Lehi and his son Nephi Life Overviews

Life Overview of Lehi
born and lives in Jerusalem "all his days"
?? BC commanded to preach repentance to the Jews
600 BC flees Jerusalem with his family, leads and prepares family for time in the wilderness
592 BC reaches the land Bountiful
591 BC gets in the boat Nephi built with his brothers
589 BC arrives in the promised land
588 - 570 BC leads his family and prevents extreme hostility, after providing final teachings he dies and is buried (no specific year provided)

How old were Lehi and Sariah?
We don't have a lot of clues about Lehi's exact age. His age might have been a factor in assigning his sons to go back to Jerusalem, but it could have to do with the fact that people there wanted to kill him. Nine years into the story, both Lehi and Sariah were "stricken with years" and that their grey hairs were about to lie low in the dust (notice that they weren't stricken with grey hairs...). I'm sure eight years wandering in the wilderness aged them too, but they weren't young parents when they left. Without any clues that the birth of Jacob and Joseph were miraculous or that they were born to a different mother, Sariah was probably close to 40 about 592 BC. If Lehi lived as long as his son Nephi, he would be born 658 - 640BC, making him at least 48 and at most 66 when he was in the boat. Because of the phrases "stricken with years" and "grey hairs lying low" I think he was closer to 66 when the family got on the boat. Lehi doesn't participate in any hunting, nor in the boat building. However, his words and presence kept the family together when they landed in the new world.

Life Overview of Nephi son of Lehi
born in Jerusalem (best guess 615 BC)
600 BC leaves Jerusalem with his parents and siblings
592 BC reaches the land Bountiful and builds a boat
589 BC arrives in the promised land
588 BC begins making records on plates of metal
~570 BC separates from his brethren "not many days after the death of his father" with all who believed in the revelations of God. They live in the Land of Nephi. The activities mentioned:
- sow seed, reap in abundance, raise herds of animals
- make swords for defense, build buildings, work in wood and metals (2 Ne 5:15)
- build a temple
~560 BC already had wars and contentions with the Lamanites. Nephi didn't want to be king, but he is referred to as the king by his brother.
544 BC gives plates to Jacob, appoints the first (or next) king, dies.

How old was Nephi at death?
Nephi tells us he was exceedingly young when his family left Jerusalem. Alma was 25 as a young man, and Mormon was young at age 16. In general, Jews became of age to preach at 30 years, which seems consistent through the Book of Mormon. I would guess exceedingly young means a teenager in this context. Laman and Lemuel had to use a rod to beat him up, and he was able to keep a grown man from running. If Nephi was 15 when he left Jerusalem, he would be 71 years old at death, which is quite old for a soldier and king.

Lehi's Other Vision

And it had come to pass that my father spake unto her [Sariah], saying: I know that I am a visionary man; for if I had not seen the things of God in a vision I should not have known the goodness of God, but had tarried at Jerusalem, and had perished with my brethren. (1 Ne 5:4)

Lehi father of Nephi had two major visions that we learn about in the Book of Mormon. The well-known vision is the vision where he saw the Tree of Life and an iron rod leading multitudes of people there. We commonly talk about how Lehi prophesied the coming destruction of Jerusalem, but I don't think I (in my not too many years at church) have heard a discussion about the vision where he learned about Jerusalem's fate.

Summary of Lehi's Visions

Here is a list of Lehi's dreams and vision from 1 Nephi (let me know if I missed any)

1 Ne 1 - Lehi sees "much" in a pillar of fire that causes him to quake and tremble

1 Ne 1 - Lehi lies on his bed and sees God, Jesus, and 12 others. He reads a book about the fate of Jerusalem and the coming of the Messiah

1 Ne 2 - Lehi is commended for his preaching and commanded to flee Jerusalem

1 Ne 3 - Lehi receives commandment through a dream that his sons should retrieve the brass plates

1 Ne 7 - The Lord spake unto him again, commanding Lehi's sons to bring Ishmael along
1 Ne 8 - Lehi's sees the vision of the Tree of Life
Lehi also has many other prophecies and teachings, but the above reference visions and dreams.

Summary of Lehi's first recorded vision

Lehi is praying for his people when a pillar of fire comes and dwells on a rock before him. He sees and hears much and trembles and quakes because of it. Then he goes and "casts" himself on his bed, being overcome with the Spirit and the things he had seen. The second part of the vision begins with the heavens opening. He sees God and a numberless host of angels in the attitude of singing and praising God. He sees Jesus coming down from heaven and twelve others with him. One of the twelve gave him a book to read, and Lehi reads about the destruction of Jerusalem as well as about the coming of the Messiah, for which he praises God.

Symbols:
pillar of fire - God promised the Israelites that he would be their pillar of fire by night. Lehi's experience with the pillar of fire was a symbol for God's visitation.
a rock - the pillar of fire dwelt on a rock, which might tell us about its size. I am not really sure why it is significant that the pillar of fire dwelt on a rock.
the attitude of singing and praising - I think this tells us that the numberless concourses of angels were spirits. Without a body, singing is difficult. But even with  a body, how often are we in the attitude of singing and praising our Lord?
a book - John the Beloved wrote about angels giving him a book and prophesied afterwards about it.

Lessons Learned:
1. God gives clear instruction
     Lehi was one of many prophets to come warning of the destruction of Jerusalem. God wanted his message to be preached to the people. He didn't send a text or a scroll or an army. He sent many prophets who knew and experienced incredible spiritual revelations. I can only imagine how fervently they must have taught and preached to the people. Jeremiah (contemporary to Lehi) described how he felt about his testimony in these words.
   What messages has God sent to you very clearly that you haven't acted on yet?

2. God gives us more when we are ready 

    Lehi was totally wiped out after his experience with the pillar of fire. We don't know a lot about what he saw and heard there (notice both verbs), but it did cause him to shake and tremble exceedingly. The second experience came a little later and seems to be more focused on the role of the Messiah (1 Ne 1:9, 19).

3. The righteous can be joyful in the midst of wickedness
    The storyline starts with many prophets prophesying Jerusalem's destruction. Lehi sees this and starts praying "yea, even with all his heart, in behalf of his people." (1Ne1:5) The Lord blesses Lehi  with His presence and reveals His character to Lehi. Lehi catches a glimpse of God's eternal perspective, both of the impending doom for the wicked and the redemption of the world through the Messiah. Lehi's reaction to the vision is overwhelmingly positive (1Ne1:14-15). The chapter ends with all of his neighbors trying to kill him. This is reminiscent of Nephi's praise of the Lord while he is bound and about to to be swallowed up in the depths of the sea in 1 Nephi 18.

     How often do we stop praising and thanking the Lord because things aren't going our way?