Evidence #328 | April 11, 2022

Book of Mormon Evidence: Lehi’s Calling (Ascension)

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Scripture Central

Abstract

Lehi’s ascent into heaven fits the genre of prophetic call narratives found in pseudepigraphic literature.

In Nephi’s summary of his father’s record, Lehi is introduced to a council of divine beings and receives a prophetic commission (1 Nephi 1). In several ways, the details of Lehi’s heavenly encounter follow the pattern of prophetic call narratives found in biblical and pseudepigraphic literature.1 One aspect of this pattern is known as the ascension, which involves the prophet being lifted or carried in some manner to a heavenly realm. In Nephi’s account, Lehi is “carried away in a vision, even that he saw the heavens open” (v. 8; emphasis added). Similar descriptions featuring various forms of divine transportation—such as being lifted up by wings, a whirlwind, or a chariot—can be found in the pseudepigrapha.2

According to 1 Enoch, “In those days, whirlwinds carried me [Enoch] off from the earth and set me down in the ultimate ends of the heavens. There I saw other dwelling places of the holy ones” (39:3).3 Alternately, Enoch describes himself as “having been carried off in a wind vehicle” (52:1).4 In another passage, he explains that his angelic escort “carried off my spirit, and I Enoch, was in the heaven of heavens” (71:5).5 In 2 Enoch this imagery is more immediately connected to Enoch’s prophetic call. Concerning his angelic escorts, Enoch reports, “they took me up onto their wings, and carried me up to the first heaven” (3:1).6 Similar verbiage is used throughout the text to describe Enoch’s ascensions.7

Dante and Beatrice gaze upon the highest Heaven, from Dante's Paradise. Illustration by Gustave Dore. Image via Wikimedia Commons. 

In the Apocalypse of Abraham, Abraham says that he rode upon a pigeon while his angelic escort rode upon a turtledove, and “we ascended as if (carried) by many winds to the heaven that is fixed on the expanses.”8 As recounted in the Testament of Abraham, “the archangel Michael went down and took Abraham on a chariot of cherubim and lifted him up into the air of heaven” (10:1).9 In Levi’s heavenly ascent, recorded in the Testament of Levi, he explains how “the angel opened for me the gates of heaven and I saw the Holy Most High sitting on the throne” (5:1).10

The prophet Isaiah, according to the Ascension of Isaiah, was visited by an angel who “took me up above the firmament; this is the [first] heaven. There I saw a throne in the middle, and on the right and on the left of it there were angels. … and they all sang praises with one voice.”11 While Ezekiel doesn’t describe being lifted or taken up into heaven, he does mention (in wording very similar to Lehi’s) that “the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God” (Ezekiel 1:1).

Ezekiel's Vision. Image via blog.logos.com.

In the Vision of the Blessed Ezra, “there were granted to [Ezra] seven angels of hell who carried him beyond the seventieth grade in the infernal regions,” in which he saw righteous individuals “passing through the fire, and it did not touch them.”12 Another passage describes Ezra as being “lifted up into heaven” where he encountered “a multitude of angels.”13 In Baruch’s prophetic calling, found in 3 Baruch, he reports that “the angel of hosts took me and carried me where the firmament of heaven is” (2:1).14

Conclusion

Accounts of heavenly ascents can be found in the Bible, such as Elijah being carried up into heaven in a chariot of fire (2 Kings 2:11), but they aren’t explicitly found there as part of any prophetic call narratives.15 Yet, as seen in a number of examples above, a heavenly ascent is present in or near prophetic call narratives found in pseudepigraphic accounts. Not only does the ascension motif in 1 Nephi fit the ancient genre, it does so in a way that wouldn’t have been obvious from reading the Bible alone. As Blake Ostler concluded, “what are the chances that [Joseph Smith] could have … included in his version elements that were present only in the yet unknown pseudepigrapha?”16

Further Reading
Relevant Scriptures
Endnotes
Literary Features
Lehi's Calling
Lehi's Calling (Ascension)
Book of Mormon