5:1 When Lehi and Sariah saw us return, they rejoiced. Sariah had grieved since we left, fearing we had died in the wilderness.
5:2 She blamed Lehi for leading us from Jerusalem into danger, calling him a visionary man.
5:3 She was upset at father for what he made us do.
5:4 Lehi responded understandingly, “I know that I am a visionary man. If I had not seen God’s revelations in visions, I would not have known His goodness or the coming destruction of Jerusalem.
5:5 We would have perished if we stayed. Yet despite the trials, I have been guided to obtain a promised land. Here I rejoice, trusting the Lord will rescue our sons from Laban and return them safely.”
5:6 In this way, my father comforted my mother, Sariah.
5:7 When we returned, Lehi and Sariah welcomed us with great joy. Sariah, once consumed by grief and doubt, was now comforted. Our safe return brought wholeness and relief to the family.
5:8 With our return, Sariah declared “I now understood the Lord’s purpose in warning us to leave Jerusalem and know that the Lord protected my sons and saved them from Laban and gave them power to accomplish this task.”
5:9 Our family rejoiced and gave thanks to God and offered sacrifice and burnt offerings to the Lord.
5:10 After they had given thanks, my father, Lehi, took the records which were engraved upon the brass plates and he began to study them.
5:11 He learned there were five books of Moses, which gave an account of the creation of the world, and of Adam and Eve, our first parents.
5:12 Also, a record of the Jews from the beginning, from the commencement of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah.
5:13 They also contained prophecies of the holy prophets, from the beginning and those spoken by Jeremiah.
5:14 He also found a genealogy of his fathers and learned that he was a descendant of Joseph; the son of Jacob, who was sold into Egypt and saved by the Lord to rescue his people from the famine.
5:15 They were also led out of Egypt and preserved by God.
5:16 In addition to discovering his own genealogy, Lehi learned that Laban was a descendant of Joseph, which explained why Laban had preserved these sacred records.
5:17 When Lehi examined the brass plates, the Spirit filled him. He prophesied that these sacred records would one day go forth to all the nations and peoples of his lineage.
5:18 That the plates of brass would enlighten Lehi’s descendants across many lands and languages.
5:19 And that these plates would never perish or be dimmed by time.
5:20 Up to this point, my father Lehi and I had been diligent in keeping the commandments the Lord had given us.
5:21 We retrieved the brass plates, read and pondered the records, and recognized their immense worth for preserving the Lord’s words to pass on to our children.
5:21 Thus, we carried these sacred records with us as we continued our journey through the wilderness toward the promised land.