Lehi had seen and heard much in his vision of the pillar of fire that dwelt on the rock. The power manifest in such a personal revelation left Lehi physically drained. Joseph Smith had a similar experience of feeling drained after his vision following his fervent prayer in the grove.
In the case of Lehi, he was already in a receptive state, and that openness to the Spirit unfolded a second vision. The language in our translation of what Nephi wrote is reminiscent of Luke 2:13: “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God.” Although the words are similar, the setting is different.
In Lehi’s call to become a prophet, his vision begins with a vision of God upon his throne. The location is therefore in the heavens, not an earthly presence of the angels announcing Jesus’s birth. Lehi sees God’s heavenly council.
His vision opens with this scene because that is the expected literary form for the call of a prophet. Lehi’s call parallels Ezekiel’s call as a prophet: “I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left (1 Kings 22:19).”
When Nephi describes his father’s vision in this way, it is designed to tell his informed readers that this is Lehi’s divine commission to be a prophet. Because we do not know what Lehi learned in his first vision, we must assume that it was part of a preparation for this divine calling. Contrary to Nephi’s simple statement that his father had received that first vision, he will provide details of what followed this opening scene of the heavenly council.