Near the end of a somewhat lengthy stay in the valley of Lemuel, Nephi writes: "my father had fulfilled all the commandments of the Lord which had been given unto him. And also, I, Nephi, had been blessed of the Lord exceedingly" (1 Nephi 16:8). There is a perspective to the physical attributes of the valley of Lemuel that is seldom thought about. George Potter writes:
One final question should be discussed pertaining to the [valley of Lemuel]. It is not a direct query about physical attributes of the site, but how the sight of this natural monument [the canyon oasis at the southern end of the Wadi Tayyib al-Ism] has made me feel each of the four times I have visited there. Each time I ask myself, "Why did the Lord have Lehi bring his family into the wilderness? Why didn't He have the family flee to Egypt or Greece or into a village deep in Arabia?" Instead, the Lord commanded Lehi to bring his family into the desert, where he preserved them with a river of water in a firm, steadfast and immovable valley. Why such a place? And why such grand statements of nature?
I believe there are several reasons for such a natural setting. Could there be a more powerful and striking expression of the creation and the power of God? A river of pure water flowing in an otherwise totally dry wasteland. Lehi was "obedient unto the word of the Lord," wherefore he did as the Lord commanded him. He "departed into the wilderness" (1 Nephi 2:2) In what was a matter of days, Lehi's family went from a comfortable home with gold and silver, to a barren waste looking for the means to survive. Undoubtedly Lehi feared that his family would perish unless they found water. No wonder Nephi delighted in the words of Isaiah (2 Nephi 25:5):
When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst,
I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys:
I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. (Isaiah 41:17-18)
Nephi must have taken courage from the Lord's assurance that he "leadeth thee by the way thou shouldst go" and that those who trust in him "thirsted not" because "he led them through the deserts" and "caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them" (1 Nephi 20:17, 21; see also Isaiah 48:17, 21). Moreover, continuing the desert imagery: "They shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor the sun smite them; for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them" (1 Nephi 21:10; see also Isaiah 49:10)
The Qur'an reminds the Bedouins living in this same desert today of this ageless principle, "He is the Most Gracious: we have believed in Him, and on Him we put our trust, . . . If your stream be some morning lost, Who then can supply you with clear-flowing waters?" (Qur'an 67:29-30) Undoubtedly [Nephi] knew the answer to that question, the Lord is the "fountain of living waters" (Jeremiah 2:13). [Nephi] had entered the same wilderness as Moses, and probably for the same reason, to be taught a deeper understanding of and dependence on God [in order to lead the children of Israel through the wilderness to the promised land. "He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye" (Deuteronomy 32:10).
William Wordsworth penned, "Two Voices are there; one is of the sea, One of the mountains; each a mighty Voice."
For the prophet to camp in the wilderness by as pure spring was a time for healing and a place where he could freely build an altar and give thanks to God.
I have drunk from the pure spring fed flowing waters of what I believe is the River Laman. In the smiting heat of 120 degrees Fahrenheit temperatures, I have walked into the cool confines of a great canyon that I believe is the Valley of Lemuel. I have sought the safe confines of the canyon after having the tents of my camp on the shore of the Gulf of Aqaba blown over by torrential winds that blow nightly. Here in this canyon is the handiwork of God. The imagery is truly profound, and reminds me of a passage from the Qur'an: "Withersoever ye turn, there is the presence of God, . . . all that is in the heavens and on earth; everything renders worship to Him." (Qur'an 2:115, 116) Could this natural imagery have been a giant learning aid? Was this imagery symbolic of the Messiah?
Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and the covert from the tempest; as a river of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. (Isaiah 32:1-2)
[George Potter with Richard Wellington, Following the Words of Nephi: Part One: Discovering the Valley of Lemuel, Unpublished Manuscript, 1999, pp. 61-63, 80]
1 Nephi 16:8 I, Nephi, had been blessed by the Lord exceedingly (Potter Theory) [[Illustration]]: A hiding place from the wind, and the covert from the tempest . . . a river of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. (Isaiah 32:1-2). Photo by George Potter. [George Potter with Richard Wellington, Following the Words of Nephi: Part One: Discovering the Valley of Lemuel, Unpublished Manuscript, 1999, p. 64]