"And my father dwelt in a tent" (1 Nephi 2:15)

Lehi's Tent

One of the truly remarkable and overlooked verses recorded by Nephi in the Book of Mormon is probably his shortest and most simple: "And my father dwelt in a tent" (1 Nephi 2:15). Some commentators suggest that this verse was a simple expression of Nephi's astonishment that his father, who used to be a man of material means, was now willing to live in a dwelling that offer much less comfort. The record states that Lehi "dwelt at Jerusalem in all his days" (1 Nephi 1:4). Thus, Lehi's living conditions undoubtedly changed as he adapted to the lifestyle of the nomad, but dwelling in a tent was not something completely foreign to him. This is suggested by an earlier notation made by Nephi that when his father departed into the wilderness, he "took nothing with him, save it were his family, and provisions, and tents. . ." (1 Nephi 2:4). Owing to the fact that he possessed tents, it reasonable to conclude that Lehi had more experience dwelling in them than what would have been discovered in this first epoch journey into the wilderness.

Nephi's record was written nearly 30 years after the actual events contained therein took place (see 2 Nephi 5:28-33). He further emphasized that upon "these plates" he recorded "the things of [his] soul" (2 Nephi 4:15) and did not "write anything upon plates save it be that [he thought] it be sacred" (1 Nephi 19:6) and "of worth unto the children of men" (1 Nephi 6:6). From a temporal perspective, Jacob noted that he could not "write but a little of [his] words, because of the difficulty of engraving [their] words upon plates" (Jacob 4:1). Nephi, his brothers, and Ishmael and his family all dwelt in tents as they traveled in the wilderness. So, why did Nephi make particular mention that his father dwelt in a tent when such a simple fact would have been more than obvious to any one reading the record? In light of all that is noted above, Nephi's mention of this rather ordinary fact must mean that he thought it was sacred and of worth to the children of men.

Although tents were the ordinary dwelling places of nomads, there were times when a tent represented much more. This was one of those times. The Hebrew for "tent" is o'-hel which means "a tent (as clearly conspicuous from a distance): covering, dwelling place, home, tabernacle, tent." In close connection herewith, the word "atonement" is derived from the Hebrew kaphar which means "to cover." Thus, the "covering of the tent" of the Tabernacle is symbolic of the covering provided by the Atonement for those who make the journey to come under its protection. Tent, therefore, is the name given to the dwelling places of many of the ancient patriarchs. Of particular interest is the description of the tent in which Abraham dwelt as he traveled from Ur, in Chaldea (i.e., Babylon):

Abraham's Tent

And I took Sarai, whom I took to wife when I was in Ur, in Chaldea, and Lot, my brother’s son, and all our substance that we had gathered, and the souls that we had won in Haran, and came forth in the way to the land of Canaan, and dwelt in tents as we came on our way;

Therefore, eternity was our covering and our rock and our salvation, as we journeyed from Haran by the way of Jershon, to come to the land of Canaan. (Abraham 2:15-16)

The conjunction "therefore" in verse 16 associates "tents" in verse 15 with "eternity as a covering, a rock, and salvation". In short, it places Abraham's tent in context of the "tent" of the Tabernacle, the name of the "covering" built by Moses and "every wisehearted man" in Israel (Exodus 35:10). To Moses, the Lord instructed:

And thou shalt make curtains of goats’ hair to be a covering upon the tabernacle: eleven curtains shalt thou make.

And thou shalt make fifty taches of brass, and put the taches into the loops, and couple the tent together, that it may be one.

And the remnant that remaineth of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remaineth, shall hang over the backside of the tabernacle.

And a cubit on the one side, and a cubit on the other side of that which remaineth in the length of the curtains of the tent, it shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle on this side and on that side, to cover it.

And thou shalt make a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red, and a covering above of badgers’ skins. (Exodus 26:7, 11-14; note that "badger's skins" is a mistranslation made by the King James translators. In each case, it should be translated as "dolphins' skins").

