Narrative: The narrative device of a guide moves the story along in its initial phases, although he is no longer mentioned once Lehi reaches the tree. A guide-figure is also important in both the Joseph Smith Sr. dream and in the “Narrative of Zosimus.” Such a figure also appears in Ezekiel’s vision:
So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house.
And I heard him speaking unto me out of the house; and the man stood by me. (Ezek. 43:5–6)
The guide announces the dream’s beginning and confirms that it is coming from a divine realm—that is, the realm of the messenger himself.
Symbolism: In Lehi’s dream, the messenger wears white, which corresponds with purity, cleanliness, and, in the case of a dream, divinity in the canons of Middle Eastern (and Western art). Thus a messenger from Yahweh (an angel, by definition) comes to lead Lehi on the journey.