9

The Great and Spacious Building

And after they had partaken of the fruit of the tree they did cast their eyes about as if they were ashamed. And I also cast my eyes round about, and beheld, on the other side of the river of water, a great and spacious building; and it stood as it were in the air, high above the earth.
—1 Nephi 8:25–26

Thoughts, Insights, and Observations

This verse describes a pivotal, critical moment—perhaps more important than any other moment in the dream, at least for this group of one-time partakers. Notice that it was after they ate of the fruit that they looked around. What were they looking for? Were they looking for approval? Were they wondering, “Does anyone know what I’m doing?” Or perhaps they could hear something coming from the other side of the river, and were looking for the source. In any event, it was only after looking around that they became ashamed. The thought, “What do others think of what I’m doing?” is a powerful influencer. Once Lehi saw that those partaking were ashamed, he also looked around to find the cause of their embarrassment, and this was when he first laid eyes on the great and spacious building.

The great and spacious building, remarkably, was “in the air.” Nephi points out that the great and spacious building was the “pride of the world” (1 Nephi 11:36). Pride is haughty, lifted up, high and mighty, above the crowd, looking down on everyone and everything.

We can draw a few interesting conclusions from the description of the great and spacious building, particularly the fact that it stood, as it were, “in the air.” Attached to the phrase “in the air,” is footnote 26c, which takes us to Ephesians 2:2, and Paul’s rather strange name for Satan, “the prince of the power of the air.” Elder Bruce R. McConkie explained this nickname as “an idiomatic expression indicating Satan’s rule and dominance in ‘this world,’ in, as it were, the very air around us” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, vol. 2, 499).

If we visualize the great and spacious building in a twenty-first-century context, we might imagine a rooftop cluttered with antennas, satellite dishes, cell phone towers, and wi-fi routers. Technology can be used as both a tool and a weapon. Sadly, today, Satan’s influence is literally “in the air” with some of the worst images, sounds, and movies the world has to offer saturating the airwaves. Even in the most remote location on earth, where nature is pure and pristine, it seems Satan’s influence is still “in the air.” Elder Quentin L. Cook related:

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf and I were recently in an Amazon jungle village and observed satellite dishes even on some of the small, simply built huts. We rejoiced at the wonderful information available in this remote area. We also recognized there is virtually no place on earth that cannot be impacted by salacious, immoral, and titillating images. This is one reason why pornography has become such a plague in our day. (“Can Ye Feel So Now?” 8)

Another interesting observation involves the great and spacious building’s altitude, seemingly rising above the mists of darkness that were blanketing the ground. If the mists of darkness really are the temptations of the devil, we can surmise a bit of his strategy. S. Michael Wilcox observed:

There are three things in Lehi’s dream that are obscured by the mist and that correspond to the reality of our mortal lives. Satan does not want us to see the tree of life, which we are told symbolizes the love of God. He does not want us to perceive the rod of iron, or the word of God, which will keep us on the path when the tree is lost from our view. He is also desirous that we know nothing of the filthy river or the consequences of misery, both temporal and eternal, which come for those who leave the path. . . . The only major symbol in Lehi’s dream that Lucifer does not want to hide is the spacious building, which symbolizes pride and the vain things of the world. (Don’t Leap with the Sheep, 8–9)

Another conclusion often drawn from the description of this floating building is that it has no foundation. Any building with no foundation will eventually fall. A building with no foundation is temporary, to say the least. It’s not going to be there forever.

