When Urijah was extradited from Egypt and was publicly executed and refused a burial, Lehi may well have been present. The killing of this prophet, who spoke out against the unrepentant leaders in Jerusalem, would have stood as a sober warning to any other prophets who dared to defy the ruling authorities. Likewise, Jeremiah was arrested and was brought to the gates of the temple. The officials were about to kill him too. Fortunately, some of the princes heard what was going on and they rushed over from the palace to come to Jeremiah’s defense. Jeremiah had friends in high places and managed to escape the death penalty. Lehi would have known Jeremiah. If Lehi was not out on a caravan trip to Egypt or somewhere else at the time, he might have been there to witness Jeremiah’s trial and near conviction. When God then called Lehi to deliver essentially the same prophetic warning that Urijah and Jeremiah had been delivering, he must have been chilled to the bone. But he courageously answered the call and went forth and soon found himself fleeing for his life.
Welch, John W. "The Trial of Jeremiah: A Legal Legacy from Lehi’s Jerusalem." In Glimpses of Lehi’s Jerusalem, edited by John W. Welch, David Rolph Seely and Jo Ann H. Seely, 337–356. Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies , 2004.