According to the Book of Mormon

Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...

, Sariah was the wife of Lehi, and the mother of Laman

Laman and Lemuel

In the Book of Mormon, Laman and Lemuel are the two eldest sons of Lehi and the older brothers of Sam, Nephi, Jacob, and Joseph. According to the text, they lived around 600 BC. They were notable for their rebellion against Lehi and Nephi, becoming the primary antagonists of the First and Second...

, Lemuel

Laman and Lemuel

In the Book of Mormon, Laman and Lemuel are the two eldest sons of Lehi and the older brothers of Sam, Nephi, Jacob, and Joseph. According to the text, they lived around 600 BC. They were notable for their rebellion against Lehi and Nephi, becoming the primary antagonists of the First and Second...

, Sam

Sam (Book of Mormon)

In the Book of Mormon, Sam was the third son of Lehi, and elder brother to the prophet Nephi. Early in the Book of Mormon narrative, Nephi confided in Sam. Lehi saw Sam in his vision of the tree of life, noting that he ate the precious fruit, symbolizing the righteousness of Sam, and that he...

, Nephi

Nephi

According to the Book of Mormon, Nephi was the son of Lehi, a prophet, founder of the Nephite people, and author of the first two books of the Book of Mormon, First and Second Nephi.- Early life :Nephi was the fourth of six sons of Lehi and Sariah...

, Jacob, and Joseph

Joseph (Book of Mormon)

In the Book of Mormon, Joseph is a priest, and a younger brother of the Prophets Nephi and Jacob.-Family:See also Joseph ....

. She traveled with her husband from Jerusalem, into the wilderness, and eventually, across the ocean to the "promised land" (the Americas

Americas

The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...

). She is perhaps best known for the story in First Nephi where she complains against her husband for sending her sons back to Jerusalem. She becomes convinced that they have perished in the desert, but is overjoyed upon their eventual return. In Lehi's vision of the tree of life, Sariah eats the precious fruit, symbolizing that she is righteous and will be saved.

Family tree

As the wife of Lehi, and the mother of Nephi and Laman (who went on to establish the nations of the Nephite

Nephite

According to the Book of Mormon, a Nephite is a member of one of the four main groups of settlers of the ancient Americas. The other three groups are the Lamanites, Jaredites and Mulekites. In the Book of Mormon, the Nephites were a group of people descended from or associated with Nephi, the...

s and the Lamanite

Lamanite

According to the Book of Mormon, a Lamanite is a member of a dark-skinned nation of indigenous Americans that battled with the light-skinned Nephite nation...

s), Sariah can be considered one of the principal ancestors of the Book of Mormon people. Her immediate family is shown in the diagram below.

Etymology

Among LDS linguists

Linguistics

Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....

, prevalent consensus of the meaning of the name "Sariah" is שׂריה Śaryāh "the LORD

Tetragrammaton

The term Tetragrammaton refers to the name of the God of Israel YHWH used in the Hebrew Bible.-Hebrew Bible:...

 is prince", and an alternative voicing of the name Seraiah

Seraiah

Seraiah or Sraya is the name of several people mentioned in the Hebrew Bible:# The father of Joab ....

.