Applying the Dream to Our Reality

We can be blessed by pondering what is real and lasting in our lives and what is merely temporary. Elder John H. Groberg observed that the things that are eternal are real, and the things that are temporary are not real in the sense that they are not lasting. Temporary things, like the great and spacious building, will eventually decay, die, crumble, or disappear:

When I first began serving as temple president, I often heard people say, “I wish I didn’t have to leave the temple, with its peace and quiet, and go back into the real world, with its noise and frustration.” I tended to agree with them but for some reason felt uneasy with that thought and prayed to know why. One day something special happened. I can’t say exactly where or how the words or feelings came, but the concept was clear: “That which lasts forever is real; that which does not last forever is not real. The temple is the real world, not this temporal one.” From then on, whenever I heard someone say they were sorry to have to leave the temple and go back into the real world, I would take them aside and say something like the following: I understand your feelings, but actually, it is the other way around. You are not leaving the temple and going back into the real world, you are leaving the real world (the temple) and going back into the unreal (temporary) world. Only that which lasts forever is real. That which is done in the temple lasts forever; therefore, the temple is the real world. Most of what we experience “out there,” such as sickness, wealth, poverty, fame, etc., lasts for only a short period of time, so it is not the real world. Because you have been in the temple, however, you can take the truths of the real world with you as you live in the temporary world. As you do, you will see more clearly that which is important (real, or eternal) and that which is less important (unreal, temporal, or temporary). This view of things will increase your peace, understanding, and joy. (Refuge and Reality, 3–4)

At this point in Lehi’s narrative, we don’t know exactly why those who partook of the tree of life were ashamed, only that it had something to do with what they saw when they turned around—the building they beheld behind them after they partook.

It’s interesting that Satan often makes his appearance after great spiritual experiences. He wants us to discount, dismiss, and explain away any event that has drawn us closer to God and that has allowed us to taste the exquisite fruit that represents the love of God. For example, immediately after the spectacular and undeniable signs of the birth of Christ prophesied by Samuel the Lamanite (among which was “a day and a night and a day” with no darkness—a pretty hard sign to fake), Satan showed up to put his spin on the whole thing: “And it came to pass that from this time forth there began to be lyings sent forth among the people, by Satan, to harden their hearts, to the intent that they might not believe in those signs and wonders which they had seen” (3 Nephi 1:22).

Joseph Fielding McConkie and Robert L. Millet explain the same phenomenon:

Satan always seeks to sow lies whenever there has been a great manifestation of the truth. He tries desperately to confuse, to confound, to complicate things. He works diligently to harden hearts against the plain verities of heaven as well as against the signs and wonders which are evident among believers. (Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, 4:9)

It would be helpful for each of us to be aware of this particular strategy of Satan. When we experience a wonderful spiritual feast, when we taste the fruit of the tree of life and are filled with joy, we might be wary that Satan will try to get us to rethink or dismiss it.

Perhaps this is one reason why Latter-day Saints are counseled to record their spiritual experiences, not only for their benefit, but for the benefit of their children. We are counseled to record our witness of the hand of the Lord in our lives because the day may come when we may begin to forget what we have experienced. Or we may wonder if what we once accepted as spiritual experiences were only our imagination. This could be the first step on a “strange road” or a “forbidden path,” a course which may allow the mists of darkness to blind us to what the Lord has done for us throughout our lives.

A key, critical moment—perhaps the most critical and pivotal moment in all of Lehi’s dream—is in between the words tree and they in verse 25. It is the instant when those who had tasted the fruit turned and faced the scoffers. Every member of the Church will face this moment. What will they do? How much will popular opinion affect them?

As a parent, I must prepare my own children for that moment when all they hold dear is called into question by a mob across the way. Will they stand firm? Will they have enough of a testimony to say within themselves, I don’t care what those guys think, this is delicious! and continue to partake? Every family prayer, every home evening, every gospel discussion where the Spirit is present might add just a little more strength to their spiritual backbone, which could be critical in preparing them for that inevitable confrontation with the great and spacious building.

When we think of those who dropped their heads in shame because of the mocking, we are left to wonder what might have happened had they acted differently in that singular moment with eternal consequences. How different the outcome would have been had they simply turned their back on the building, faced the tree, and continued to partake!

Evidently peer pressure and the pride of the world are powerful enough to persuade some to leave the tree, even after tasting the fruit and feeling the joy. Perhaps we also learn that we must be careful guardians of our spiritual experiences, and not look to the world for their evaluation or their approval.