Lehi, Son of Helaman
Who labored with his brother Nephi to convert thousands and was encircled by fire in prison
Named for an Ancestor
Lehi was the second of two sons born to Helaman, the son of Helaman, the son of Alma the Younger. When Helaman named his sons, he gave them the names of the great founding figures of Nephite faith:
Helaman 5:6
“Behold, I have given unto you the names of our first parents who came out of the land of Jerusalem; and this I have done that when you remember your names ye may remember them; and when ye remember them ye may remember their works; and when ye remember their works ye may know how that it is said, and also written, that they were good.”
The names were meant to be a daily reminder of the heritage they carried and a charge to live worthy of it.
The Missionary Journey
Around 30 BC, Nephi and Lehi gave up the judgment seat and began a massive missionary campaign throughout all Nephite and Lamanite lands. They preached with such power that in a single year they converted “eight thousand of the Lamanites who were in the land of Zarahemla and the land round about” (Helaman 5:19). The scale of conversion was extraordinary by any measure.
They then journeyed into the land of Nephi—Lamanite territory—where they were captured and cast into prison without food. Their captors intended to kill them.
The Prison Miracle
When their captors came to kill them, they found Nephi and Lehi surrounded by fire that did not burn them, their faces shining, their eyes lifted to heaven as though conversing with someone above. The earth shook; a thick cloud of darkness overshadowed the multitude. A voice came twice, commanding them not to harm God’s servants, and they were filled with extreme fear.
Among those present was a converted Lamanite named Aminadab, who had once been a Nephite but had dissented. He instructed those present to look at Nephi and Lehi and cry unto the voice until they received the peace of repentance. Three hundred souls present in and around the prison cried out, were encircled with fire, angels ministered to them, and the Holy Spirit—described as a voice of perfect mildness—spoke peace to them (Helaman 5:29–49).
Those three hundred became missionaries themselves and went throughout all Lamanite territory, bringing about such a widespread conversion that “the more part of the Lamanites were convinced of them because of the greatness of the evidences which they had received” (Helaman 5:50).
Legacy
Lehi and his brother Nephi represent one of the great missionary partnerships in the Book of Mormon. The Helaman 5 account is remarkable not only for its supernatural elements but for the chain reaction it set off—captors converted, who then converted hundreds more, who converted thousands throughout Lamanite lands, producing a generation of peace between peoples who had been at war for centuries.
Lehi carried a name heavy with history and lived up to it. His father had admonished him to remember the good works of those whose name he bore. The record of Helaman 5 suggests he did exactly that.
Key Scriptures
- Helaman 5 — Their names, mission, prison miracle, and conversions
- Helaman 5:6 — Helaman’s charge about their names
- Helaman 5:29–49 — The prison miracle and mass conversion