When King David afterwards became determined to build a house for the Lord, the Lord instructed Nathan, the prophet, to go to David and inform him that he was not to be the one who was to build a temple. He further informed Nathan that He had not dwelt in a house since the day when the children of Israel were brought up out of Egypt "but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle" (2 Samuel 7:4-7).

The tent in which Lehi dwelt was distinct from the tent in which Nephi and other members of the family dwelt. This is observed in the fact that Lehi's tent was the place where Nephi, his brothers, and Ishmael and his family congregated to offer sacrifice and burnt offerings:

And it came to pass that we did come down unto the tent of our father. And after I and my brethren and all the house of Ishmael had come down unto the tent of my father, they did give thanks unto the Lord their God; and they did offer sacrifice and burnt offerings unto him (1 Nephi 7:22).

The tent in which Lehi dwelt was a temple! Stating that his father, Lehi, dwelt in a tent was, therefore, "sacred" (1 Nephi 19:6), "of worth unto the children of men" (1 Nephi 6:6), and reflected "the things of [his] soul" (2 Nephi 4:15). Thus, despite "the difficulty of engraving [their] words upon plates" (Jacob 4:1), this simple sentence was certainly worth the effort and space.

As an aside, I think it is interesting to note that implicit in the concept of tent was the idea that it was "clearly conspicuous from a distance." Most temples today are built on high places and are such large edifices as to be "clearly conspicuous from a distance." In this regard, the Hebrew for "tent" is derived from from the primitive root word aw-hal' which means "to be clear: shine." In the dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland temple, the prophet Joseph Smith made this important connection:

Remember all thy church, O Lord, with all their families, and all their immediate connections, with all their sick and afflicted ones, with all the poor and meek of the earth; that the kingdom, which thou hast set up without hands, may become a great mountain and fill the whole earth;

That thy church may come forth out of the wilderness of darkness, and shine forth fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners;

And be adorned as a bride for that day when thou shalt unveil the heavens, and cause the mountains to flow down at thy presence, and the valleys to be exalted, the rough places made smooth; that thy glory may fill the earth (D&C 109:72-74).

Referring to this bride, John, the Revelator recorded: "And there appeared a great sign in heaven, in the likeness of things on the earth; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars" (JST Revelation 12). When Joseph Smith built the Nauvoo temple, it was built with moonstones at its base. Above the moonstones were sunstones that circumferenced the temple round about. Around the top of the temple and under its eaves, were five and six-pointed stars, respectively. Wandle Mace—the foreman for all of the framework done on the Nauvoo Temple—left behind a statement that makes a clear connection between the visions of John the Revelator and the design of the Nauvoo temple. He said,

The order of architecture [on the Nauvoo Temple] was unlike anything in existence; it was purely original; being a representation of the Church, the Bride, the Lamb's wife. John the Revelator, in the 12[th] chapter [and] first verse of [the book of Revelation] says, 'And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.' This is portrayed in the beautifully cut stone of this grand temple (Wandle Mace, autobiography, 207, L. Tom Perry Special Collections Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah).

This woman, according to JST Revelation 12:7, is the Church of God. On earth, it is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Its temples on earth represent the bride being adorned for the coming of the bridegroom. They are clearly conspicuous from a distance and are the means by which the "church comes forth out of the wilderness of darkness, and shines forth fair as the moon, clear as the sun". Upon the east wall of each bride is the name of her husband, "The house of the LORD", symbolizing the fact that she has taken upon herself His name in solemn marriage. Another name for "house" is "tabernacle" and another name for "tabernacle" is "the body". Thus, she, the Church, is also referred to in scriptures as the "body of Christ" (see 1 Corinthians 12:27 and Ephesians 4:12). In her, the new birth occurs and the children of Christ are brought forth. Such children are "pure in heart" (D&C 97:21), or Zion (see JST Revelation 12:2-3, 7 and D&C 105:32).

What Nephi wrote concerning his father's tent places him squarely in an Old Testament setting. Maintaining this verse in the translation of the Book of Mormon is a confirmation that the Book of Mormon begins as an Old Testament book. If also confirms the truthfulness of its translation and witnesses that its translator, Joseph Smith, was a prophet, seer, and revelator. Of this I bear witness.