KnoWhy #325 - Why Did Lehi Quote From A Psalm Of Repentance In His Dream? (1 Nephi 8:8)

In 1 Nephi 8, father Lehi told his family about a dream that he had in which he saw the tree of life. Towards the beginning of that dream, he had been following an angel when he suddenly found himself “in a dark and dreary waste” (1 Nephi 8:7). He then noted that he traveled for many hours in this terrible darkness until he finally “began to pray unto the Lord that he would have mercy upon me, according to the multitude of his tender mercies” (v. 8). Psalm 51:1 from the Old Testament is very similar to this prayer of Lehi. It is placed in the mouth of King David, who cries: “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies.” Like Psalm 51, Lehi’s dream teaches that there is hope for those who wander in darkness. They can have faith that they, too, can find forgiveness and joy when they pray unto the Lord for mercy.