In the opening chapters of the Book of Mormon,
the prophet Lehi was given a dream or vision of the Tree of Life.
This vision contains many elements which have
become familiar among Latter-day Saints.
Remarkably, some of these elements are similar
to a dream that Joseph Smith’s father experienced
many years before the publication of the Book
of Mormon.
As reported by Joseph Seniors wife, Lucy Mack Smith,
he began experiencing peculiar dreams or visions starting in 1811.
Because these parallels demonstrate a clear relationship between the Book of Mormon and Lucy’s recounting of her husband’s dream,
and because Lucy reported Joseph Senior having this dream
years before the publication of the Book of Mormon,
a skeptical view has suggested that Joseph Smith merely used his father’s
dream
and reworked them into his own text.
For many reasons, however, this is debatable.
For example because Lucy Mack Smith’s history was written 16 years after the publication of the Book of Mormon,
it can be argued, and actually seems more likely,
that Lucy’s account,or the sources she relied on,
is dependent on the text of the Book of Mormon.
Furthermore, recent research is demonstrating
that Lucy’s written history
is a lot more complicated than realized.
Other writers and editors apparently had significant
input into its production
and may have added layers to her account.
None of this is to say that Lucy or the editors
were intentionally lying or deceiving.
Writing and editing practices at that time
were not always as rigid as they are today.
It would therefore be unfair to judge Lucy
or the editors based on modern publishing standards.
This point is brought up merely to raise awareness
of the high probability
that Lucy’s retelling of the dream her husband had
was heavily influenced
by the language of the Book of Mormon.
And not vice versa.
Skeptics might claim the similarities between
Joseph Senior and Lehi’s dreams as evidence of fraud.
But that need not be the default conclusion.
Whatever role the Book of Mormon likely had
in shaping Joseph Smith seniors dream,
there is nothing preventing God from granting comparable visions to spiritually inquisitive men and women
from any time or place.
And now you know why.
