Narrative: Nephi makes virtually no transition between Lehi’s reason for relating the vision (“I fear exceedingly… ”) and his description of the vision. The setting of the “dark and dreary wilderness” parallels the setting in Joseph Smith Sr.’s dream (“an open, desolate field,… very barren”). Both settings contrast with the fruited tree and river.
Symbolism: The “dark and dreary” wilderness represents the world, and the choice of words so similar to the familiar “dark and dreary world” is fortuitous because it makes the association even clearer. Lehi begins his dream in the current world but will be given a vision of a different world.
S. Kent Brown finds many similarities between Lehi’s dream-landscape and the Arabian Peninsula through which they would soon be traveling:
Lehi’s dream, perhaps more than any other segment of Nephi’s narrative, takes us into the ancient Near East. For as soon as we focus on certain aspects of Lehi’s dream, we find ourselves staring into the world of ancient Arabia. Lehi’s dream is not at home in Joseph Smith’s world but is at home in a world preserved both by archaeological remains and in the customs and manners of Arabia’s inhabitants. Moreover, from all appearances, the dream was prophetic—and I emphasize this aspect—for what the family would yet experience in Arabia. To be sure, the dream was highly symbolic. Yet it also corresponds in some of its prophetic dimensions to historical and geographical realities. . .
The scenes in the dream alternate between long, lonely stretches of desert crossed at night (see 1 Ne. 8:4–8) and regions of dense populations (see vv. 21, 24, 27, 30, 33). Lehi also wrote of deep canyons—known as wadis—that were almost impossible to traverse (compare “a great and terrible gulf” in 12:18 and “an awful gulf” in 15:28). After rains the seasonal streams in the wadis fill with mud and debris (called “filthy water” in 12:16 and “filthiness” in 15:26–27). In contrast, Lehi described occasional green fields next to the desert graced not only by abundant water (there were already extensive irrigation works in south Arabia that supported a larger population than the one living there now) but also by lush vegetation represented by the tree full of delicious fruit (see 8:9–13). He saw heavily traveled paths leading to the green areas (see vv. 20–21) as well as “forbidden paths” and “strange roads” of the surrounding desert where the unwary would become “lost” (vv. 23, 28, 32). Further, Lehi’s mention of “a mist of darkness” (v. 23) reminds one of the heavy mists and fogs that blanket the coasts of Arabia, especially during the monsoon season, including the place where the family most likely emerged from the desert.
Variant/translation: Joseph Smith added “in my dream” (methought I saw in my dream) as a clarification. One of the types of changes that Joseph made was this type of clarification. Apparently he felt that even though the text had been translated by the gift and power of God, it was not perfect. Such changes are important signals about Joseph’s understanding of the nature of revelation. It came from God, but came through Joseph and therefore was susceptible to clarification.