3 And behold, because of the thing which I have seen, I have reason to rejoice in the Lord because of Nephi and also of Sam; for I have reason to suppose that they, and also many of their seed, will be saved.
4 But behold, Laman and Lemuel, I fear exceedingly because of you; for behold, methought I saw in my dream, a dark and dreary wilderness.
It’s not clear to me whether Lehi had the depth of understanding of this dream that Nephi was given a little later on, but clearly he understood at least the main points. He understood enough to be concerned for his wayward sons and their eternal welfare. This is a great example of a parent’s love for all of his children, even the bad ones. Surely Lehi knew the nature of Laman and Lemuel long before he had this dream. Surely he was concerned for them before this. He likely had expressed that concern to them before this as well, but this Tree of Life dream was yet another opportunity to try to win them back to the Lord’s side. On the other hand, Nephi and Sam were the sons that Lehi and Sariah didn’t need to worry so much about. Lehi certainly understood the implications of his dream and what it meant for all of his children. He has to keep trying to save Laman and Lemuel, no matter how hopeless. I think our Heavenly Father is like that as well. He will keep trying and offering us opportunities to succeed and return to Him. We have to be pretty hopeless for His Spirit to stop striving with us, as described in Ether 15:19 for the Jeradites, and Moroni 9:4 for the Nephites.
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