1 Nephi 2:1-3. Lehi’s Dream
The idea of Lehi being warned “in a dream” to flee (1 Nephi 2:1-3) was taken from the story of Joseph in Matthew 2:13, which, being in the New Testament, was unavailable to the Nephites, who left Jerusalem six centuries before Christ’s birth..
There is no reason to question the Lord’s use of dreams. He said to Moses, “If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.” (Numbers 12:6; cf. Jeremiah 23:28). While most divinely inspired dreams in the Old Testament were prophetic, there are cases in which the Lord came in dreams to give instructions (e.g., Genesis 20:3, 6; 31:24). Indeed, in Genesis 31:11-13, he appeared to Jacob in a dream and told him to leave his home, just as he later warned Lehi and Jesus’ stepfather Joseph.