at 2 o'clock that morning.

We pulled over to rest. We got off the main road and

pulled up onto a small hill. We watched from our perch as an occasional car would go by.

It was so dark that night, but then it happened.

We watched as a dark mist or fog rolled in like a slow motion wave of the sea. We were both wide awake now. The mist

completely obscured our view of the road below us. We could no longer see

headlights or anything. It was almost an inky black. This was the mist of darkness

Lehi had talked about.

Hello, we're Scott and Maureen Proctor and this is Meridian Magazine's Come Follow Me, Podcast.

This week we are studying one of the pivotal stories in the Book of Mormon, Lehi's vision of the

Tree of Life.

We can understand this vision more fully if we look at Chapter 7 of First Nephi and see the journey

of the brothers back to Jerusalem to get Ishmael and his family to join them in the wilderness.

Notice there's no record of complaints from the boys about this assignment.

This time it was painless as Ishmael was spiritually inclined and easily entreated, but the division continues.

Now, Laman and Lemiell have allies.

Two sons and two daughters of Ishmael and their families find out how hard the going is and they want to return to Jerusalem.

Nefai says,

If you will return unto Jerusalem, ye shall also perish with them.

Nephi's entreaties only further anger them and they bind him with cords, intending to leave

...