When Lehi leaves Jerusalem, he builds an altar in the wilderness. The Levitical law forbids offering sacrifices anywhere than the temple, under the authority of the Chief Priest. Lehi’s altar shows that he is establishing a new church – not with different beliefs and practices, but with a different community and organization.
Prerequisites: The first few chapters of the Book of Mormon. I also reference some details from the Old Testament, but don’t assume that you know them.
Originally Written: August 2017.
Confidence Level: Interesting to think about.
When Lehi leaves Jerusalem, what is first thing that he does in the wilderness?
And it came to pass that when he had traveled three days in the wilderness, he pitched his tent in a valley by the side of a river of water. And it came to pass that he built an altar of stones, and made an offering unto the Lord, and gave thanks unto the Lord our God.
1 Nephi 2:6-7
What is significant about this altar?
Some common answers include:
- Lehi reminds us to always remember to give thanks to God for our circumstances. Although some people might see living in the wilderness as a trial, Lehi sees it as a blessing since his family will be preserved from the destruction of Jerusalem.
- The altar is also associated with the temple. Although ancient temples were very different from modern temples, we can still use this story as a reminder to always have access to the temple.
A thorough understanding of Levitical law reveals something else significant about Lehi’s altar: it’s illegal.
Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest: But in the place which the Lord shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee. …
If the place which the Lord thy God hath chosen to put his name there be too far from thee, then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock, which the Lord hath given thee, as I have commanded thee, and thou shalt eat in thy gates whatsoever thy soul lusteth after. … Only thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou shalt take, and go unto the place which the Lord shall choose: And thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of the Lord thy God: and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of the Lord thy God, and thou shalt eat the flesh.
Deuteronomy 12:13-14,21,26-27
The children of Israel were not allowed to build their own altars for offerings. They were only allowed to offer sacrifices at the altar of the temple at Jerusalem. This same principle can be seen today: you are only allowed to perform temple ordinances in a dedicated temple with the approval of the proper priesthood hierarchy.
After Joshua finished conquering and dividing the land, two and half tribes leave the rest of the children of Israel to go to their inheritance on the other side of the Jordan River. After they cross, they build an altar. The rest of the tribes recognize this as a breach of the Levitical law and go accuse them:
Thus saith the whole congregation of the Lord, What trespass is this that ye have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the Lord, in that ye have builded you an altar, that ye might rebel this day against the Lord?
Joshua 22:16
The two and a half tribes respond:
Therefore we said, Let us now prepare to build us an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice: But that it may be a witness between us, and you, and our generations after us, that we might do the service of the Lord before him with our burnt offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your children may not say to our children in time to come, Ye have no part in the Lord. Therefore said we, that it shall be, when they should so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say again, Behold the pattern of the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between us and you. God forbid that we should rebel against the Lord, and turn this day from following the Lord, to build an altar for burnt offerings, for meat offerings, or for sacrifices, beside the altar of the Lord our God that is before his tabernacle.
Joshua 22:26-29
It is clear that Israel can only have one altar and that it is associated with the tabernacle and later with Solomon’s temple at Jerusalem. Offering sacrifices on any other altars is forbidden.
And yet Lehi builds an altar for himself and his family. Although what kind of offering is not specified in 1 Nephi 2:7, 1 Nephi 5:9 specifies that they offered burnt offerings and sacrifices on the altar, in explicit contradiction to the Levitical law.
What does this mean? Is Lehi committing a transgression in his offerings?
The Levitical law does not prohibit other altars because too many offerings is bad. It prohibits other altars in order to ensure that there is only a single church among the children of Israel. All of the ordinances must be done under the stewardship of the high priest, who is a direct descendant of Aaron and Eleazar. Everyone is supposed to gather to the tabernacle / temple for the feasts. This does not just ensure that everyone keeps the same beliefs. It also ensures that the children of Israel remain a single community. When the children of Israel separate into two kingdoms, Jeroboam immediately establishes new altars at Beth-el and Dan (1 Kings 12). The northern kingdom declared itself both politically and religiously independent of Judah. They decided to worship God in their own way and at their own locations. Needless to say, this was a sin, and would have been even if it didn’t involve golden calves.
When Lehi built his new altar, he created a new church. It was not separate from the church at Jerusalem in its beliefs or its practices, but it did have a separate community and a separate organizational hierarchy. After reaching the promised land, Lehi’s family would no longer be able to communicate with the community of believers at Jerusalem. They needed their own organization, their own priesthood, and their own institutions. By building the altar in the wilderness, Lehi laid the first stones of this new church.